Thursday 22nd September; 10.00am to 12.00pm
Virtual Disability Café
For the last few years, mental health has been an increasingly important area of focus for employers, and particularly early years recruiters, and this importance has been heightened due to the impact of the pandemic. Research into young people, carried out by the City Mental Health Alliance (CMHA), found the following:
72% have experienced poor mental health, such as anxiety or depression
61% say their poor mental health impacts their ability to do their job well
90% expect an employer to prioritise the mental health of their people
To enable these bright, hard- working and ambitious individuals to succeed both during the increasingly competitive recruitment process and in the workplace, employers must recognise their duty of care and provide the support these individuals require to not just survive, but to flourish.
During this Café, experts will shed light on this complex subject and help us to understand more about ‘mental health’ including the potential causes of poor mental health amongst young people, their concerns about entering employment and the challenges they face regards being open about their mental health with potential employers and requesting the support they so desperately require.
Delegates will have the opportunity to learn from other organisations regards what they are doing to create a culture of openness around mental health and how they support their employees. In addition, individuals will share their personal experiences, including the challenges they have faced in the workplace, the support they have benefited from and the importance of networks and mental health allies.
Attending this Café will enable delegates to learn more about mental ill health and in doing so take another step towards removing the negativity, fear and silence that exists around this subject. It will develop your confidence to engage in conversation with your applicants and employees, enabling you to provide the support they need to excel.
Speakers
Farimah Darbyshire
Farimah is Director of Programmes for the City Mental Health Alliance, and leads on its Early Careers Mental Health Programme. The CMHA is a membership organisation, which brings together businesses, mental health experts and partner organisations to achieve the CMHA’s shared vision that every workplace will protect, support and create positive mental health for their people. She works alongside businesses, mental health experts and people with lived experience to develop guidance, seminars and training to help employers to support young people during recruitment, induction and the first years of their career. Most recently, she has worked with Goldman Sachs, KPMG, PwC, Slaughter and May and the Bank of England to develop the first of its kind Guide To Mentally Healthy Recruitment in Early Careers.
Adam Dempsey-Doyle
Adam is an Assistant Manager (Associate) at KPMG Law, sitting in the Commercial, Technology & Data practice as a commercial solicitor. Adam joined KPMG Law in 2020, having previously trained at Baker McKenzie. He has also spent time on secondment to the commercial operations legal team at Amazon.
Adam has suffered from various mental health issues for the past decade through school, university, and into his career as a commercial solicitor that continue to be a pressure in his day-to-day life. Whilst a junior lawyer, he has had to undergo various mental health treatments, take periods of time off work, and continues to seek treatment on an intermittent basis. This has forced a level of transparency and honesty that previously had not been widely discussed in the legal profession. In his current role, Adam has adopted a flexible way of working and strives to be an example of the benefits that open conversations and allyship can bring.
Adam has a keen interest being an advocate and role model for peers and superiors alike to foster an inclusive and diverse support network. He has worked to speak out, mentor, and coach others and believes in the importance of improving the accessibility of the profession to all.
Tom John
Tom is a senior solicitor in the Commercial, Technology and Data practice at KPMG Law, helping clients buy and sell technology and drafting and negotiating a wide range of contracts. He joined KPMG Law in 2020 but has been at a number of firms over his career, having originally trained at Clifford Chance and qualified in 2010.
Tom suffered from burnout as a senior associate at a previous job and had to take several months off work while seeking treatment. His experience with managers who didn’t quite understand what to do with him after his return to work has informed his own approach to managing junior lawyers. While the improved visibility and awareness of mental health issues in recent years has been helpful, his struggles to be understood by those managing him have highlighted the amount of work that is still needed in the profession and the disparity between employers who ‘get it’ and employers who don’t. This in turn has driven him to be more open about his own experiences and to be a more active advocate for a better understanding of mental health issues.
Ben Lawson
Ben recently graduated from the University of Warwick with a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Law. He is returning to Warwick this academic year to study an MA in International development. Ben is also a member of the university's American football team, the Warwick Wolves.
Ben has suffered with mental ill health for a number of years. Whilst at his secondary school, he began working towards eliminating the stigma surrounding mental health in young people through sharing his experiences, and giving others the opportunity to share theirs. Ben now works closely with a coach at his American football team, and the wider British American football community, to increase awareness surrounding mental health in sport and eliminating the stereotypes that surround sports such as American football. He also does talks and events on different aspects of mental health, both to increase awareness, and to educate people further.
Yvonne McGuiness
I joined Shell in 2016 working in Health as an Occupational Health Nurse. My role within Shell Health is quite varied from fitness to work medicals, travel medicine, sickness absence/case management to delivering health and wellbeing initiatives and programs. Having worked in Occupational Health for over 17 years, I sadly remember a time where mental health issues were surrounded by stigma and rarely discussed in the work place.
Thankfully, with increasing awareness and encouragement surrounding mental health we are in a much better place. However, I still witness individuals on a regular basis who are experiencing mental health issues and are struggling to ask for the help and support they need. As a result, I am a keen advocate for increasing awareness and visibility of mental health issues in the work place. With Shell I work with individuals and teams to openly discuss and clarify the misconceptions around mental health and remove that negative stigma. I am most passionate about working with individuals and managers helping to facilitate individuals with mental health issues to recover and thrive.
Will More
Will is currently working in the charity sector for Carers UK, supporting large corporations and government departments to assist their employees who are balancing work with caring for a loved one. Previously to this he spent time working with small businesses at Mind in Somerset.
Following an unexpected deterioration during his industrial placement at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, which caused him to be absent from work, Will was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. On returning to work he decided to share his story, highlighting the difficulties of mental illness whilst also dispelling myths about this often mis-understood disease.
Helen Tabeshfar
Helen is an Executive Director in the Europe Middle East & Africa (EMEA) Diversity, Equity & Inclusion team of JPMorgan Chase. She helps the firm develop and implement strategy to create a diverse and inclusive workplace across 34 countries in EMEA. Helen has driven the implementation of several interventions specifically aimed at attracting, developing and retaining talent from minority backgrounds (particularly women and people with disabilities). Helen has been at JPMorgan Chase for 14 years working predominantly in the program management field and beforehand she worked for other financial institutions and in the IT service delivery space.
Helen has longstanding experience of supporting those with mental health challenges and has a keen interest in advocating for others and being a strong role model to ensure that workplaces work for everyone.
MyPlus Recruiters’ Club Platinum and Gold members are entitled to 2 complimentary places. Additional complimentary places may be available depending on room capacity, with priority being given to Platinum members.
Places may be purchased by Silver members at a reduced price of £50 +VAT
Non-members may purchase places at a price of £95 + VAT. Contact lise@myplusconsulting.com to purchase places or for further information about Recruiters’ Club membership.
MyPlus run a variety of these types of events for employers. For details of the different types visit our events page. For details of forthcoming Recruiters’ Club events taking place visit our events calendar page.
