MediaCom Aims to Normalize Mental Health Discussions

It's no secret that the pandemic has had a profound impact on our collective mental health, fueling widespread anxiety and depression. A recent report from the group Mental Health America found that the number of Americans who sought help for anxiety and depression has risen sharply, with a 62% increase for depression and a 93% increase in anxiety. Of the 800,000 people who die from suicide every year, 80% are between the ages of 18 and 65, making the workplace a possible area for intervention and prevention, according to the World Health Organization. That's exactly why GroupM media agency MediaCom introduced its Mental Health Ally program in the U.S. earlier this month, developed in collaboration with U.K.-based organization Mental Health At Work. The MediaCom Mental Health Ally Program aims to foster a culture of mental health support by training employee volunteers to listen and act as supportive peers. Mental Health Ally volunteers get training on fundamentals, including recognizing mental illness, how to listen without judgment and how to connect employees to services and resources (from counselors to helplines) they need. The two-day training program is broken down into fact-based education as well as workshops, scenario training and specific training on the pandemic's impact on mental health. The initial training is reinforced through monthly meetings of all individual allies workshopping through their experiences over the course of the preceding month to share what they’ve learned and challenges they’ve faced. There’s also a mandatory condensed version of the training provided to the entire people team led by executive director, people Yorlene Goff. What Agencies Are Doing to Support the Mental Health of Their Employees MediaCom positioned the program as another illustration of the "People First, Better Results" philosophy, which helped the agency earn recognition as Adweek Global Media Agency of the Year. "My main goal is to take care of the people of MediaCom, and protecting employee's mental health is a critical part of that," Sasha Savic, U.S. CEO of MediaCom and Adweek Media Executive of the Year, said in a statement. "Our personal lives and work lives have blurred unrecognizably, and despite these challenging times, it is important MediaCom remains a place for all to thrive and grow. Through the Mental Health Ally program, I am confident that we will continue to deliver our 'People First' promise to all our employees." The program is an expansion of a U.K. program Mental Health at Work has provided for MediaCom U.K. since 2018, initiated by then MediaCom U.K. CEO Josh Krichefski, who became global COO for MediaCom last year after Nick Lawson succeeded Stephen Allan as global CEO.

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MediaCom U.S. Initiative Aims to Normalize Conversations Around Mental Health

The GroupM agency is partnering with Mental Health at Work to launch the Mental Health Ally program in the U.S.

Erik Oster

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