Businesses across the UK are beginning to understand the importance of championing mental health in the workplace.
In this post we will explore some UK mental health in the workplace statistics, which will outline the business benefits of making mental health a priority. We will also discuss some ways you can make a mental health commitment for your business.
If you have any questions about your legal obligations as an employer, or if you’d like to secure essential peace of mind for your employees with comprehensive health and personal accident policies, we’re here to help. For more information, contact us on 020 8290 9080 or email business@anthonyjones.com.
The Picture of Mental Health in the Workplace in Statistics
- An estimated 15% of UK employees have an existing mental health condition.
- An estimated 51% of long-term sick leave is due to stress, depression, anxiety, and other mental ill health conditions.
- Mental ill health appears to affect younger workers more. Over the past 10 years, the number of younger workers (aged 16-34) who reported debilitating mental ill health conditions more than quadrupled.
- In one year, an estimated 875,000 UK workers suffered from work related stress, depression, and anxiety. This led to 17.1 million lost working days.
- It is estimated that poor mental health and wellbeing may cost UK employers up to £45 billion a year. As well as days lost to unplanned absences, poor mental health and wellbeing also contributes to presenteeism and an increased staff turnover.
- A study by Deloitte found that companies that invest in workplace mental health interventions tend to get a £5 return on every £1 they invest.
Do Businesses Have a Duty of Care to Safeguard Your Employees’ Mental Health and Wellbeing?
In a word, yes. Businesses have a duty of care to their employees whether that’s related to their mental or physical health at work.
HSE point out that 25% of people in the UK will have a mental health problem at some point in their lives. What’s more, work can aggravate pre-existing conditions, while making certain systems worse.
“Whether work is causing the health issue or aggravating it, employers have a legal responsibility to help their employees. Like any other safety or health hazard at work, work-related mental health issues must be assessed to measure the levels of risk to staff. Where a risk is identified, steps must be taken to remove it or reduce it as far as reasonably practicable.”
How Can You Work Towards Better Employee Mental Health and Wellbeing in the Workplace?
Championing your employees’ mental health and wellbeing is not a box-ticking exercise. Nor is it the sort of change you can achieve overnight. It’s more like a cultural shift – a move to improve “psychological safety” in your workplace in the long-term.
The Health at Work Centre identifies three aspects of workplace psychological safety:
- Encourage conversations. Let employees know that you’re listening, and provide a safe space for any employee to share their thoughts in total confidentiality. The Centre suggests conducting an audit of your internal processes to identify areas where you can encourage your employees to speak, and where your management can listen.
- We all make mistakes. It’s important to acknowledge fallibility. Staff should feel like they can admit to their mistakes and shortcomings without fearing punishment and chastisement. All feedback should be constructive and fair, and any mistakes should be treated as opportunities for further training and development.
- Growth mindset. Encourage your employees to focus on their own personal growth, while also working towards your company goals. Teams should look to develop together, and there should be an emphasis on collaboration over competition.
Make The Mental Health at Work Commitment
The Mind Mental Health at Work Commitment is a suite of resources for any UK employer that wants to make mental health and wellbeing a priority. You can also make a pledge to maintain six key mental health at work standards in your workplace:
- Don’t just talk about it, do it. Develop and deliver a systematic programme of activity to prioritise mental health in the workplace.
- Continuously review your organisational culture, and your workflows, to champion positive mental health outcomes.
- Promote an open culture, in which people feel safe to discuss their mental health needs.
- Increase your organisation’s confidence and capability in recognising and responding to mental ill health.
- Provide any necessary tools and training to help employees across your organisation prioritise their mental health.
- Use internal and external reporting to increase transparency and accountability.
You can learn more about these mental health in the workplace standards.
There Are Strong Links Between Physical Health and Mental Health
As part of your mental health in the workplace policy, you could also look for ways to champion your employees’ physical health and wellbeing. As the NHS says: “One of the best things we can do for our mental health and wellbeing is to be active – it’s a natural mood booster.”
There are a few things you could try to encourage your employees to move more:
- Offer discounted gym memberships, cycle to work schemes, and other employee benefits to encourage movement.
- Start a company-wide initiative, with group goals to achieve, potentially using a fitness app to track progress.
- Organise occasional workplace health and fitness sessions, including yoga routines during breaks, or even a company sport team.
Your business insurance could also include health, sickness, and personal injury cover for your employees. This could provide essential peace of mind that everything will be taken care of should anything ever go wrong, which may contribute to reduced stress and anxiety in the workplace.
If you’d like to secure essential peace of mind for your employees with comprehensive health and personal accident policies, we’re here to help. For more information, contact us on 020 8290 9080 or email business@anthonyjones.com.
