MAG marks mental health awareness week with workshops and new Ripple initiative for colleagues
As the UK marks mental health awareness week (9th-15th May), Manchester Airports Group (MAG) is supporting its colleagues through a series of workshops and the launch of a new partnership with mental wellbeing tool, Ripple.
MAG, which owns and operates Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands airports is committed to placing health and wellbeing at the heart of its business, and to ensure that all of its colleagues feel supported to thrive in the workplace.
To create an open and honest dialogue around mental health awareness, two key online events are taking places across the Group.
In a session called “Let’s talk about mental health”, colleagues will hear from and put questions to a panel with contributors from across MAG as well as Andrew Greenway from ‘Andy’s Man Club’ – a network supporting men with their mental health.
The session will also see Alice Hendy, founder of ‘Ripple Suicide Prevention’, speak about her experience of mental health and wellbeing. Alice will be talking about the inspiration behind her charity, which offers a digital plugin tool that detects harmful searches online and re-directs people carrying out these searches to organisations who can provide them with the help and the support they need.
Ripple was founded in 2021 after Alice’s brother took his own life and had accessed harmful content online related to suicide. After hearing Alice speak at an event last year, MAG understood the importance, as a responsible employer, to work with this charity and support such an important initiative.
MAG is proud to be the first group of airports in the UK to launch the Ripple Plugin. As of this week, any harmful searches carried out by colleagues on MAG devices will be redirected to messages of support and signposting to mental health support resources. As well as this, MAG will be actively working to promote Ripple to partners and businesses across the UK, highlighting it as a vital tool for responsible employers to implement.
Later this week, the Group will hold its inaugural Men’s Mental Health network event. The event will seek to tackle the stigma around male mental health in a pursuit to normalise mental wellbeing at work. The event will be made up of a panel of male colleagues from across MAG who will discuss their ambitions for the Network.
Alongside these two events, MAG has launched a new suite of resources for colleagues about mental health and wellbeing including mental health first aid training, free fitness and yoga classes, walk and talk events, and updated guidance and information on the company’s intranet.
Nicola Foster, Group Health and Wellbeing Manager, MAG said: “This year for mental health awareness week, we are so proud to be speaking openly and honestly with our colleagues about mental health and offering new ways to support their wellbeing at work.
“As a responsible employer, we’re proud to be partnered with Ripple Suicide Prevention to support our colleagues when they need it most and encourage other businesses to do the same.”