ONS’ mental health awareness and support recognised with gold award

9 Jun 2021 02:48 PM

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has been recognised for its focus on workplace wellbeing with a Gold Award from mental health charity Mind.

The ONS was one of 114 organisations to take part in Mind's fifth annual Workplace Wellbeing Index, which is based on a confidential employee survey run by Mind, an independent expert organisation in mental health.

It considers several different aspects of wellbeing, including whether an organisation encourages openness and discussion about mental health, and whether employees enjoy a healthy work/life balance. 

The Gold Award is given to organisations that have successfully embedded mental health awareness into their policies and practices and demonstrated a long-term, in-depth commitment to positive staff mental health. This recognition comes after the organisation achieved a silver award in the 2019/2020 index.

Commenting on the award Director of People and Business Services at the ONS Philippa Bonay said: "This award comes after much hard work behind the scenes to make the ONS more open about mental health and wellbeing in the workplace and to make support visible to everyone.

"During the pandemic we had to quickly adjust to working from home while dealing with unprecedented demand for our work, and this award is fantastic recognition of the hard work, resilience and openness of our staff in these difficult times."

Emma Mamo, Head of Workplace Wellbeing at Mind, said: "As we would expect, the impact of coronavirus on the mental health of staff is a resounding theme in this year's Index results; working longer hours and poorer work/life balance were key themes. 

"However, it has been heartening to see how many employers have supported the mental health of their people in this particularly challenging year, and these awards provide a wonderful opportunity to recognise and celebrate those forward-thinking employers who are dedicated to investing in the wellbeing of their staff."

To read more about Mind's Workplace Wellbeing Index click here and for a full list of this year's winners click here.