Fareham firm puts mental health on top of priority list for 2022

Fareham-based Toro Recruitment is taking action to make mental health a priority in the workplace in 2022 and beyond.

Senior manager, Jennifer Puxley has recently signed the Mental Health in Recruitment Awareness to Action pledge on behalf of the company and has laid out a roadmap, putting measures in place over five months to ensure the wellbeing of the team is looked after.

She started by analysing how the team felt about what was already in place and then implemented things that would improve them, such as displaying mental health posters and signposting around the office, becoming mental health first aid trained and introducing mental health days.

CEO Daniel Pope is contributing monthly towards a pot of money that will be spent towards team-bonding activities to allow staff to build relationships with each other to ensure the team feels valued, gets social interaction and connection.

Some of the team have used the fund to go for lunches, coffees, go-karting and play in a ping-pong tournament.

Daniel said: ‘When people feel like they’re a part of a team, they will feel less lonely and isolated. It’s been tough with on and off working from home, but thankfully we’ve taken opportunities to come together when we can, making sure everyone feels included and gets that essential human interaction.’

He is supporting and encouraging staff taking mental health sick days and wants to build a culture where they are viewed as just as important as physical health sick days.

He said: ‘If someone calls in sick saying that they’ve got a headache or a stomach bug, it’s usually viewed as an adequate reason to take a day off work, but if someone calls in sick saying they are feeling anxious or down in themselves, in a lot of workplaces it’s not an adequate reason.

‘We want to change that here at Toro and bring about a culture that views mental wellbeing as a top priority that can be spoken about openly and without judgement among the team.’

The firm also has two wellbeing officers, Samoyeds Luna and Polly, who often come into the office, lifting spirits among the workforce.