MBE Honour For Parental Equality & Men's Mental Health Champion, Elliott Rae

We were thrilled to learn that Elliott Rae, parental equality champion and previous guest speaker at Starford's Making Life Work conference, has been awarded an MBE in the NY Honours List for his services towards supporting new dads.

As the founder of MusicFootballFatherhood, Elliot specialises in helping organisations support working fathers. We were fortunate enough to have him share these valuable tips with us:

MONITOR MEN'S MENTAL HEALTH

Becoming a parent can be challenging and it is now increasingly recognised that postnatal depression and other perinatal mental health issues can be experienced by men as well as women. 1 in 10 new dads will experience post natal depression and 39% of new dads are concerned about mental health.

If you have new fathers in the workplace, make sure you check in on them and encourage them to contact support groups such as MusicFootballFatherhood if they are struggling to adjust to the new changes in their life.

START PEER SUPPORT GROUPS

Many fathers return to work after the statutory two weeks parental leave and find themselves thrown back into busy work projects while trying to juggle a new routine with a newborn at home - all on very little sleep!

Peer support groups at work can be invaluable for letting new fathers know they are not alone and they have a safe space to talk about their experiences and ask for advice. These groups are not just for new fathers either; children starting school, pre-teens and teenagers all come with their own set of challenges!

THINK ABOUT HOW YOU CAN DRIVE CHANGE

More companies are starting to review their parental leave policies and offer extended paid paternity leave benefits, but what can you do if that's not an option for your business yet?

Don't be afraid to start small. Give your staff the flexibility they need to work around different childcare patterns, juggle the school run or leave a couple of hours early to watch their child's sports day.

Even little actions like these help your team know that you see them as people first and employees second.

Get in touch with Elliott to book a bespoke workshop on supporting fathers in the workplace.  hello@elliottrae.com

If you're looking for support with your Diversity, Equity & Inclusion strategy, get in touch with the Starford team via hello@starfordlegalhr.com