Thursday 15 May 2025 - BELONG

Mental Health Awareness Week: Celebrating the power of community

Our mental health is every bit as important as our physical health, and with Mental Health Awareness Week kicking off last week, there’s never been a better time to stop and check in on ourselves and our colleagues.

Mental Health Awareness Week: Celebrating the power of community

Community was this year’s theme, encouraging as many of us as possible to get behind the vision of creating a society where everyone feels supported.

A 2023 survey found that 85% of UK adults had experienced loneliness in the last 12 months, with 44% of those feeling chronically lonely. Another survey found a significant portion of the population felt a lack of strong community belonging, with younger adults (16-34 year olds) being notably less likely to feel strongly connected.

Finding a community can go a long way to fighting that sense of isolation and our Workplace Group organised a range of activities across our organisation – from London to Barcelona and Luxembourg to Leicester – all focused on simple but effective ways we can manage the stresses we all experience in life and support each other when we are in need.

Our Workplace Group is at the forefront of creating community in our business. Its mission is to cultivate, foster, and inspire a culture of belonging and acceptance of all team members by embracing the qualities that make us different. Some of the activities organised included yoga, healthy breakfasts, and chair massages.

Community is also one of the pillars of our charity programme here at Tokio Marine HCC International (TMHCCI), making this year’s drive a natural fit for our activities across the business. However, there is still a lot to do in building the kind of communities that people can rely on.

One of the highlights of the week was the webinar hosted by one of our charity partners, Body and Soul, focused on their excellent Braver Together programme, which supports people living with those experiencing suicidal thoughts and intentions. 

The 12-week online programme is built around Dialectical Behaviour Therapy and aims to increase knowledge of suicidal symptoms and behaviour and help people understand their own responses to loved ones. The charity also hosted a craft session in the St Botolph Building, where colleagues made gifts that will then be sold to raise money for Body and Soul.

By coming together as a community, we aim to not only support mental health, but also strengthen the connections that help us all thrive and feel a sense of belonging. Find out more about what it means to belong at TMHCCI here: https://www.tmhcc.com/en/about-us/belong-at-tmhcc