NUJ marks World Mental Health Day with solidarity and practical support
Focus on mental health as a workplace issue
To mark World Mental Health Day today, the NUJ Disabled Members’ Council sends a message of solidarity and information about support to all members.
This year’s theme set by the World Federation of Mental Health is workplace mental health.
Mental health is both a workplace and a trade union issue and the union is here to support NUJ members in a range of ways.
Whether managing our individual mental health, providing peer support in our workplaces as colleagues and line managers or supporting freelances through our networks and branches – there are tools and resources to help.
You have rights at work under health and safety legislation, employment law and the Equality Act to be protected from workplace stress and to receive support if you are experiencing mental distress. Speak to a rep if you feel your working conditions are damaging your mental health.
The Headlines Network is an organisation set up to promote more open conversations about mental health in the media industry. Run by journalists Hannah Storm and John Crowley, they work with experts in mental health and leadership to provide tips, training and spaces to talk.
The NUJ has a mental health toolkit to help with practical action reps can take in workplaces and networks and implement policies that make workplaces fairer.
Journalists and photographers/videographers covering wars and disasters are exposed to distressing and horrific scenes. But it is not just in conflict zones that media workers witness frightening images or deal with people experiencing traumatic events. The NUJ’s post traumatic stress disorder page can help, including signposting to support from the Rory Peck Trust.
Financial support
Financial hardship is a key source of stress. If you are in financial hardship there are sources of help including NUJ Extra and the Rory Peck Trust grants, and there are many ways the union and expert organisations can help, plus advice and guidance for reps dealing with mental health in the workplace.
Reporting on mental health
Journalists may also cover stories involving mental distress and trauma and multiple useful guidelines exist to support you in approaching sensitive stories ethically. An Ethics Council webinar on the 8th October addressed issues such as court reporting and maintaining open justice whilst minimising potential harm when covering domestic abuse, child homicide and suicides.
These links may help:
Reporting on conflict and trauma
LEVEL UP guidelines on domestic abuse reporting
Zero Tolerance guidance on reporting on Violence Against Women and Girls