1. What is positive mental health and wellbeing?

Just as we all have physical health that varies from person to person and from time to time, we all have mental health which fluctuates.

The World Health Organisation defines mental health as ‘a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community’.

2. Why it matters to ARCANIX

Whilst most of us have positive mental health and wellbeing most of the time, our mental health can change. There may be times when we are ‘thriving’, times when we start to struggle, and times when we develop a diagnosable mental health condition. 1 in 6 UK workers are currently experiencing a mental health condition, and 1 in 4 workers will have some form of mental health condition in any one year. These conditions might last a long or a short time or they might come and go. And just as we help our employees to keep physically well and support them through physical illness or disability we undertake to do the same for our staff with respect to mental health and wellbeing. We aim to help all staff keep mentally well and to support them through periods of poor mental health whether they remain at work or take time off.

This is particularly important to ARCANIX no just because we recognise that each employee plays an important part in contributing to our goals, but also because it it part of our mission as a company to create an environment where everyone can thrive and develop their full potential. We recognise the role that games can have for good and we wish to embody these aspirations into our working practice.

3. What the policy aims to do

The purpose of this policy is for ARCANIX to establish, promote and maintain the mental health and wellbeing of all our staff through workplace practices, and encourage staff to take responsibility for their own mental health and wellbeing. We pursue this aim using a whole organisation approach (see 7, below) which includes promoting positive mental health for all staff, recognising and addressing sources of stress in the workplace, and supporting those staff who are experiencing poor mental health.

This policy sets out what help is available to support all staff to have positive mental health and wellbeing, how to access help, what procedures to follow, what documents to use, and how we measure and report on its impact.

By developing a positive culture and by implementing practical, relevant and effective practices we can contribute to ARCANIX’s success and sustainability and support the development of individual team members.

Overall, this policy aims to:

1. build and maintain a workplace environment and culture that promotes positive mental health and wellbeing and prevents discrimination (including bullying and harassment);
2. increase employee knowledge and awareness of mental health and wellbeing issues and behaviours;
3. recognise and address sources of stress in the workplace;
4. support those staff who are experiencing poor mental health;
5. reduce stigma around depression and anxiety in the workplace;
6. facilitate employees’ active participation in a range of initiatives that support and promote mental health and wellbeing for all staff.