António Horta-Osório revealed to British newspaper The Guardian that the mental health of Lloyds Banking Group employees has been a priority in the company.

The CEO of Lloyds Banking Group and counselor of the Portuguese Diaspora Council, admitted to The Guardian that a change in attitudes has helped staff and business to thrive.

“The British society has made huge strides in recent years in its willingness to acknowledge, confront and treat mental health, but the workplace remains an area where we continue to struggle with its impacts: and the costs are devastating.

I have made mental health a big focus for my company because of my personal experience. It is clear to me that the most important change needed is one of mindset. We must move to a way of thinking that recognizes that we all have mental health just as we all have physical health. As with our physical health, all of us can experience periods of mental ill health when immediate treatment is needed, or we run the risk of developing long-term conditions that will need continuing support.

When an employee breaks a leg or suffers an infection, we know how to respond. Mental health should be dealt with in the same way. With a culture of adequate support and sufficient time off, an employee can return to work with confidence and without embarrassment.

This is the mindset we are adopting and embedding at Lloyds. The action we have taken in recent years has been based on talking to our colleagues. We have learned lessons along the way, which I believe can be adopted by any employer, of any size.”

Read the full article here.

 By The Guardian, May 2018