Vitae’s workplace wellbeing programme provides confidential support for work and life issues across a wide range of services. However, we often hear from people that they are still uncertain about what’s available through their organisations, whether they can access appointments during work time, and the processes to get support.
Organisations play an important role in raising awareness of these services in the workplace and normalising access. This begins through building a culture of wellbeing and continues with active care and guidance.
In this article based on our interview with Trish Allen, Senior Wellbeing Partner at Meridian Energy (‘Meridian’), we’ll dive into the organisation’s award-winning approach to mental health and the critical care process that helps employees navigate Vitae’s support services.
Building a culture of wellbeing at work
Meridian has built wellbeing into its workplace culture more and more over time, especially after winning Vitae’s Workplace Wellbeing Award in 2022. Meridian actively promotes the idea that employees can ‘bring their whole selves to work’, which encourages people to be more open about communicating their wellbeing needs.
Wellbeing support gets introduced during induction, where employees learn about Meridian’s wellbeing toolkit and the role Vitae plays within it. Staff know that when Meridian reaches out to Vitae, meaningful support quickly follows. Strong relationships with specific clinicians and key Vitae contacts have helped reinforce this trust over time.
One of the biggest lessons learned has been that just putting up posters or giving someone Vitae’s contact details when they are struggling is often ineffective. Instead, Meridian sees itself as the bridge to support. Managers work to recognise when someone may not be at their best and to involve the wellbeing team early on rather than waiting for issues to escalate. Together, they can create a referral to help someone connect with Vitae and feel supported through the process.
The referral process
At Meridian, the referral process generally looks like this: Typically, a manager or colleague will approach the wellbeing team if they’re concerned about someone. From there, the wellbeing team engages directly with the employee to help them access support, sometimes alongside the manager and sometimes privately, depending on what the employee is comfortable with. This process only takes place if Meridian has built the confidence of the individual first; nothing happens without the person’s full consent and understanding, and their privacy is always paramount.
As the conversation unfolds, the initial focus is on understanding what’s happening for the person and whether or not their situation requires additional support beyond counselling. If it seems like more structured workplace support is needed, the wellbeing team introduces the manager referral process and walks the employee through the referral form together.
The wellbeing team reassures employees around confidentiality and explaining how reports work. Employees are encouraged to ask for any personal details they do not want shared to be redacted. The emphasis is always on understanding how the workplace can best support them; it’s not about accessing unnecessary personal information.
Meridian’s care team approach
A major part of Meridian’s wellbeing model and how it supports employees is its ‘care team’ process. The care team usually includes the employee, the manager (unless the employee doesn’t want them involved) and the senior wellbeing partner. This group meets regularly to discuss how treatment and support are going, which is also a reminder to the employee that they’re not alone and that they have caring people keeping an eye out for their wellbeing within the organisation. The goal with this is to create a consistent network of support that works in harmony with their appointments with Vitae.
Employees are also encouraged to check in with their GP and hold onto strong support systems outside of work. If progress is going slower than expected, Meridian may move to a formal manager referral process to get some further guidance from Vitae’s clinicians.
Wellbeing support at Meridian is flexible and often ongoing. Some employees may stay on a care plan for a long period of time, depending on their needs. Meridian recognises that recovery from significant mental health challenges is rarely quick or straightforward.
Another important adaptation Meridian has made was increasing the standard counselling allocation from 3 sessions to 6 sessions (including support for immediate family). Employee feedback was showing that trust with a counsellor usually began forming around the third session, so Meridian wanted people to have enough time to build that relationship and benefit properly from the support.
Supporting and educating managers around wellbeing
Because managers are busy trying to balance wellbeing responsibilities on top of their normal role, Meridian supports them with clear guidance and processes.
Managers have access to wellbeing resources through the company intranet, including information about the care team process and available support pathways through Vitae. The organisation is also developing a ‘Managers 101’ training and conversation templates that outline what signs of struggle managers should look for, what steps to take and how to approach wellbeing conversations with employees. But again, managers are not expected to handle these situations alone. Their default pathway is to involve the wellbeing team, who can then have a quick chat or set up a dedicated meeting to unpack what’s needed and offer suggestions. Vitae’s manager assist service is also available when further consultation is required.
Challenges for employees engaging with support
Some employees joining from other organisations initially feel pretty sceptical about wellbeing support and question whether the support offered is actually helpful. But enough people have experienced support now that they’re able to talk about it positively and create an encouraging environment.
During induction sessions, employees are often surprised by the level of support available for themselves and close family members. Meridian places strong emphasis on supporting the wider wellbeing of employees’ households because they know that challenges affecting partners or children also impact staff wellbeing.
Meridian has continued expanding its wellbeing offerings through Vitae, including introducing menopause support and looking into other targeted wellbeing initiatives like the new Well Man service for men’s health. Meridian sees Vitae as an evolving partner that helps strengthen and diversify its wellbeing toolkit over time.
Positive outcomes for employees
Meridian has seen strong engagement with Vitae’s workplace wellbeing programme over the years, particularly as trust and relationships with Vitae have developed.
Feedback from employees is generally very positive. While Meridian does not directly attribute organisational metrics such as retention solely to wellbeing initiatives, there are clear examples of impact. One employee reportedly chose to remain at Meridian over a higher-paying external opportunity because they felt genuinely supported and cared for.
Meridian also views the growing uptake of services as an indicator that employees trust and value the programme.
Advice for other organisations
As Trish suggests, it’s really important for organisations to take an active role in encouraging people to access support, rather than relying on passive wellbeing resources alone.
Posters, cards, pamphlets and intranet resources can play an important role, but someone experiencing significant mental distress often does not have the capacity to independently seek help, even when those resources are available to them.
Instead, organisations should focus on building genuine relationships with Vitae, understanding the full range of support available and developing clear internal processes for connecting employees with care.
Having trusted contacts within Vitae is particularly valuable. Meridian emphasises the importance of knowing who to call for specialist advice and being able to access support quickly when it’s needed (for both managers and employees).
Meridian also encourages workplaces to actively support its people throughout their treatment while keeping them connected to work where appropriate. In many cases, staying at work with that proper support in place helps employees keep a positive sense of routine, purpose, connection and value.
Ultimately, as Trish explains, Meridian’s approach to wellbeing centres on creating a culture where wellbeing conversations feel normal and comfortable, and Vitae’s support services are actively offered. Their wellbeing team works with managers and employees to make sure that no one feels alone and that everyone gets the support they need in a way that’s both responsive in the short term and preventative in the long term.