Video tutorial: Q&A with Dr David Batman: the mental health pandemic and how to tackle it

Jill King, head of international markets at Virgin Pulse, interviews her colleague Dr David Batman, consultant occupational health physician and science adviser, about the current mental health crisis and tools that employers can use beyond medical intervention.

Walking, exercise, mindfulness, getting outside, conversation – there are a number of ways that we can improve mental health. HR and line managers have a big role to play in this too.

“The skills for them to learn are to listen and to hear. And it’s the hearing bit that we’re often not very good at,” Dr Batman said. “We listen because we think we know the answer we are going to give them before we start the conversation. It is about listening to people and understanding what their needs are.”