STAGECOACH SPONSORS POSITIVE MENTAL HEALTH PODCASTS AS PART OF ITS EMPLOYEE WELLBEING WEEK

·         Podcast recorded by comedian and mental health ambassador Juliette Burton

·         Mini-series focuses on the positive aspects of mental health

Transport company Stagecoach is sponsoring a short series of podcasts focusing on positive mental health.

The Perth-based transport group is supporting the new Positive Cast series as part of its Wellbeing Week employee campaign and will be sharing the podcast with staff across the company.

The podcasts have been recorded by comedian and mental health ambassador Juliette Burton and focus on the positive aspects of mental health, what can be learned from others’ experiences, what helps people manage their mental health and how to help each other. The series is also backed by the Rethink Mental Illness charity of which Juliette Burton is an ambassador.

The Positive Cast podcast is available on iTunes or Podbean and one episode is released each week. The fifth episode of the series was recorded entirely on Stagecoach buses Cambridge, including input from bus passengers in the city

Guests featuring on the podcast episodes include comedian Laura Lexx, presenter, author and campaigner Jonny Benjamin MBE, actor and presenter Adam Pearson, comedian and Britain’s Got Talent winner Lost Voice Guy, author Rachel Kelly and campaigner Alex Cheney. 

The first podcast was published on World Mental Health Day, during the Wellbeing Week part of Stagecoach’s four-week Getting There Together campaign which highlights key areas of focus including wellbeing, safety, customer service, community, environment and inclusion.

Earlier this week, Stagecoach launched an employee wellbeing programme which is being made available to all 24,000 of its UK Bus staff. The company also announced it has signed the Time to Change pledge on behalf of its UK Bus division, committing to an action plan to promote mental wellbeing in the workplace and encourage employees to talk more about how they feel

Comedian Juliette Burton said: “Without support from Stagecoach this series could not have happened. I’ve been working on this idea for years and I’m so excited to see it finally coming together. There are so many podcasts and documentaries out there giving the perception that mental illness is to be pitied or something to feel ashamed or isolated about - but now it’s time for a positive mental attitude!

“I want to show you can be positive about mental health conditions, because there’s so much to learn from it. I am who I am because of and in spite of my conditions. They’ve taught me so much. Our guests are amazing on this series and I can’t wait to hear what people think to it!” 

Stagecoach UK Bus People Change Director Michelle Hargreaves said: “Promoting positive mental health within the workplace is very important to us. It’s great to be supporting these podcasts and we hope our employees and customers will enjoy listening to them and take away some positive actions and information around mental health.”

The first in the series of Positive Cast, produced by Rubber Chicken Productions, can be found here positivementalattitude.podbean.com/