Dream Broker is humbled to announce that it was chosen as one of the first companies to participate in a pilot programme to improve mental health in the workplace. MENTUPP (Mental Health Promotion and Intervention in Occupational Settings) is a EU-funded research project. The project aims to increase mental health awareness and support those with mental health related issues in businesses. The research project is targeting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

The MENTUPP pilot programme focuses on firms and enterprises in 9 countries in 3 different sectors (Construction, Health and ICT) and has been conducted by the University College Cork in Ireland with the help of other contributors, many universities and research organisations, one of them being the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, THL. Due to the shift in modern ways of working in today’s society and global climate, the topic concerns most of us in businesses and public organisations.

The collaboration with MENTUPP has been effective in helping Dream Broker employees to open up discussions about their mental wellbeing in the workplace. “MENTUPP has helped to de-stigmatise mental health issues and provided opportunities for leaders to better understand the mental health and wellbeing of their employees,” states CEO Mika Ahokas. This in turn has helped to develop improvements in the workplace altogether, as well as allowed leaders and employees to act decisively to prevent any mental health challenges.

“We have received very positive feedback from the THL/MENTUPP research programme and internally from our employees. The experience has been smooth and easy to adapt from start to finish and we continue to benefit from the MENTUPP programme even after the project has ended. ” Emma Lounaskorpi, Executive & Personal Assistant of CEO and responsible for the occupational healthcare at Dream Broker.

Participants were guided through a step-by-step process which involves questionnaires and online materials that aim to support mental health and wellbeing. “The heart of the project is the MENTUPP Hub that provides educational material for managers, employees and colleagues within organisations about different types of mental health issues and their early signs.” Johanna Cresswell-Smith, Project Coordinator, THL explains.

Participating in this novel research project since 2021 fits well to the company’s core values and ongoing initiatives relating to mental health and healthcare, such as taking care of social responsibility and those in weaker positions. Mika Ahokas, CEO, highly recommends the MENTUPP programme and hopes other Finnish and European companies will follow suit.

Physical and mental health is taken seriously at Dream Broker. The video (see above) highlights testimonials from Dream Broker employees sharing their personal experiences with MENTUPP. Dream Broker would like to thank the MENTUPP Project Research Team for the unique opportunity to participate.

For more information about MENTUPP, visit https://www.mentuppproject.eu/

Additional information:

Dream Broker

Mika Ahokas, CEO, Dream Broker Ltd, Tel. +358 40 583 7782, mika.ahokas@dreambroker.fi

MENTUPP Project Research Team

Professor Kristian Wahlbeck, Project Coordinator, THL, Tel. +358 400 659 101, firstname.lastname@thl.fi

Johanna Cresswell-Smith, Project Coordinator, THL, Tel. +358 29 524 7351, firstname.lastname@thl.fi

Saara Rapeli, Research Officer, THL, Tel. +358 29 524 7102, firstname.lastname@thl.fi