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Stress Awareness Month: The Marathon To A Better Way Of Life

Stress Awareness Month: The Marathon To A Better Way Of Life

Last year, at our event “Mental health: security’s invisible enemy,” chartered health psychologist Dr Tina Cartwright held a managing stress and preventing burnout interactive workshop. She asked attendees – “do you do physical exercise outside of work?” Only five out of sixty said yes.

The physical impact of stress can be mitigated by exercising. Without ways to manage it, stress can increase heart pressure and prompt individuals to seek relief in unhealthy vices like drinking, smoking or eating unhealthily, none of which help reduce the impact of stress or poor mental health. Exercise can help replace these habits with a much healthier approach to self-care and living well.

Corps Security colleagues saw the opportunity to help themselves and others in the process. Last year, members of our team undertook exercise-based fundraising initiatives for Corps’ nominated charity Combat Stress, which provides mental health support for veterans. This is particularly important given a 2020 study found that 40% of security officers showed signs of PTSD.

In 2024, we are continuing to challenge our attitude and habits when it comes to physical and mental health, raising money for a good cause that’s close to our hearts in the process.

London Landmarks Half Marathon

The Corps Security community have already walked, run, and cycled to support Combat Stress, but many of the team wanted a fresh challenge, which is why they signed up to the 2024 London Landmarks Half Marathon.

A central London marathon that runs through Westminster and the City of London, runners will pass 17 iconic London landmarks, including Big Ben, the London Eye, St Paul’s Cathedral, and Tower Bridge. They’ll also be supported by musical performances, DJs, dancers, and cheering supporters all around.

Eleven Corps colleagues are taking part, led by managing director Paul Lotter, and the team includes ex-veterans, mental health champions, and security officers. The half marathon will solidify their already strong working relationships and improve their physical health, all while raising money for a worthy cause. So far, they have raised over £2,000 for Combat Stress.

Combat Stress have been Corps Security’ nominated charity for just shy of a decade. Last year we raised over £22,000 through multiple initiatives, including the ‘Tour De Corps’, a North vs South football match in Birmingham, the ‘D-Day Challenge’, Saharan ultra-marathons, and March in March.

Help our London Landmark marathon team reach their fundraising goal today.

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Mental Health: Security’s Invisible Enemy - PTSD Awareness Month

Mental Health: Security’s Invisible Enemy – PTSD Awareness Month

As PTSD Awareness Month draws to a close, we are keen to ensure the conversation about PTSD continues across our industry.  Corps will continue to work with Combat Stress, SecurityMindsMatter and other leading experts to support you in your efforts to engage with mental health in your business.

To keep the conversation going, we thought an update online might be worthwhile to reference to, to continue to drive awareness in security.

What is PTSD?

PTSD stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, a mental health issue that arises following – as can be taken from the name – a traumatic life experience. That experience can differ, it might be related to relationships, life events, from birth and (due to the nature of the work undertaken by security officers) work related.

In an industry where our colleagues can face mental and physical challenges and be first on scene in what can be traumatising events, it is not surprising that in research undertaken by Professor Mark Button, our guest at our recent event, 40% of the security officers who were part of the study showed signs of PTSD. You can find the full research here.

Over to the experts: For an easy to understand guide to PTSD, please visit the Mind website page here.

How to notice signs of PTSD in your colleagues

One of the biggest challenges when addressing mental health in security is our ability to understand what to look for in our colleagues. The upcoming release of the Mental Wellness Continuum will address this and provide a unique and effective way of delivering support in the field, in your offices or even in your personal lives.

But, in the short term we caught up with Lead Research Occupational Therapist from Combat Stress, Christie Alkin, to get her thoughts on how to identify if anyone you know may be experiencing symptoms of PTSD.

“Post traumatic stress disorder may present differently for different people, but the range of symptoms include avoidance of reminders of traumatic events, re-experiencing of the events including nightmares and flashbacks, hyperarousal which can be anger, hypervigilance, irritability, sometimes negative alterations in mood and thinking, emotional numbing, dissociation, emotional dysregulation, interpersonal difficulties or problems in relationships following witnessing single, or multiple traumatic events. Therefore, those who work in environments where this is more common may experience post traumatic stress disorder as a result.

If you notice a colleague being absent from work, isolating themselves more, presenting more tired than usual and perhaps changes in their mood and how they interact with people it may be worth asking how they are and if they’ve had any difficult events that they are struggling with. It can be difficult for people to talk about their mental health, or it may be that they do not realise that they are struggling but encourage them to talk about it and signpost them to their GP and line manager to get support where they may need it. It is not a weakness, it is the way the brain has tried to cope with seeing something threatening, but it can then impact on the person’s daily life, and they may need help to manage symptoms to regain some normality and get their quality of life back.”

Have a read of Combat Stress’, LIFE AS WE KNOW IT, LIVING WITH PTSD report here – it has some eye opening statistics and further information on living with PTSD.

Useful Resources:

Find out more about how the industry is working together to tackle mental health in security, visit the SecurityMindsMatter website here.

To see the full MENTAL HEALTH: Security’s Invisible Enemy event video, head to the Corps Security LinkedIn Page here.

