By Lisa Fricker, Head of Solicitor Services & Quality Assurance
MHFA England has launched an initiative called ‘My Whole Self’, which is a campaign for workplace culture change. MHFA England wants employers to create cultures where people feel safe to bring their whole self to work, if they choose. Teams that feel safe and connected work better together, driving improvements in mental health and performance.
MHFA England are warning employers of the risks of deprioritising equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), cautioning that doing so could impact employee and business health.
Research published by them recently to mark ‘My Whole Self Day’, reveals almost a third of employees (30%) say people in their organisation sometimes reject others for being different. 1 in 10 employees (9%) said they do not feel their team treat each other with respect.
Declining psychological safety in the workplace
The research was carried out by MHFA England in partnership with Henley Business School, among 2,000 employees. It also revealed the number of people who feel they can bring their whole self to work has dropped dramatically in the past five years, as EDI initiatives come under threat globally. Companies such as Google, Meta, McDonald’s, and Amazon have announced they are scaling back EDI initiatives.
There’s been a 25% drop in the number of people who feel they can bring their whole self to work, (66% in 2020, 41% in 2024) risking employee wellbeing and productivity. Of the employees surveyed, around a third agree that not being your whole self at work has an impact on productivity (31%), mental health (34%), and engagement with work (36%), demonstrating the knock-on wellbeing, purpose, and performance.
Employees struggle to bring their whole selves to work
Data released for ‘My Whole Self Day’ 2025 reveals that only half of the number of people who think it’s important to bring your whole self to work feel able to do so. 82% think it’s important people are able to bring their whole self to work, but only 41% of people feel they can, and only 31% felt their colleagues could do so in practice.
This is particularly true for those with protected characteristics. 54% of Black people say not being able to bring your whole self to work impacts productivity and 51% of gay or lesbian people say it impacts their mental health. Only 1 in 4 (25%) people with mental ill health felt they could bring their whole self to work. The more energy employees use to hide parts of themselves at work, the less energy they have to focus on work. By deprioritising EDI employers risk increasing this further. This brain drain could result in a significant loss of talent and a decline in productivity.
There is also concern about the disconnect between manager and employer perceptions of psychological safety. MHFA England research shows that while senior managers are most likely to recognise the importance of being able to bring your whole self to work, they tend to overestimate the extent to which they feel their colleagues can do so.
Understanding psychological safety
This year, MHFA England have worked in partnership with Henley Business School, publishing a new report exploring how psychological safety can influence employee engagement and wellbeing.
You can read the full report; MHFA England white paper: The business case for belonging. How psychological safety drives engagement, wellbeing, and performance by following the below link.
https://mhfaengland.org/mhfa-centre/research-and-evaluation/the-business-case-for-belonging/
In addition, MHFA England provides a range of free tools and activities for organisations to use to start changing their workplace culture and empower their employees to bring their whole selves to work. You can access the resources needed to get involved by following the below link.
https://mhfaengland.org/my-whole-self/
At Temple Legal Protection, we are fully committed to supporting our staff’s Health & Wellbeing, ensuring that equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is at the forefront of employee wellbeing. With a dedicated Mental Health & Wellbeing page on our internal homepage, topical webinars provided by Mental Health in Business (MHiB) yearly and a MHFAider. We provide the support and encouragement we can, to create a culture where staff feel valued and that they can bring their ‘Whole Self’ to work.
Lisa Fricker
Head of Solicitor Services & Quality Assurance
Lisa Fricker
Lisa has many years’ experience in the Legal Insurance industry, having worked for both DAS Legal Expenses and ARAG Legal Services. She has extensive knowledge of both the BTE and ATE markets, and a great insight into the inner workings of a legal firm due to her vast experience as an auditor. Lisa is used to working closely with solicitors to develop and maintain good working relationships, leading to positive partnerships for all parties.
Lisa joined Temple in 2017 as the Solicitor Services Manager to manage the internal and external review process, as well as overseeing our BTE panel arrangements.
In 2022, Lisa was promoted to Head of Solicitor Services & Quality Assurance to further cement her senior position within the company and to continue to drive our quality control procedures throughout the business forwards as the company grows. She further acquired the responsibility of managing our Underwriting Support Team to help drive our continued development plan for aspiring Underwriters.
Lisa is focused on ensuring that the quality of service provided by Temple remains at the highest standard.
As well as her main responsibilities, Lisa oversees our charitable endeavours and is the company Mental Health First Aider, taking an active role in ensuring the Health & Wellbeing of our staff.
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