Typically, employers do not understand mental ill-health. And when staff do have time off due to mental health conditions, they are expected to return and hit the ground running, which can be too much for many people and significantly increases the chance of further absence from work. We were therefore pleased to see the government responding to these issues in its Thriving at Work publication which was aimed at setting out what employers can do to better support all employees, including those with mental health problems to remain in and thrive through work.
As part of our service we deal with over a thousand employees dealing with mental ill-health every year and we’ve seen referrals for mental ill-health more than double over the last five years, and 70% of those cite work as a key source of stress. Supporting those with mental ill-health can be more complicated than those with physical ill-health, taking nearly 25% more time and resources. However the report highlights why this investment is worth making as poor mental health costs employers between £33 billion and £42 billion a year, with an annual cost to the UK economy of between £74 billion and £99 billion.
Our experience demonstrates that it is far from straightforward looking after employees with poor mental health, so it’s not surprising that employers struggle. There are an increasing number of forward-thinking employers that want to support good mental health, but a lack of understanding can lead to exacerbating the issue. Support is available, and it’s important that employers work with specialists in this field.’
One of the most important aspects when looking after mental health is early intervention. On average, 70 per cent of the patients we support recover to normal mood levels within three to four months, this can be greatly improved the earlier someone is referred, and conversely, can take longer if their issues are left untreated.
When every employer offers access to specialist mental health support, and actively encourages its use, then we’ll see real progress. And this support is not expensive to offer, it is often included at no extra charge as part of group protection benefits such as critical illness and income protection. Those employers that actively make use of them are the ones seeing the positive results.