Poppy Jaman OBE is a respected figure in the international mental health space who champions equality in all its forms in her professional and personal life. After working with leaders across the world in both the public and private sectors for over 20 years, she has become a global voice of authority on workplace mental health, constantly striving to drive sustainable change forward.
She is the Global CEO of MindForward Alliance and, over the past 12 years, has created the world’s leading workplace mental health organisation focused on transforming workplaces into spaces that support the mental health of their employees; partnering with global business leaders, initially in the financial services sector, to achieve her goal. Poppy is also working with the World Health Organisation (WHO), as part of a Special Initiative in Bangladesh, where she is advising on the implementation of the country’s national mental health strategy.
In addition to running a global organisation, she has recently co-founded two initiatives. The first is Re-Balance, a social impact business that seeks to address inequality by striving alongside global communities to provide skills, education and support. The second, Change The Race Ratio, is an association of UK business leaders collectively campaigning to increase ethnic minority representation on boards and in leadership positions within UK FTSE100 businesses.
Poppy was the founding CEO of Mental Health First Aid England. During her tenure, she led the development of the organisation from a small government initiative into an independent community interest company, recognised as one of the fastest-growing SMEs in Europe by the Financial Times (FT) in 2017. Poppy also served as an advisor on the Board of Public Health England for six years and was identified as one of the country’s leading mental health experts by the UK Secretary of State following her instrumental role in the creation of the NHS’s Every Mind Matters platform.
In 2018, Poppy was awarded an OBE in recognition of her outstanding achievements in the mental health sector. In addition, she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Gloucestershire. One year later, she won Woman of the Year at the GG2 Diversity & Leadership Awards and was named a “game changer” in the FT’s Women of 2019 List. More recently, she was included in 2022’s Diversity Power List.
Poppy continues to work with a myriad of global leaders in both the private and public spheres as a trustee of the Centre for Mental Health and as a non-exec for the Guardian Council at Togetherall, as well as sitting on the advisory board for the Queen Mary Global Policy Institute and a Risk Steering group run by PwC.
Poppy is a proud British Bengali and saree enthusiast, supporting sustainable fashion and artisans in South Asia. However, above all else, her personal point of pride is her family; she is the mother of four incredible children.
What is the key to transforming the workplace for good mental health?
Leadership and resources. Without leaders being vulnerable and owning the agenda nothing changes and without organists putting resourcing and KPIs in place it is just tokenism. You have to show compassion, not empathy and the difference between the two is action.
As a Global CEO, what are your learnings and observations on working with companies and altering their environment to make it mental health friendly?
That most businesses want to do the right thing but don’t know what the tangible steps are that’s what we do to assist them. We assess them and then guide them with knowledge and practices from around the world. We enable the cross-fertilisation of knowledge and silks in a safe and effective way. We ensure cultural relevance and nuance are at the heart of their strategy so it’s not a western model that is rolled out, which will not stick or worse will be the wrong solution.
We are the global community for workplace mental health and we bring the power of collaboration where leaders and practitioners are solving the challenge together across borders and beyond industry silos.
Businesses that compete in the market are working closely together and that’s crucial to creating global change. This isn’t a competition that any one organisation can win alone.
Where do you think workplaces make mistakes or go wrong in triggering an employee's mental health?
Mental illness is often triggered by an accumulation of factors that are both inside and outside the work environment and so recognition is crucial to creating good mental health in workplaces.
So, financial health, elderly caring responsibilities, parenting challenges, and one’s own personal relationships are all factors that impact stress and if those aren’t addressed it is unlikely that a good job will provide the necessary salve.
Job stresses such as long hours, no breaks, unrealistic deadlines, lack of control, bullying and hare are often the tipping points. Which is why we work with businesses to implement init Such parenting and mental health toolkits. Workplaces that consider the whole person is more likely to create the culture that is needed for Human flourishing.
Who is the custodian of making sure that a workplace is conducive to an employee's mental health?
There is legislation in health and safety all over the world that requires employers to protect and promote the health of their employees. Most of the time those legal frameworks are translated only to physical health. That is changing. The world health organisations have declared a mental health crisis and so all of us in all settings need to educate and take action; in our homes as parents, at work as managers, in schools as teachers, and in faith communities as advisors.
And first, we have to apply self-care. We have to learn our own mental health-enabling practices such as therapy, coaching, meditation, exercise and our own mental stress triggers so we can be well and lead by example. We have to assimilate that help-seeking behaviour is a strength, not a weakness.
As a woman, what do you think women need at the workplace to be able to nurture their mental health and perform well at the same time?
To be treated as equals to men and be given opportunities for exposure and experience.
How different is mental health transformation in men and women in the workplace?
It’s not different but nuanced in lived experiences. Everyone is unique and mental illness and wellness are unique to us. The key is to understand what drives us and nurture that. Research shows that men seek help often too late in their journey and at crisis points so businesses need to normalise men talking and create the right environments for that. Women feel more imposter syndrome and take on more responsibilities to demonstrate competence and be seen. Businesses need to address this.
Are you happy with the general global outlook towards mental health at workplaces?
Yes, I am but we need to work to speed things up. Young people's mental health is declining and we need to hold hope and create change to ensure the next generation has the right platform to grow.
