Friday 16 May 3-4pm, Room 2 Taylor Institute, St Giles

All welcome. No need to book. A transcript will be available to follow along.

“It’s good to talk.” “It’s OK not to be OK.” We have become used to phrases that are intended to show solidarity with and support for people who are going through difficult times with their mental health. 

But often people struggling with their mental health don’t feel that they can talk about it to their colleagues. They feel that their workplace is somewhere it’s not OK to be not OK. 

And managers wonder why no one comes to them with their problems or asks for help. Dan Holloway (Faculty of Linguistics, Philology, and Phonetics) has spent more than a decade of giving workshops on mental health in the workplace, “What can I do to get my team to tell me when something is wrong?” is the question he has been asked more than any other.

In this talk, Dan explains some of the reasons people don’t mention mental health problems in the workplace, and what managers and senior leaders can do to help people feel safe talking. In particular, there will be a focus on the things we too often don’t think about. Things that are nothing to do with mental health policies or practice. Like the tone of our communications, especially when an organization is going through difficult times or periods of change, general culture, and attitudes to the seemingly smallest things.

You will explore ideas and tools Dan has developed over years of working with senior leaders in academia, financial services, government, regulators, and charities. These include topics like the empathy gap and “purple paperclip management” and many others drawn from his new book, Open for Business: How to use the Principles and Practice of Accessible Design to build the best Products, Platforms, and Workplaces for your Disabled Staff and Customers, which was published this March.

Dan has worked with many senior figures in financial services for two decades to improve access to banking for people with mental health issues. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, a regular speaker at Money Advice Trust’s Vulnerability Academy, and with colleague Verity Westgate has delivered more than 30 training sessions for managers wanting to create a more inclusive environment for their teams at the University of Oxford (for which they were shortlisted for the first Vice Chancellor’s Diversity Awards). He is also CEO and founder of the University of Oxford spinout Rogue Interrobang, a social enterprise that helps develop creativity and accessibility.