Pride 2022: How can employers support the mental wellbeing of their LGBTQIA+ staff?
With just over half of the month now behind us, how are you using this year's Pride month to show your support for the mental wellbeing of LGBTQIA+ staff?
Of course, this support is needed year-round - not just for Pride - and the wonderful people at Mental Health at Work (a charity supported by The Royal Foundation and Mind) have curated this set of resources for 2022 Pride. All resources are verified by a panel at Mind.
Access the resources
Cleo Madeleine from Gendered Intelligence says there is no direct correlation between LGBTQIA+ identity and poor mental health, however: "LGBTQIA+ people do experience higher rates of some mental health issues compared to the general population, including anxiety, depression, and suicidality," she told Mental Health at Work. "This can be attributed to a number of factors, including intolerance, poor access to support services and healthcare, economic precocity, and lower standards of living."
Cleo continues by saying trans people are "particularly at risk in the UK right now", with gender identity services unable to keep up with demand. Also, "increasing hostility towards trans people in the media and from the government has worsened exclusion in the workplace, education, and healthcare and support services, compounding the isolating effects of the pandemic."
All of this makes it evermore important to support the mental health and wellbeing of those employees who identify with the LGBTQIA+ community.
Make sure you:
Make the workplace a safe space for all staff to talk about mental health issues.
Provide clear guidelines around discrimination in the workplace, and enforce them consistently.
Ensure that LGBTQIA+ acceptance isn't just assumed, but actively promoted at work.
If your organisation doesn't already have an LGBTQIA+ employee network group, encourage its establishment. These groups can transform the experiences of LGBTQIA+ employees at work, according to Stonewall. They can provide peer-to-peer support, raise awareness and make LGBTQIA+ experiences more visible, and give LGBTQIA+ staff a critical voice to help ensure inclusion is embedded across the organisation.
Mental Health at Work has gathered a toolkit of resources to help employers support the mental wellbeing of their LGBTQIA+ staff; access it here.
Special Pride event in our community this week!
And make sure you join us this Thursday, 23 June, at 1pm UK time as we chat with The Quest Collective co-founder, and Dare to Lead™ facilitator Adé Adéniji, exploring how shame can manifest for the LGBTQIA+ community in the workplace - including those from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds. We’ll talk about how managers can support people to bring their authentic selves to work, without shame and without fear.
RSVP and get the details over in the events section of our new virtual community. Not yet a member? Join for free by signing up at minds-work-community.mn.co
