Mental Health Awareness Week: AAT reinforces commitment to mental wellbeing for staff and members

As Mental Health Awareness Week 2023 begins, AAT is reinforcing its commitment to supporting the wellbeing of its staff and members.

This year's Mental Health Awareness Week theme is anxiety, how to understand it and how to prevent it from having an unwanted impact. AAT will be supporting this message and continuing a line of strong work around mental health which includes advice for members in the accounting community experiencing anxiety, stress or burnout.

Within AAT staff there are currently eight Wellbeing Champions who have received Mental Health First Aid training and can provide support to colleagues experiencing various mental health concerns.

AAT's focus on wellbeing is also reflected in the organisation's most recent Best Companies survey score in 2022. In the survey, wellbeing was one of AAT's best performing areas, with a score of 5.1 out of 6.

In AAT's most recent internal staff survey published in August 2022, staff felt they had a healthy work-life balance with a score of 3.9 out of 5. They also felt that their manager would be quick to respond if they showed signs of being under too much pressure (4.3 out of 5) and that AAT supports their health and wellbeing (4 out of 5).

This was supported through introducing flexible hybrid working as part of AAT's move to a new office last year. A recent survey by MHFA England found that 41% of financial services employees said that flexible working hours would improve their mental health. The new office also gives staff access to benefits such as free breakfasts, meditation sessions, fitness, yoga and cooking classes.

Adam Harper, AAT's Director of Professional Standards and Policy, said: "We recognise the importance of employee wellbeing which is why we place a key focus on creating a positive workplace culture. We also listen to the feedback we receive on our initiatives from our colleagues so that we can continue to improve the support we provide. We encourage our members and employees to share their own mental health and wellbeing experiences so that as a community we can continue to learn from, and support, each other."

Thomas Bird is an Assessment Manager at AAT and serves as one of the organisation's Wellbeing Champions. He has previously noted the importance of speaking out and getting people to ask questions if they don't understand things, rather than suffering in silence with their issues.

Lucy Cohen FMAAT, co-founder of Mazuma Accountants and AAT Council member, said: "I've experienced my own struggles with anxiety and depression, which were particularly highlighted during the pandemic. However, I've found that when I share my experiences, hundreds of people come forward to tell me theirs. I'm grateful that AAT has given me that platform to speak out and help raise awareness of these important issues in our community. Knowing you're not alone in feeling that way is helpful – it makes the experience less isolating and stigmatised."

AAT provides mental health support, information and advice to its members through articles on its AAT Comment site, including what to do if you need help with your mental health, managing digital burnout, balancing work and studying and managing stress and anxiety.