Time to Talk Day 2024 is happening today and is the UK’s biggest mental health conversation. It’s a day for friends, families, communities and workplaces to come together to talk, listen and change lives.
As event health and safety specialists, while we’re on site working at events, the majority of our time is spent ‘on the ground’. We’re not sitting at desks; we’re out alongside the event team actively engaged and observing what’s happening.
At each event, we’re monitoring safety protocols, offering guidance and answering questions on specific H&S matters, but a large part of our role also involves watching, listening and gaining a sense of how teams are functioning. We get a feel for how teams are working together helping us to identify potential issues early on, both in terms of the event delivery but also peoples’ mental health and well-being.
But it’s not just about how people are during their working hours. Because we build good relationships working alongside other event workers, we also get to see how people are when they’re not working – whether that’s in crew catering or during breaks elsewhere on site. It gives us a well-rounded feel for whether people are comfortable and happy or are in need of support.
But what happens if something doesn’t feel quite right? Identifying that someone is struggling can be difficult. Although many of our onsite team are trained mental health first aiders and can spot the signs that someone is having a tough time, often it’s our intuition that guides us to find an appropriate moment to speak to them and ask, ‘are you OK?’.
Even if someone doesn’t appear on the surface to be struggling, a simple check-in can go a long way. We regularly ask people how they’re doing, not just to spot potential issues, but because it helps to build strong relationships where people feel valued and noticed.
Working on-site at events can be hard for people in the industry. Working away from familiar surroundings, often with new people can be challenging. Sometimes, it can make a huge difference for them to know that someone’s looking out for them. We receive lovely feedback that these informal check-ins are appreciated.
We’re really proud of the culture in our business where it’s safe to speak up and reach out for help if you need it. The charity Calm really speaks to the heart of what we believe which is why we chose to support it as our charity of the year. We must all work together to keep the conversation about mental health going and keep people safe.
On this Time to Talk day, check in with the people around you and ask ‘how are you’. It could be the one question they need to be asked to enable them to open up and have an important conversation.
If you are in need of support, you can access Calm’s resources for free or you can find out how to help someone you’re worried about.