2020 Not A Red Card Forum & Awards Celebrate Mental Health Excellence in the Workplace
November 20, 2020
For the third year in a row, leading UK financial services company Legal & General (L&G), has been highlighting businesses and individuals who are championing mental wellbeing for employees. On 4th November, it held its annual Awards and Forum – virtually – to raise awareness and celebrate best practice in addressing mental health in the workplace. The initiative was developed in collaboration with our sister agency, thinkBeyond.
Mental health concerns are one of the leading causes of long-term absences from work. The Forum and Awards are a key component of the company's 'Not A Red Card' campaign, which has been using sporting messages, values and talent to help employees and employers access and better use resources in support of healthy workplaces - and to underscore that talking about mental health is not a red card offence.
Colin Jackson CBE, Olympic medallist and former 110m hurdle record holder, hosted the event, attended by employers, business leaders and mental health advocates, and shared his own experiences of overcoming bulimia and building his resilience.
Following on past successes, L&G wants to get business to not just talk about the issue, but also to take action. The day of insightful panels and inspirational talks explored how best to advocate for employee mental health in today’s rapidly changing workplaces and the solutions that Legal & General Group Protection offer. Resources and tools were shared with organisations looking for further guidance
“Our first virtual Not A Red Card Forum was a great success. Colin Jackson was an amazing host and all the sessions were engaging, informative and inspiring. The quality of the award submissions this year were exceptional, and our winners thoroughly deserved the recognition as they were all inspirational,” said Vanessa Sallows, Claims and Governance Director.
The event culminated with the 2020 Not A Red Card Awards, recognising top efforts in the field. The category winners were:
· Best Mental Health Initiative (SME) winner – Inspired Villages
· Best Mental Health Initiative (more than 500 employees) winner – Havas Group
· The Collaboration Award winner – Healthcare at Home
· Innovative Use of Sport Award winner – Snow-Camp Charity
· The Inspiration Award winner – Mike O-Hara
· The Leadership Award winner – Arti Kashyap-Aynsley
During the event, Olympic medallist and Not A Red Card Ambassador, Rebecca Adlington shared her journey in striving to achieve her best while struggling with a shifting identity and life-changing moments – as a swimmer, parent and business owner. "I've got a long way to go and grow in business. However, I've learnt over the years to surround myself with like-minded people. Building that support team around you is so important. We all need one, it doesn't matter if it's business or life," said Adlington.
In addition, Mental Health Campaigner Alastair Campbell shared his life-long struggle with depression, the impact on his personal and professional life and how he has learnt to live with and even embrace his mental health problems. "We only think about mental health when it becomes mental illness and if we start to think about it as #mentalhealth then it becomes something more positive. We all have physical health - sometimes it's great, sometimes it's not and mental health is the same," said Campbell.
In addition to the six category awards, the judges awarded four outstanding individuals and companies for their contribution to advancing mental wellness practices:
· Care for Carers Award in the face of the pandemic – Nuffield Health
· Pandemic Response Award – Pacific Life Re
· Award for Inclusivity – Perry Burton
· Breaking the Silence Award – Anastasia Vinnikova
For more information on the evening’s winners, Legal and General’s work to address mental health and the award-winning Not A Red Card campaign click here.