8:01 am, December 6, 2022
It was World Mental Health Day on October 10, with the goal of raising awareness for mental health issues worldwide.
A similar comparison can be made between the engines in the cars on the forecourt and our mental well-being.
To ensure they run correctly, they require routine checks and maintenance; if they don’t receive regular maintenance, they will break down.
Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis have both contributed to a global mental health crisis, which affects people of all ages and backgrounds.
As a result, many mental health charities have seen a huge increase in demand for their services.
The mental well-being of our employees is one of our highest priorities at First Response Finance.
Leaders within our organisation receive mental health training to be able to recognise signs that their employees may be struggling.
In addition, our staff have access to private healthcare and free private counselling services.
Over the past few years, the automotive industry has experienced what often feels like one crisis after another.
Many in our industry run their own businesses and are exposed to increasing stress daily because of their day-to-day operations and keeping their heads above water.
Although many mental health charities are active in the UK, Ben is one of very few that are specifically focused on helping people who work in the automotive industry.
Our company was very happy to support one of the participants in October’s Bangers4Ben fundraising rally, where members of the trade took part in a James Bond-themed journey across Europe.
At the time of writing, Bangers4Ben had raised more than £32,000!
While this is clearly a huge positive, a recent survey by Ben makes for some alarming reading for all of us in the industry: ‘Stress is the most common health and well-being issue in the UK automotive industry (55 per cent).
‘Stress is more common in the automotive industry than other sectors in the UK (55 per cent vs 48 per cent).’
These statistics should make us all sit up and take note that whilst charities like Ben do some fantastic work in raising awareness of mental health in the automotive industry, it is a challenge we must all accept and work together on.
Over the course of our lives, we will all need extra support from time to time, to successfully navigate many of the challenges that life throws at us.
We need to keep on top of our own mental health and ask for help when we need it.
We also need to recognise the well-being of our employees, colleagues and friends.
This way, we can all contribute towards the discussion around mental health and ensure that mental health becomes a normal part of our everyday conversations in this fantastic industry we work within.
This column appears in the current edition of Car Dealer – issue 177 – along with news, reviews, interviews, features and much more! Click here to read and download it for FREE!
