The last few years have seen significant strides made in the sphere of mental health at work. But will 2024 be the year that comprehensive workplace mental health support becomes more commonplace?
As we bid the previous year goodbye and move into 2024, the Covid-19 pandemic, national lockdowns and enforced working from home fade further into memory.
But one thing that has stuck around is an increased awareness and appreciation of the importance of worker mental health and wellbeing, and work-life balance issues.
It comes hand in hand, perhaps not surprisingly, with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and reports of an increased prevalence of work-related mental health problems, such as stress, depression and anxiety.
In fact, towards the end of 2023, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed in their annual statistics for workplace illness and injuries that work-related stress, depression and anxiety had impacted 875,000 workers in 2022-23. Poor mental health at work, it reported, was the root cause of almost 50% of all cases of work-related ill-health that year.
The figures represented a jump from pre-pandemic levels of work-related ill-health, with 338,000 workers reporting a new case of work-related stress, depression or anxiety.
Huge business cost of poor mental health at work
The HSE reports that 17.1 million working days were lost due to work-related stress, depression and anxiety in 2022-23, while Deloitte estimates that poor mental health at work now costs UK employers up to £56 billion each year, with the total annual cost having increased by 25% since 2019.
In their report, ‘Mental health and employers: The case for investment – pandemic and beyond’, Deloitte asserts that almost 40% of total staff turnover costs can be attributed to mental health problems.
They suggest that issues such as burnout, exhaustion, mental distance from the job, insecurities and uncertainty have all resulted in a rise in problems such as absenteeism, presenteeism and labour turnover, which has emerged as a growing issue.
All this makes a pretty compelling case for investment in supporting mental health at work.
The Institution for Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) spent much of 2023 calling for organisations to implement a people-focused work culture to reduce and prevent work-related mental health problems. They argue that a prevention-first approach, which prioritises wellbeing and focuses on psychosocial risk management strategies, benefits both employees and employers alike.
IOSH’s Senior Policy and Public Affairs Manager, Corey Edwards, said:
“Every £1 invested by employers in mental health yields a £5 return, with increased productivity, reduced staff turnover and a prevention of absenteeism and presenteeism. Investment in occupational safety and health must therefore not be misperceived as an unnecessary cost.”
This was echoed by the Chief Executive of the HSE, Sarah Albon, who argued that tackling work-related mental health problems would lead to “increased productivity, decreased absenteeism and reduced staff turnover.”
Major UK companies making strides in mental health at work
Many companies have already got the memo.
It was reported in June 2023 that many of the UK’s largest companies have recently honed in on mental health at work, boosting their performance in this area over the last year or so.
The second annual CCLA Corporate Mental Health Benchmark – UK 100 report revealed that Centrica, Experian, HSBC and Serco Group perform the strongest overall when it comes to mental health at work.
These four companies make up the top tier of CCLA’s benchmark. In addition, the report found:
- Almost a quarter of firms (24) have moved up by at least one tier since the inaugural benchmark report in 2022
- Nearly a fifth (19) now rank in the top two benchmark tiers
- Almost all of the companies included (93%) recognised mental health as an important business issue
- 89% are investing in mental health programmes and initiatives
As the cost-of-living crisis rumbles on in the UK, almost half of companies listed in the benchmark (43%) also recognised the link between fair pay, financial wellbeing and mental health at work. These companies had published formal policies acknowledging this link. In 2022, only 26% of firms had done so.
CCLA’s Stewardship Lead, Amy Browne, said:
“Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis have only served to compound our belief that poor mental health is a systemic risk.
“Companies have an economic and moral imperative to manage this risk. The huge increase in companies acknowledging the link between fair pay and financial wellbeing and the mental health of their employees, is encouraging. It demonstrates that employers have an increasing awareness of their own responsibilities in ensuring good mental health in the workplace.
“Over the last 12 months, we have been bowled over by some of the feedback we have received from UK 100 companies. Many have used our recommendations to strengthen their own approaches, while others have used our insights to initiate and escalate internal conversations on mental health to the highest level.”
However, she also cautioned that the UK’s largest companies still have further to go when its comes to mental health at work, adding: “While it’s encouraging to see solid progress from many, it is early days and we’ll be monitoring companies closely over time.”
Mental health leadership ‘must be visible’
Indeed, the CCLA report notes that many improvements are needed, citing the fact that over a third of companies (34%) are still yet to formalise their commitment to supporting positive mental health at work with a policy statement.
Only a similar number (33%) have started to report on the uptake of their various mental health programmes and initiatives, meaning data is missing from the majority of firms.
CCLA says the biggest improvement to be made, though, is that of public thought leadership on mental health at work.
They say that, while the majority of companies (57%) have committed to removing the stigma associated with mental health, very few business leaders have publicly championed the issue. In fact, fewer than a quarter of CEOs are formally voicing their leadership on mental health at work, which CCLA cites as a key concern.
Paul Farmer, the CEO of leading mental health charity Mind and a member of the expert advisory panel for the CCLA Corporate Mental Health Benchmark UK100, said that UK workers are currently grappling with the significant and dual challenges of “post-pandemic recovery and cost-of-living crisis,” and that there were now “a clear range of ways that employers respond,” to matters of mental health and wellbeing.
He added:
“With approximately 15% of the world’s working population experiencing a mental disorder at any given time, business leaders have a critical and hands-on role to play to step up to this new challenge.
“Leadership must be visible and it must be intentional. The marginal improvement we’ve seen this year in CEOs publicly signalling their support for workplace mental health could indicate that leadership efforts need extra energy. This is an area of corporate practice that has significant moral and financial implications and which companies and investors alike should be monitoring closely. The positive lessons from Covid of a more compassionate leadership must not be lost at this crucial time.”
Turn the volume up on conversations about mental health at work
First Response Training (FRT) is one of the UK’s largest and leading national training providers.
They deliver a wide and diverse range of training for businesses and organisations across all industry sectors and throughout the UK. Their course range includes training in the fields of health and safety, first aid, fire safety, manual handling, mental health, food safety, health and social care and more.
An accredited Mindful Employer themselves, FRT’s specialist mental health training courses include Understanding Mental Health, Mental Health Awareness in the Workplace, Managing Stress, Anxiety and Phobias Awareness, Self-Harm Awareness and Suicide Awareness.
They can also provide qualified, approved trainers to deliver accredited Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training courses, including the Adult, Youth and Lite versions.
A trainer from FRT says:
“We believe in creating safer working environments with people who care. This is our vision and central to our services. It means providing training that helps to protect people’s physical and mental health, safety and welfare. This is paramount for enabling people to live and work well, and enabling businesses to succeed.
“For a long time now, the volume has been turned up on conversations about mental health at work, and more and more companies are realising that supporting positive mental health and wellbeing for their employees is essential for their collective success.
“There is clearly more to be done, but perhaps 2024 will be the year when organisations across the UK really sharpen their focus on mental health at work and support measures and proactive initiatives will really become much more commonplace.”
Helpful resources to support mental health and wellbeing
A brief summary of our mental health training can now be downloaded as an infographic.
We also have a number of other free infographics available to download which provide simple tips for helping to manage your mental and emotional wellbeing and proactively manage your stress levels. These include:
- 8 Steps to a Good Start to 2024
- Manage Your Stress
- Support Your Mental Health
- Connect With Nature
- Work Well From Home
You can also download our free Guide to Mental Health Training from our website.
For more information on the training that FRT can provide, please call them today on freephone 0800 310 2300 or send an e-mail to info@firstresponsetraining.com.