Some of the UK’s largest employers have contributed to a report making a series of recommendations on how to ensure that workplaces are mental health-friendly.
Some 16 companies, including Barclays, Deloitte, Marks & Spencer and utilities provider Veolia, got together at a business summit hosted by mental health charity Mind and insurance company AXA earlier this year to discuss the challenges faced by employers when trying to address the issue.
The findings have now been collated into a report entitled ‘Taking Care of business: Employer solutions for better mental health at work’.
Paul Farmer, Mind’s chief executive, said: “Just about every business manages to incorporate physical health and safety into their working practices yet, despite the fact that mental health is the second biggest health problem in the workforce, only a handful of organisations specifically promote and protect good mental health.”
Bringing together well-known businesses to discuss what was holding employers back revealed that some perceived barriers such as poor awareness of, and training in, stress management were actually easy and cost-effective to overcome, he added.
Research indicates that one in six employees suffer from depression, anxiety or stress, which costs UK business an estimated £26 billion each year. But a mere 15% of FTSE 100 companies report on how they proactively manage the psychological health of their workforce compared to 97% that report on its physical health.
“Crucially, there needs to be the will from right at the top of the organisation to start giving mental wellbeing the priority it deserves,” Farmer said. “Signalling from the top that mental health is valued, promoting openness and ensuring line managers are trained in soft skills can help employers to act early and nip problems in the bud – saving money and creating a happier, more productive workforce.”
The report recommends that:
- To drive real change, large employers should make mental health a board room issue on a par with physical health. This means that staff mental wellbeing should also be monitored and reported on to the board
- To ensure that problems are addressed before they escalate, an open, supportive environment must be created and procedures put in place to make workers feel like they can speak up. Line managers should also be trained in the soft skills required to handle mental health issues sensitively
- Large organisations should introduce their own Employee Assistance Programmes, while small-to-medium enterprises should explore pooling resources locally to share costs
- The coalition Government must retain EAPs’ current tax-exempt status under the banner of welfare counselling and explore other financial incentives to encourage employers to prioritise mental health in the workplace
- The Government should explore how to improve GPs’ use of Fit notes, for example, by encouraging them to make practical recommendations of what employers can do to help individuals. The amount of compulsory occupational health training that they –and medical students – receive should also be increased to this end.
One Response
Mental health in the workplace
I am really glad to see this discussion being opened up. As a mental health professional working privately, in the NHS, and with organisations, I have seen a shift over recent years in the way in which stress is perceived, with a greater level of acceptance, and recognition that addressing workplace stress doesn’t just fulfil the employer’s duty of care but can substantially enhance performance and productivity. However, I feel that awareness of the wider range of mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety, and strategies to manage them, is less highly developed. Unfortunately, in the current climate, there is a strong likelihood of such conditions increasing, so any collaboration between employers and health providers is not only desirable but absolutely vital to the joint wellbeing of the individual and the organisation.