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Mental Health Awareness Week and the importance of kindness
Stephen Parkinson
As Stephen Parkinson, Kingsley Napley’s Senior Partner, wrote in his blog earlier this week: “Kindness is an exceptional quality and we should cherish it. It builds resilience, individually and collectively. It makes our firm a better place to work.”
The importance of kindness and mental health is always high on the agenda at Kingsley Napley, and we embrace the annual Mental Health Awareness Week as an opportunity to raise awareness among our people about the tools and channels available to support their mental health and wellbeing. Mental health affects us all, at different times and in different ways, and it’s important for us to be there to support our people whenever and however they need us. Shannett Thompson, a Senior Associate in our Regulatory team and Chair of our BAME group, has also written a blog about mental health within ethnic communities.
In previous years, we have arranged presentations from guest speakers and our charities, hosted workshops and delivered desk drops of goodies and leaflets, among other activities. With almost everyone working remotely this year, we had to do something a little different, so this week’s virtual activities have included:
Now, more than ever, supporting both the physical and mental health of our people is the firm’s focus, and will be central to the return to work plans that we will be making in the coming weeks and months.
We have found that the most helpful way to support our people during this uncertain time is through communication – regular, clear, informative and in many different forms, including:
We have a number of responsible business committees at Kingsley Napley, including charities & community, diversity & inclusion, environment, pro bono and wellbeing, all of which work collaboratively to deliver a positive impact for our firm members, clients, and our wider local community.
Our wellbeing committee is a dedicated group, established to help improve mental, as well as physical, wellbeing. We have previously partnered with, and supported a number of mental health charities, including SANE and Maytree, and our charities & community committee has organised events to raise money for these causes over the years. We have also made donations to these and many more charities during COVID-19.
As we approach the end of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week, it is our wish that a focus on kindness and supporting mental health will continue to be a constant theme that we can all embrace and support moving forwards.
Vicki Tavener, HR Manager, and Helle Asquith, Senior Marketing Manager, are both members of the Kingsley Napley’s wellbeing committee.
We welcome views and opinions about the issues raised in this blog. Should you require specific advice in relation to personal circumstances, please use the form on the contact page.
Stephen Parkinson
Shannett Thompson
David Sleight
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