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Emma Baker: Championing mental health in the workplace

August 2023


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Bridgehouse is committed to nurturing a workplace that prioritises and promotes positive mental well-being and open conversation regarding mental health amongst team members. This is why we were thrilled when our Office Manager, Emma Baker, agreed to undergo mental health training last month. 

Emma completed the comprehensive training course and is now looking forward to sharing what she has learned with the team. We believe that having a trained advocate like Emma on the team is an important step in managing wellbeing at Bridgehouse. 

As part of our commitment, we held another Brew Break in August, the most recent in a series of sessions we have been running for the team, where we paused to reconnect, offer mutual support, and learn from Emma’s newfound insights. 

We took Emma aside to ask her about her experience. 

Q: Emma, could you share some of the key takeaways from your recent mental health course and how they will benefit the team? 

Emma: The course gave me a much better understanding of what Mental Health means and how to identify and support a person experiencing mental ill-health. It has provided me with a great foundation for understanding and supporting mental health at work.  

Q: How has this course influenced your perspective on mental health in the workplace? 

Emma: The course taught me the importance of empathy when communicating with someone suffering from mental ill-health.  It has highlighted to me how important it is for workplaces to ensure there is sufficient support available to the team for mental health.  

Q: Were there any specific strategies or techniques you learned that you are excited to implement within our team? 

Emma: I have learned how to offer work-related resolutions to mental health issues and look forward to being able to support the team with those when needed. I am also looking forward to being able to properly signpost team members who are experiencing poor mental health.  

Q: What motivated you to complete the mental health course? 

Emma: I felt passionate about gaining a better understanding of mental health and to learn how to identify when someone is struggling. I wanted to put myself in a position where I could identify signs that indicate when someone on our team needs support.  

Q: Why do you think it is important to have team members who are mental health trained in the workplace? 


Emma: I think it is very important that a company has someone in place who understands the legislation around mental health as well as someone who can ensure the team feels supported and know that they have someone to go to if they are struggling. We want to create a healthy workplace environment at Bridgehouse and mental health is a key pillar in this. As a company, it’s important to take mental health seriously and be prepared for when issues occur.  

Embracing Emma’s new expertise is the latest step we are taking here at Bridgehouse to cultivate a workplace that prioritises mental health and wellbeing for our team. 

As her insights enrich the team we are excited to see how Emma’s experience will help to support the team and continue to encourage open conversations around mental health. 

We’d like to thank Emma for agreeing to the training and taking her time to advocate for mental health at work.