Tackling mental health in the workplace

Putting a financial figure to it can seem callous, but it is one useful measure of a serious problem: poor mental health costs employers £42 billion every year. The 2017 ‘Thriving at Work’ report, commissioned by Theresa May, estimates that three hundred thousand Britons lose their jobs each year for reasons related to mental health.

So what can be done? The report offers six ‘mental health core standards’ which the authors consider their most important recommendation. Here they are:

1. Make a mental-health-at-work plan and tell employees about it.
2. Ensure that employees know about mental health.
3. When they are finding things hard, give employees the chance to talk about mental health and to understand what support they have access to.
4. Make sure workers have control and a sense of purpose about their work. Working should make people feel good.
5. Make sure that managers and supervisors manage people properly.
6. Make regular checks on workers’ mental health and well-being.

Long working hours impinge on mental health

Abetted by technology, expectations for long working hours create pressure to always be contactable. In ‘Thriving at Work’, Rachel Suff of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development decries such a culture of ‘presenteeism’, and South London’s Health Innovation Network has taken action by discouraging email communication after 7.00 p.m. or at weekends. Chief executive Tara Donnelly explained their approach to the Financial Times: ‘We want to make sure people switch off, so we have a curfew for recharging. You need to be with your family and have a digital detox.’

Responsible investment in health

Last year’s ‘Britain’s Healthiest Workplace’ survey recognised companies such as Skyscanner, Aviva and Adidas for offering gym memberships, mindfulness classes, treadmill desks and mental health apps. In an introduction to the survey report, a director for the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Christa Sedlatschek, speaks to employer responsibility:

Protecting employees’ health and safety is a moral and legal imperative. But good practice can also help attract the best staff and even help win market share. Companies wanting to increase productivity, improve profitability or enhance workforce well-being should, therefore, take a closer look at occupational safety and health.

Reactions to deteriorating mental health

‘Britain’s Healthiest Workplace’ presents evidence that poor workplace mental health has been on the rise for the past four years, with the average number of productive workdays lost by depression sufferers rising to 30 per person. Should awareness reach critical mass, the turnaround story will involve proper investment in support services, in well-being activities and in flexible working practices for those who need them.