Jagex: Mental health comes from our values

gamesindustry.biz:

Once an overlooked issue, the importance of mental health has become more recognised as a global concern over the last ten years. The gaming industry has had to look hard at itself to discover if well-intentioned words were matched with action, or if the entire DNA and culture of studios had to be re-worked to support the mental health of the people within.

At Jagex, positive mental health has always been an important part of our culture, and we were early champions of initiatives that could make a difference to the lives of our employees. But dedicated counselling support and programmes designed to encourage transparency around mental health are not enough; we knew we had to do more.

After a great start to our mental health journey, our new Chief People Officer for Jagex, Keeley Vaughan-Davies, is keen to ensure that great start isn’t the end of our story.

Supporting people to become their best
Vaughan-Davies has held similar roles over the last ten years in financial technology industries, and specialised in companies that were transforming, needing cultural change, or going through a cultural transformation. Wherever she’s worked, she’s had to implement a clear cultural definition and a transformation to the way people work in the organisation and how they are supported.

A firm believer in giving people the support to be the best they can be, she knows first-hand how important personal growth is to a culture.

“Culture and values are so important to our business and any action we undertake in teams, as a business and as an industry," Vaughan-Davies explains. "There are plenty of companies where culture is viewed as just a fluffy HR thing that sits on the side. At Jagex, it’s not that way at all. Our people really