Mental health and wellness is not something most people want to talk about — especially not busy event professionals. But they really should. With event industry professionals reporting having issues with mental health at double the rate — one in three, as compared to one in six for workers overall — it’s not something that should be swept under the rug.
EventWell wants to help. The UK–based charitable enterprise is dedicated to supporting event professionals’ mental wellbeing and prioritizing mental health in the workplace and at events. EventWell offers a wide range of resources, mental health and wellbeing solutions, a “mind gym,” and a blog and podcast to bring mental health issues in the meetings and events industry out of the darkness and into an environment where these issues can be addressed safely and sans the stigma that all-too-often hinders event professionals — and others — who have challenges related to mental health.
With a tagline of, “To make tangible change to the event industry’s relationship with wellbeing,” the organization is calling for everyone involved in managing meetings and events to talk openly about mental health in the workplace, as well as at their events, and to create an environment where people feel safe to ask for the support they need to thrive personally and professionally.
In its manifesto, the organization reminds that everyone has mental health, no matter where they are on the corporate ladder or in your event attendee hierarchy, just as everyone has physical health, and that it’s to everyone’s benefit to have safe, diverse and inclusive workplaces and event environments “where people feel free to bring their whole selves to work.” It advocates using a whole-organization approach to mental health and wellbeing by following the six mental health standards as outlined in the Stevenson/Farmer Thriving at Work Review 2017 and developed and updated for the Mental Health at Work Commitment by Mind in 2019.
Some of the resources EventWell offers are free to access, such as the short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing scale, a free “mind plan” it offers in partnership with Every Mind Matters, and a plethora of advice, articles and videos on wellbeing as it relates to career, social, financial, physical and communal situations. There’s also a free guide for both employees and managers on how to create a wellness action plan.
For a small fee, EventWell also offers a “mind gym,” FIT by EventWell, which includes 30-45–minute classes led by top event industry instructors on everything from yoga and breathwork to meditation, sound baths and laughter yoga. The organization also can help an organization develop a workplace wellness program using a three-step process that diagnoses where the organization is starting from, trains team members on how to be Mental Health Champions, and includes a Friends Business Membership option that provides educational and supportive resources to support mental wellbeing for event professionals.
Also available is mental health first aid training, as well as the ability to have EventWell create hubs and quiet rooms at meetings and events that can give over-stimulated attendees a safe and secure place to regain their equilibrium.
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