One of Wales’s most successful businessmen will be urging company bosses to do more to help staff with mental health problems.
Entrepreneur Alan Peterson will tell business leaders in Wrexham that staff mental health difficulties have always been a massive issue that holds back many firms.
He will be a key note speaker at a breakfast meeting of Wrexham Business Professionals at the town’s Ramada Hotel on Thursday, September 19.
Cardiff-born Mr Peterson is chair of both the South Wales-based international diagnostics provider, BBI Diagnostics, and the HSS Hire Group.
HSS Hire employs 2,900 people at 250 branches, providing tools, equipment and related services across the UK and Ireland, while the BBI Group offers diagnostic services in the healthcare, research, defence and the food industry across four continents and employs 450 people in facilities as far afield as America, China and South Africa.
He said: “Mental health is a massive problem and all too often it’s an issue that gets ignored.
“It’s an issue that means many people are going to work and due to the stress they have in their lives they are only working at 50 per cent of their mental capacity.
"We have to be aware of these issues and help staff to deal with them.
“Think of a single mum who knows her child is being abused on line.
"Naturally she will take that abuse into work with her it will be a load on her shoulders that she can’t shake off.
“As managers and business professionals we need to be sure we are aware of the issues and be ready to step in and help. Subtle changes in people’s lives can cause stress that will affect work performance.
“It’s something we all too often either ignore or are unsure what we need to do to remedy the situation.”
He added: “It’s about getting people to switch on in the workplace. It’s also about self-esteem. How people are treated at work is so important. Very often people have a side to them they just don’t bring to work.
“Very often the people you would never expect to help are the ones that come up with the best solutions.”
