Green light to talk

Continuing to shine a light on mental health awareness

In the UK, one in four people will experience a mental health issue in any given year.

The stigma often associated with mental health means people may not recognise what’s happening or are too afraid to ask for help. At PwC, we’re proudly committed to ending this stigma.

Our Green Light to Talk campaign began in 2016, and is something we now follow all year round, with our Partners and staff regularly sharing personal stories via our dedicated GLtT video sharing platform. Mental Health Awareness Week shines a spotlight on Green Light to Talk and whilst we are acknowledging and celebrating this year’s theme of movement, we are also celebrating the impact that Green Light to Talk has had on creating a movement within PwC. We are encouraging all of our people to move more for their mental health and also be part of our continuing movement to end the stigma around mental health. We'll be taking to social media again, sharing some of the events and activities taking place across the week, plus hearing from some of our Partner and Director Mental Health Advocates sharing how they look after their own mental health.

“Great steps have been taken to challenge the stigma associated with mental health; however, it is important to acknowledge that some of our people may still fear asking for help or even not realise they need that help. Our ‘Green Light to Talk’ campaign empowers our people to further challenge this stigma and also gain a greater understanding of mental wellbeing and how to maintain and protect it.”

Ian ElliottPwC UK Chief People Officer

How it all started

Back in May 2016, we launched Green Light to Talk across our business and over 12,000 of our people wore green ribbons signifying their support and their willingness to have a conversation about mental health. The day was a huge success, reaching 3.4 million people via social media.

The Lord Mayors Appeal

In 2017, our Green Light to Talk Campaign was adopted by The Lord Mayors Appeal with 70,000 green ribbons distributed to 130 organisations. A highlight was seeing a green ribbon on the front of City AM and our own office being lit up green alongside iconic London buildings including The Bank of England, The Walkie Talkie, The London Symphony Orchestra and others.

We also developed a mental health app for all our employees to download onto their phones, so they know where and who they can go to if they need support.

Working with The Samaritans

We developed online, interactive in the moment training in collaboration with the Samaritans that all of our people are encouraged to complete. The training is designed to help our people look after their own wellbeing and support those around them, and enable and equip us all to have better wellbeing conversations.

This is Me: faith and culture

Our 'This is Me' video looks at some of our people’s experiences of mental health issues within different cultures and communities. Members of our faith networks share their stories to encourage more conversations about mental wellbeing, to help tackle taboos and ensure that people get the support they need.

This is Me 2016

Our 'This is Me' campaign was created to mark World Mental Health Day 2016. We were one of 50 companies taking part in this initiative, run by the Lord Mayor's appeal team.