Dive In Hosts Festival to Create Awareness of Mental Health, Among Insurance Stakeholders

 
Aon, the British-American multinational financial services firm, hosted the Dive In Nigeria virtual event on Wednesday, 28th of September, 2022.

Part of the global insurance industry’s well-established festival for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) Dive In, the event focused on mental health and well-being.
 
A statement by the group said the festival which was attended by insurance stakeholders from across the world, had on its panel top insurance leaders, including Omokunbi Adeoti, Chief People Experience Office, Leadway Group; Gloria Agugua, Head, Human Resources, Heirs Insurance; and Mental health and wellness expert, Chioma Fakorede, Executive Director, Olamma Cares Foundation.
 
The statement also noted that the festival which was themed: “Breaking the Taboo: Mental Health and Wellbeing in the workplace”, was anchored by CNBC Financial Broadcast and Business Journalist, Esther Awoniyi.

The statement revealed that Awoniyi declared the festival open and shared insights from the Dive In Nigeria survey conducted amongst those within the insurance industry ahead of the festival.

She also set the virtual stage, leading the charge for deliberate action in promoting mental health and wellness in developing business outcomes and improving productivity in the workplace.
 
Addressing attendees who had gathered from the insurance industry, other sectors of the economy, and viewers who joined the conference virtually, keynote speaker, Chioma Fakorede affirmed the importance of creating a mentally aware and friendly workplace, for an enabling environment.
 
In her call for the promotion of mental health and wellbeing in the workplace, she said, “As an employer, you can be an agent of change by becoming aware of mental health and educating your staff on it, creating clear structures for employees who might need help, creating a positive work environment that would reduce stress, burnout, be understanding and flexible to the needs of your employees and have zero tolerance to discrimination and stigma.”
 
The statement further explained that during the panel discussion, the three reputable speakers, touched on important points from the Dive In 2022 Nigerian Insurance industry survey, gleaning insights from data and trends captured in the survey report.

The statement noted that survey set the foundation for conversations around mental health triggers in the workplace, signs of mental health struggles, the role of the organization and society in embracing employees’ mental health struggles and creating enabling environments for balanced well-being.
 
One of the speakers during the panel session, the Head, Human Resources, Heirs Insurance, Gloria Agugua, said: “Lack of awareness of mental health and fear of being stigmatized at the workplace persist as barriers to wellbeing. This barrier triggers a set of reactions that are catastrophic to business progression.

“When an employee struggles with mental health challenges and his or her organization decides to turn a blind eye, it comes back to affect business outcomes. This is why organizations need to create mental health awareness; modify workplace risk factors that can trigger stress; institute an organizational environment or culture that promotes wellbeing; eradicate stigma and encourage open-minded conversations about mental health in the workplace; and most importantly, be understanding and flexible to the needs of the employee, and listen and respond with empathy.”
 
Discussing the role that Dive In has played in ensuring diversity and inclusion practices which now accommodate discussions about mental health and wellness in the Nigerian Insurance industry, Chief People Experience Office, Leadway Group, Omokunbi Adeoti, stated, “Just like in other years, Dive In continues to lead globally prioritized discussions, conveying appropriate actions and adopting cultural nuances that facilitate the acceptance of the platform’s goodwill and message of change.

“I am especially excited that the Dive In platform is bringing this conversation to our doorstep again, and this time, with a focus on the very issue that threatens organizational balance when not strategically managed by all parties involved.”
 
Adeoti moved on to educate stakeholders about the multiple views of the mental health continuum.

She discussed a framework that would help employers and also employees recognize the different phases in an employee’s mental health struggles and help map out an organization’s path to action by employers looking to Recognize, Respond, Refer and Reconnect.

She added that by urging stakeholders to work together to break the traditional taboo that prevents employees from speaking up when they struggle with mental health challenges.

In a closing statement to a question asked by a member of the audience, on how to spot colleagues struggling with mental health challenges, mental health and wellness expert, Chioma Fakorede, Executive Director, Olamma Cares Foundation said: “The signs of mental health struggles are easy to spot. Just like Mrs. Adeoti said, the scale ranges from reactive to injured and ill.

“In the reactive stage, you can see that they get impatient, they tend to forget, they exude negative attitudes and you can spot the tension in their muscles. In the injured state, they often showcase angry outbursts, take excessive risks and make accidents. In the ill stage, they begin to experience decreased function and have suicidal thoughts.”

Speaking on what the Dive In platform hopes to see as a result of its efforts, Chief Strategy Officer of Aon Reinsurance Solutions who is Dive In Nigeria sponsor and organiser, said, “We hope that with this discussion, we will successfully break traditional taboos that have eroded the empathy of employers and contributed to the weak mental health for employees.

“We also hope that participants in this year’s festival will advocate the need to build braver cultures where all people are recognized and empowered to speak and behave authentically. We are confident that we have started an impactful movement which will stir positive change in the insurance industry.”

Dive In Nigeria is sponsored by multinational financial services firm Aon.
 
Since its launch in 2015, Dive In has continued to grow in both numbers and geography. Last year the festival included a record 145 virtual events across 35 countries, reaching 31,067 people from 103 countries worldwide throughout the three days of the festival.

This year attendees will again be able to participate in virtual events worldwide, eroding traditional taboos and creating safe workplaces.
 
The festival continues to count on the support of its Global Festival Partners. Already confirmed are AIG, Allied World Assurance, Aon, Arch Capital Group, Aviva, AXA XL, AXIS Capital, BMS, Chubb, CNA Hardy, DLA Piper, Everest Re, Gallagher, Howden and DUAL Group, Kennedys, Liberty Mutual Insurance, Lloyd’s, Markel, MS Amlin, RenaissanceRe, Tokio Marine Kiln, Travelers, WTW.