Leiths Newsletter Issue 20 - Magazine - Page 17
LEITHS PEOPLE
ISSUE 19
A DAY IN THE
LIFE OF …..
What is
mental health?
Mental health is just like physical health: we all have it and we need to
take care of it. It is a state of mental well-being that enables people to
cope with the stresses of life, realise their abilities, learn well, work well,
and contribute to their community and is an essential factor of health
and well-being.
Eloise Barr
Road Planing Manager, Markon
Mental health is experienced differently from one person to the next,
and mental health conditions include mental disorders and psychosocial
disabilities as well as other mental states associated with significant distress, impairment in functioning, or risk of self-harm. People with mental
health conditions are more likely to experience lower levels of mental
well-being, but this is not always or necessarily the case.
I started with Markon 13 years ago after working for Highland Quality
Construction and, previous to that, New County Road Planing from the
age of 17.
When Highland Quality Construction foreclosed, Markon purchased
some of their road planers together with taking on many operators,
along with myself, to join the expanding department that was now in
motion. There I joined Scott Darling, Planing Manager at the time, as
his Admin Assistant to help with the paperwork and job files at their
offices in Glenboig.
Mental health care and treatment
It is vital to not only protect and promote the mental well-being of all,
but also to address the needs of people with mental health conditions.
As a Company we provide mental health training, First Aid for Mental
Health which will enable the workforce to be familiar with mental health
conditions, and through our registered Healthcare Provider we can help
support the diverse mental health and wellbeing needs of our
employees.
As the department started to expand, I was then promoted to Planing
Co-Ordinator taking on more responsibility dealing with the operators
direct and the pricing of contracts.
By May 2016 Scott was now Director of Markon and the position for
Planing Manager was advertised. I applied for the role and was
successful – I was ecstatic about this and looked forward to the
challenge after now being in the industry for 11 years.
Mental health and your colleagues
Send a positive message to your colleagues by assuring them that help
is available, and things can get better. If the person is unwilling to talk
with you, do not try to force them to talk about their experiences. Rather,
let them know that you will be available if they would like to talk in the
future. Treat the person with respect.
Each day when I enter the office, I first check my emails for any
correspondence from clients regarding any works they wish to book in.
In our department most of these works are very last-minute
requirements and we don’t tend to know too far in advance, so it
is a very fast paced environment to get works organised with plant
and the operatives. This can be challenging but once all works are
programmed in to keep our clients happy it feels like an achievement
so keeps me on my toes.
Mental health advocates
• Your GP can refer you to a psychological therapy service or a specialist
mental health service for further advice or treatment.
• SAMH – Scottish Association for Mental Health
By lunchtime I check with each site to see how works are progressing.
I then issue the team their work instruction for the following day,
making sure they know what is involved on each job.
• MIND – Mental Health Charity
My hope for the future is to keep the department running smoothly
and successfully alongside everyone in department which is like a
close-knit family.
• Group HSEQ Department
• Mental Health Aberdeen
• Group HR Department
• Mental Health First Aiders –
contact details on all Notice Boards
Out of work I have a busy family life with my 2 children, one of which
is a toddler, so we have plenty of family days out to parks, and we also
enjoy lots of caravan holidays throughout the year where we are in our
element enjoying the peace of the outdoors.
• Construction Helpline
See contact details within the
Classified Section on page 19.
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