Mental wellbeing service 87% has secured £50,000 of funding from the Aviva Foundation to help improve mental health among SMEs.
87% said its Building the Resilience of SMEs programme aimed to avert a mental health crisis by providing 10,000 staff with free access to mental wellbeing advice and support and 2,500 manager training courses.
The solution allows businesses to conduct a full assessment of organisational health, via a series of evidence-based measurements.
This data provides insights to implement wellbeing strategies that address the needs of staff, and introduce bespoke mental health awareness training, accessibly delivered by webinar or eLearning platform.
Dr Serra Pitts, clinical director of 87%, said the firm was committed to its social purpose of enhancing wellbeing especially for businesses who could not necessarily afford the investment into their organisational health.
“SMEs are the backbone of the British economy but the data is compelling; the sector is suffering,” she said.
“We are seeking to train individuals to recognise their own state of mental wellbeing, through measurement and monitoring, and provide them with personalised tools which help them develop healthy habits, thus improving confidence and resilience.
“Furthermore, managers play a crucial role in the wellbeing of their teams and with the right training in how to build a culture of wellness and strength, they can prevent small issues in staff from becoming irreversible problems.
“Increasing resilience in this sector, even if by just a few percentage points, would have a material beneficial impact on both productivity and societal wellbeing.”
Aviva Foundation management board chairwoman Kirstine Cooper added: “Supporting mental health in the workplace is one of the most pressing issues for employers, large and small.
“The Aviva Foundation is partnering with 87% to help give small-medium sized enterprises the resources they need to support their people.
“We know from our own Aviva colleagues how important advice, support and manager mental health training is, so it is excellent this can be extended to those who work in smaller businesses.”