Joining the fight to break the stigma

If you would like to come onboard with us to fight the stigma around mental health in security, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please contact Chris Middleton on cmiddleton@corpsscecurity.co.uk.

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World FM Day 2023 Making A Real Difference

World FM Day 2023: Making A Real Difference

Each year, World FM Day recognises the commitment of the facilities management industry to developing and supporting the built environment. FM keeps our world going day to day, it underpins the operations of millions of businesses globally and supports a greater number of people every year.

As part of an industry with such far reaching impact, making a real difference has become a  responsibility for all players in FM. Corps Security takes this responsibility seriously, going beyond keeping people and assets safe – we’re all about making a real difference at a national and local level.

In 1859, the Corps of Commissionaires was founded to provide gainful employment to the servicemen returning from the Crimean War. Since then, our social mission has been the backbone of our business and has seen Corps elevated thanks to our commitment to supporting UK veterans and reinvesting our profits to invest in our people.

Social value

As a certified Social Enterprise, Corps is proudly one of the UK’s most ethical security firms. Corps Security fully endorses the Real Living Wage and our engagement with the Living Wage Foundation is fundamental to our organisation, with our CEO, Mike Bullock, taking an active role.

We continue to tackle diversity, equity and inclusion in our recruitment process while providing support for our diverse workforce through our award-winning Corps Together initiative which provides wellbeing resources and help for our colleagues.

Helping others

We also believe in making a real difference through supporting the underrepresented veterans community and the less fortunate. Earlier this year, a team from Corps took on the Tour de Corps cycle challenge to raise funds for our charity partner, Combat Stress – the UK’s leading charity for veterans’ mental health. The team covered over 1200km from Glasgow to London and raised over £10,000 for Combat Stress.

In April, Corps Security donated over 40 unrequired uniform suits to Suited and Booted, a charity helping vulnerable, unemployed and low-income individuals into employment by providing suitable clothing and interview advice. Corps has also agreed to provide vehicle support, when possible, to collect donations and deliver them to the charity headquarters.

Mental health

Historically, the security industry has battled an invisible enemy, affecting our colleagues in the form of poor mental health. Research shows that up to 40% of security officers display symptoms of PTSD while its estimated that security officers are the third highest industry impacted by suicide.

While many intitaitves exist to address mental health in the security industry, we believe that by coming together to overcome the stigma around mental health, we can make a real difference. This month, Corps is bringing together security and FM leaders and professionals alongside the #SecurityMindsMatter team and Combat Stress to help influence real change in our industry at a special event.

A History of Looking Forward

For over 160 years, we have been evolving our mission through the ages and many societal changes to support the communities we’re part of today and continue to make a real difference in society.

#WorldFMDay2023

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Mental Health: Supporting Security Officers

Labour shortage. Squeezed margins. Brexit. The security sector is facing the perfect storm when it comes to recruiting the best talent. Parliament have had many votes regarding Brexit deals, but whatever the outcome, the security industry will continue to face challenging times.

The uncertainty around Brexit has created many issues for the security industry which is highly exposed owing to its dependence on immigrant labour. There is a risk that some of our most talented security professionals may not be able to work in the UK after we leave the EU.

At the same time, the UK is suffering a chronic shortage of skilled labour largely because of the pressure on margins and pay which mean security professionals will move on to another employer for a small increase in pay.

Security officers face numerous challenges in their roles. They work long, often anti-social, hours protecting people and the nation’s infrastructure from those who wish us harm. They spend hours watching and waiting in what can sometimes be a monotonous role only for sometimes shocking things to happen meaning they have to react very quickly. As they work alongside our emergency services to keep us safe, they occasionally get caught in the crossfire.

That’s why last month we launched Thank Your Security Officer Day to recognise the essential role our officers play, and why we are talking about security officer’s mental health at our breakfast event with IWFM on 30th October.

Mental health is often in the headlines and it’s fortunately becoming less of a taboo to talk about. But it’s easy to forget that some of our people working on the front-line to keep us safe can be equally affected. Many security officers also come from a military background, sometimes having suffered traumatic events and extreme levels of stress so this must also be recognised and supported.

Come to our breakfast event on the morning of 30th October (https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/security-2020-is-your-security-function-fit-for-the-future-tickets-74809373851), hosted in association with the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management, and hear from experts from Combat Stress about how we can support out front-line officers to maintain good mental health, just as they spend their working life keeping us safe.

Helping to create the best working environment for our people is a step in the right direction to ensuring that we can keep the best talent, whatever the outcome with Brexit.

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Our Social Values

We protect more than you think

There’s a lot more to Corps Security than you might expect. Yes, we are experts in security and we have over 166 years of experience. But we’re also experts in how to put sustainability and diversity at the heart of everything we do.

We are a Social Enterprise

>> ESG Report

>> Carbon Reduction Plan

>> Equal Employment Opportunities Policy

>> EDI Survey 24-25 Action Plan Report

More Information

Accreditations

Corps Security Accreditations

About Corps Security

Built on over 166 years of experience and a clear social mission, we provide specialist security services tailored to ensure the safety of people and property.
Our values are at the heart of everything we do, through the people we work with, the people we employ, the people we help and the planet we protect. Together we protect the things that matter.

Registered Office at 85 Cowcross Street, London EC1M 6PF.  Registered in England No. 03473589

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