2024 AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED! - FIND OUT MORE

Conference - 5 June

Understanding where the focus is on workplace mental wellbeing currently

Conference - 5 June hero image

Our June conference

Our June half-day conference took place on 5 June in London and covered topics such as diagnosed mental ill health, AI, domestic abuse and retaining women in the workforce.

1.00 - 1.30 BST
Arrival
1.30 - 1.35 BST
Welcome from Zoe Sinclair
Zoe Sinclair photo
Zoe Sinclair
Co-Founder
This Can Happen logo
1.35 - 1.45 BST
Opening keynote - living with grief and loss

Grief is a topic that This Can Happen is championing, and we continued this discussion at our June conference. In the opening keynote of the day, Jane Roques-Shaw, Global Director of Employee Experience at Dentsu, shared her personal experience with grief and bereavement - and her key implications for the workplace.

Jane Roques-Shaw photo
Jane Roques-Shaw
Global Director, Employee Experience
dentsu logo
Amber Jeffrey photo
Amber Jeffrey
Mentor and Podcast Host
The Grief Gang LTD logo
1.45 - 2.15 BST
Supporting staff with diagnosed mental ill health in the workplace

Diagnosed mental ill health remains one of the final taboos to break in the workplace mental wellbeing conversation, often due to a lack of understanding or misconceptions about the challenges that these employees face. In this panel, we spotlighted a series of inspiring individuals who are living with diagnosed mental ill health, explaining how it impacts their wellbeing experience at work, and showing how employers can create a more mentally supportive and empathetic environment for them to work in.

Arif Jiwany photo
Arif Jiwany
Global Head of Occupational Health & Wellbeing
Haleon PLC logo
David Gordon photo
David Gordon
SVP, Global Head of Tax
GSK logo
Alice Linley-Munro photo
Alice Linley-Munro
Travel and Resource Planning Manager
Oil Spill Response Limited logo
Liam Reynolds photo
Liam Reynolds
Workplace Mental Health Officer
Mental Health UK logo
2.15 - 2.30 BST
Graduating from wellbeing initiatives to a wellbeing strategy

In this 1:1 interview, we attempted to understand how an organisation can grow and build a holistic mental wellbeing strategy, ultimately moving from singular and sporadic mental wellbeing initatives and benefits, to an overarching, year-long and nuanced plan of action.

Catherine Ritchie photo
Catherine Ritchie
Wellbeing and People Experience Manager
Clifford Chance LLP  logo
Sylvia Bruce photo
Sylvia Bruce
Director
Sylvia Bruce Ltd
2.30 - 2.50 BST
Break
2.50 - 3.15 BST
Putting domestic abuse on the mental wellbeing agenda

In the UK, 1 in 5 adults experiences domestic abuse and in the last year alone, 2.4 million adults were victims (ONS). Increasingly, the workplace is becoming a psychologically safe space for employees who are living through abusive situations, which includes physical, economic and psychological abuse. In this powerful and solutions-focused session, we wanted to draw upon lived experience to raise awareness of the mental toll that this can take on employees, and highlight how businesses can step in and provide tangible support to these members of staff.

Ayesha Fordham photo
Ayesha Fordham
Membership and Partnerships Manager
Employers' Initiative on Domestic Abuse logo
Andrew Lane photo
Andrew Lane
Head of Business Strategy and Change
Probation Service logo
Kate Osiadacz photo
Kate Osiadacz
Head of Responsible Business
TSB Bank logo
3.15 - 3.25 BST
Can employers’ healthcare benefits fill the gap between private and NHS services?

With the NHS overstretched in terms of resource and finance, it's more important than ever for workplaces to offer tangible support to their employees when it comes to supporting their mental health and wellbeing. In this keynote session, we explored exactly how employers can offer mental healthcare support that helps to fill the gap between employee needs and healthcare waiting time - and what is and isn't within the workplace's remit.

Susan Gee photo
Susan Gee
Head of Occupational Health & Wellbeing
Yorkshire Water logo
3.25 - 3.40 BST
How to develop a successful year-on-year mental wellbeing strategy - and how to build a new one

In our first Awards-focused panel of the day, we spotlighted two contrasting entries; firstly, highlighting an entry that had successfully developed a sustainable and impactful mental wellbeing strategy year-on-year, and secondly, a workplace that had built a new strategy for the first time.

Toni Graves photo
Toni Graves
Global Head of Reward and Wellbeing
A&O Shearman logo
Carolyn Cole photo
Carolyn Cole
Chief People Officer
Air IT logo
Kristina Adey-Davies photo
Kristina Adey-Davies
Head of Wellbeing and Inclusion - Global
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer logo
3.45 - 4.00 BST
This Can Happen Index Insights

In this session, Kathryn Courtenay-Evans, This Can Happen’s very own Head of Research and Insights, presented key insights, findings and emerging themes from our pre-conference survey, which reflect delegate thoughts around workplace mental wellbeing.

Kathryn Courtenay-Evans photo
Kathryn Courtenay-Evans
Insight & Strategy Director
 logo
4.00 - 4.20 BST
Break
4.20 - 4.50 BST
Retaining women in the workforce and supporting their mental wellbeing

This panel discussion highlighted a range of inspiring women and allies, speaking about their mental wellbeing challenges in the workplace, and how businesses can develop psychologically supportive environments to retain more women in the workforce.

Geraldine Gallacher photo
Geraldine Gallacher
CEO
The Executive Coaching Consultancy logo
Claudia Cole photo
Claudia Cole
Mental Health and Wellness Writer
Freelance
Carolanne Minashi photo
Carolanne Minashi
Global Head of Inclusion
HSBC logo
Asad Iqbal photo
Asad Iqbal
Senior Manager
Ernst & Young LLP logo
4.50 - 5.15 BST
Engaging in mental wellbeing for offline staff

In the penultimate session of the day, we looked at how to effectively develop a mental wellbeing strategy that reaches and engages all members of staff across all locations - and not just those in head office or those who are at their desks all day.

Steve Mosley photo
Steve Mosley
Information & Communication Manager
Omexom logo
Vikky Goodwin photo
Vikky Goodwin
Information Manager & Lead MHC
VolkerRail LTD logo
Rob Cheeseman photo
Rob Cheeseman
Head of Health
Balfour Beatty logo
5.15 - 5.30 BST
Keynote - AI and mental wellbeing

AI quickly became the most talked about technology trend of 2023, and we are only at the early stages of understanding what we can do - and how it can impact us. Conversation is rapidly growing about how AI and mental wellbeing intersect, and in this future-facing closing session, we saw the implications that the technology has upon mental health at work - and the key, tangible takeouts that employers need to be aware of.

Dr Paris Alexandros Lalousis photo
Dr Paris Alexandros Lalousis
Lecturer in Artificial Intelligence in Mental Health
King's College London logo
5.30 - 6.15 BST
Awards Reception
6:15 - 7.30 BST
Awards Ceremony

Including a Champions spotlight panel at 6:45pm.

Harpreet Butoy photo
Harpreet Butoy
Software Engineer
NatWest Group logo
Natalie Degg photo
Natalie Degg
Global Internal Audit Manager
Experian logo
Lauren Carey photo
Lauren Carey
Technology Consultant
Accenture logo

Our proud partners