CHARITY Change Mental Health has announced a new partnership with renewable energy company Drax to embed mental health learning into the workplace while building resilience of workers in rural locations across Scotland.
The charity will work with Drax staff for the next year at Cruachan Power Station near Oban, helping isolated teams who may rely on co-workers to access connection, community and peer support.
Drax is progressing an £80 million upgrade and refurbishment to the plant. Contractors from as far away as Guyana and India are on site supporting the project, bringing additional wellbeing challenges of working away from home and their families in rural Scotland.
The partnership between Change Mental Health and Drax is designed to enable employees and contractors to develop the knowledge, skills and practical tools to support them to look after both their own and their colleagues’ wellbeing.
The bespoke training will be delivered through quarterly learning workshops covering topics such as understanding and managing stress, how to build resilience and support others, and avoiding burnout and finding balance. Review checkpoints will be completed to understand how learning is resonating with employees.
Ian Kinnaird, Drax’s FlexGen Assets director, said, “We are proud to partner with Change Mental Health to bring the very best in wellbeing support to our colleagues at Cruachan Power Station. A career in the energy sector often means pressure to meet deadlines and targets, unusual working hours, and other challenges. Many of our contracting partners are working far away from home without their families, which can of course lead to feeling isolated or lonely.
“Drax recognises that supporting our colleagues’ mental health is just as important as their physical health. This new partnership will give our employees and contractors practical tools to support their own wellbeing as well as their colleagues.”
The move follows Change Mental Health recently unveiling its new training offer, designed to  help individuals and organisations to build confidence, strengthen culture and support better mental health at work. The new training spans three categories: Essentials, In Practice and Certified. This encompasses a series of foundational sessions of key concepts in mental health; practical, deeper learning specific to managers; and accredited training programmes, respectively.
Jonny Cobbold, director of development at Change Mental Health, added, “This new partnership with Drax is an opportunity to change attitudes and tackle stigma, ensuring that isolated and/or lone workers have the tools to look after themselves, those around them, and develop cultures that actively promote and build mental health and wellbeing. We’re delighted and honoured that Drax has chosen to work with us. We have been consistently impressed with the importance they place on employee health and wellbeing.”
