Time to Talk Day

What is Time to Talk Day?

The day is about creating supportive communities by having conversations with family, friends, or colleagues about mental health. We all have mental health. By talking about it, we can support ourselves and others.

Many people assume that talking about ill mental health may make their friend, family member or colleague’s mental health condition worse and affect their mood, thinking and behaviour negatively. This belief is not backed up by science because research has found that talking to someone about your problems can help reduce stress, boost our immune system and reduce physical and emotional distress.

When is Time to Talk Day?

Time to Talk Day is being held on Thursday 1st February 2024.

Why is there a Time to Talk Day?

Mental health has become a more common topic in mainstream media in recent years, but people with mental ill health still face lower employment rates, lower wages, and under-employment. The stigma around mental health stops people from openly talking about their wellbeing at work because they feel it will negatively impact their career.

Employers, leaders, and managers may also have not received training on how to discuss mental health, therefore may not feel they can adequately support their colleagues. This leads to them avoiding discussions with their employees about mental well-being because they don’t want to make a mistake, upset their colleagues, or make anyone’s ill mental health worse.

How to support Time to Talk Day in your workplace

Your organisation can promote and foster a supportive environment that encourages people to have open conversations about their mental health. These conversations could be in a group, one-to one virtual or in-person.

Ideas to start conversations include holding a causal get together (either in person or virtually), hold a quiz or mental health bingo or host a webinar. Starting and creating open conversations can help make a positive impact on those colleagues struggling with mental health issues and create a feeling of psychological safety in the workplace.

There are numerous ways to commemorate Time to Talk Day at work, including:

• Organising or attending mental Health training and webinars.
• Learning from colleagues with mental health conditions.
• Exploring mental health resources to increase understanding.
• Pick a time and date to talk about mental health with your colleagues and encourage psychological safety. This event could centre around an activity to get conversations started, such as a mental health quiz to test everyone’s knowledge.
• Plan how you will keep the discussion of mental health going for the rest of the year and learn how to recognise ill mental health in the workplace.
• Learn how ill mental health may impact underrepresented groups.
• Work with your Marketing and Comms team to share your organisation’s experiences of the Awareness Day, using the #TimeToTalk hashtag.

Looking for resources to promote Time to Talk Day in your workplace?

Visit the campaign website for Time to Talk Day to view and download their Time to Talk official campaign resource pack

If you’re a member and need more support with celebrating Time to Talk Day, contact your account manager. If you’re not yet a member, get in touch today to see how we can help.