A BRIDGWATER firm which specialises in professional and personal wellbeing says businesses need to improve their wellbeing support for employees or risk losing them.

A recent survey by Benenden Health of UK employers and employees revealed that 42 per cent of UK businesses have lost an employee because of poor mental health support.

Peter Heath, co-founder of A Centre of Light, which is based in Bridgwater, said: “Mental health is more important than ever as people have been confined to their homes and are often working full days alongside having to home-school and run their household.

"They may not have seen loved ones in months, they may have even lost relatives recently due to the pandemic, or other health issues, and the added pressure and stress, naturally, soon mounts up and can affect their work.

“The research, carried out by Benenden Health, also reported that 55 per cent of workers say they would seek a new job if their mental wellbeing was not being supported by their employer, which is why any businesses not currently offering any, or only offering limited support, need to step up or they risk losing their staff.”

Benenden Health’s report also revealed younger workers value mental wellbeing support the most, with 78 per cent of 18–24-year-olds saying they would quit their job if they felt their employer was not adequately addressing their mental wellbeing needs. This is compared to 42 per cent of 45–54-year-olds and 38 per cent of over 55s.

Almost half of workers surveyed said their job had become more stressful in the past two years.

Peter said A Centre of Light can offer businesses help to ensure the their wellbeing support is up to scratch.

“We are happy to work with them to offer their employees access to our De-stress Energy Programme, which is one of the key services we provide,” said Peter

The De-stress Energy Programme enables A Centre of Light to work with companies, providing programme modules for managers and employees.

“Our Foundation Package focuses on a businesses’ employee’s lives in general. When your staff struggle with significant personal difficulties, it can have adverse impacts on their wellbeing, which has a knock-on effect to their productivity at work," Peter added.

“The Mentor Package is geared towards Line Managers managing a team, which takes account of the stress and responsibility of the position, including how best to understand their team and provide sensitive support.

“Modules are a mixture of pre-recorded webinars, interactive online workshops, assessment and certificate. These include CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) and NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) coping techniques with an analytical approach to problem solving, combined with a holistic systemic view – accessing those parts of yourself that are usually difficult to reach.

“Anyone interested can watch our introduction video here for more details https://bit.ly/3odABmO.”

A Centre of Light promotes values that support and encourage specialised education, growth and development, including psychic advice on business matters, careers and relationships.

It believes that it is seeing a rapid change in workplace culture in the aftermath of the lockdown, in favour of a greater emphasis on mental health and emotional wellbeing. This is something employees are requesting, and employers are positively adopting, as a more caring work-life relationship develops.

“We act as a sounding board for people and listen to their concerns, as well as helping them to move forward positively with our expert guidance," Peter said.

“We can help people achieve resilience, our steps and guideposts can prove invaluable on your journey, giving you direction and purpose whether in your work or personal life, and this is why our company strapline is: Business with a Heart.”

For further details, call A Centre of Light on 01278 327851, visit www.acentreoflightuk.com or view its video about the topic here https://bit.ly/3odABmO.