Mental Wellbeing

We have all had to deal with stress within our daily lives and many of us have felt the effects of stress at work but did you know that recent research has estimated that the cost to UK employers for work-related mental health conditions such as stress, anxiety etc is placed at £28.3bn per year and an estimated 13.7 working days per year are lost.

On this evidence all employers must make a conscious effort to improve the mental wellbeing of its workforce. In turn, the benefits to the employers will not only be financial but also productive.

For many employees, there remains a stigma to admitting they feel stressed by their work obligations and workload. Many will suffer in silence rather than admit that they feel overwhelmed. It is therefore important for employers to recognise the signs of stress and offer help where necessary.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has recently issued guidance for employers on how to promote mental wellbeing at work and it is important that employers take a more proactive approach to this subject. It may be that the little things like introducing flexible working will make a major difference to the lives of employees.

As a summary, the recommendations made for employers include:

• Promote a culture of participation, equality and fairness that is based on open communication and inclusion.

• Create an awareness and understanding of mental wellbeing and reduce the potential for discrimination and stigma related to mental health problems.

• Ensure systems are in place for assessing and monitoring the mental wellbeing of employees so that areas for improvement can be identified and risks caused by work and working conditions addressed. This could include using employee attitude surveys and information about absence rates, staff turnover and investment in training and development, and providing feedback and open communication.

• If reasonably practical, provide employees with opportunities for flexible working according to their needs and aspirations in both their personal and working lives.

• Different options for flexible working include part-time working, home-working, job sharing and flexi-time.

• Strengthen the role of line managers in promoting the mental wellbeing of employees through supportive leadership style and management practices.

Is your employer doing all it can to nurture an environment of mental wellbeing?