by Brian Rose, MBA 2018
One of the many things that amaze me about the London Business School community every day is the willingness for individuals to put careful thought into meaningful action.
This meaningful action is perfectly exemplified by LBS’s first Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) which kicked off on Monday, and aims to increase awareness and support for mental health on campus, and in society more generally.
MHAW kicked off the week with the first session of daily yoga and meditation, in partnership with Lululemon, followed by a panel of top executives and entrepreneurs in the mental health space talking candidly about their experiences. The week will be jam-packed with daily events from workshops, to talks on nutrition, exclusive discounts at wellness providers around London, and will conclude with an afternoon of LBS Olympics for some light-hearted fun in the beautiful natural space that is Regents Park.
The initiative, which is entirely student-led, is inspired by personal experiences of community members, and daunting workplace statistics related to mental health that are all-too-common today – for example, in 2016-2017 12.5 million working days were lost due to work-related stress. Statistics like this were compounded by a community survey which found that 63% of students had experienced a personal struggle with mental health, and 65% had supported a loved one through mental health difficulties. Furthermore, mental health increasingly plagues managers and businesses alike, and thus is a critical topic of discussion for business schools.
In addition to the individuals and companies mentioned above, the MHAW team would like to thank all the nearly twenty partners and sponsors that are dedicated to such a significant cause and are helping to make this week possible. At LBS we are not only fortunate to have an incredible student body, but we benefit from the plethora of leading companies, individuals and events that exist in our back garden…also known as London.
If you are in London this week, we would love for you to come and join any of the MHAW events to support an amazing cause and see what community looks like at LBS.
Finally, whether in London this week or not, we highly encourage you to explore London Business School to see how LBS can help turn your careful thoughts into meaningful actions.