The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is urging businesses across all industries to make Stress Awareness Month the month they tackle stress at work and make it part of their core working routine to support mental health. Britain’s health and safety watchdog says that employers and managers alike can address stress at work this...
IOSH: people-focused work culture key for mental health
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has reiterated its belief that a people-focused work culture is key to reducing and preventing work-related mental health problems. The leading professional health and safety body spoke out after the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published their annual statistics on work-related ill-health and workplace injuries for...
AI could speed up diagnosis of child mental health conditions
A research programme is working to develop an AI system that could revolutionise child mental health care. Dr Anna Moore is leading the project, based at the University of Cambridge, which is using cutting-edge technology to hopefully speed up the diagnosis of mental health conditions in children and identify those most at risk of...
Stress: IOSH poll finds its an issue for majority of workers
A recent poll conducted by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) found that the majority of workers experienced stress in their job, but over half would not feel comfortable asking for support in the workplace. IOSH conducted the snap social media poll to mark International Stress Awareness Week last week (30th October...
Stress linked to third of social care sick days
New research has found that just under a third of sickness absences among social care workers are linked to stress and poor wellbeing. Data collated by the British Psychological Society (BPS) reveals that 30% of the 500,021 sick days taken by social workers were due to mental health issues such as stress and work-related...
10% increase in children struggling with exam stress
Childline has reported a 10% increase in counselling sessions about exam stress since the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK. The confidential charity helpline for children said that almost 2,000 children contacted them to talk about exam stress last year as formal exams returned following the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns...
HSE refreshes guidance on work-related violence and aggression
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued updated guidance to help employers protect their staff from work-related violence and aggression. Britain’s health and safety watchdog has refreshed the guidance as reported incidents of work-related violence and aggression have risen in recent years – numbering 688,000 in 2019-20. They say that experiencing violence and...
HSE campaign tackles work-related stress
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched its Working Minds campaign to help employers and workers prevent work-related stress. Britain’s health and safety watchdog is working with a number of partners, including IOSH, ACAS and Mind, to bring together a range of tools and support to help people tackle work-related stress and promote...
Take action this Stress Awareness Month
April is Stress Awareness Month, and this year the theme is all about taking action. Spearheaded by the Stress Management Society, Stress Awareness Month has been held every April since 1992 in a bid to raise awareness of the causes, negative effects and effective treatments for stress. Stress can be defined as the experience...
Third of UK adults feel anxious about their finances
There are worries about the state of the nation’s mental health after a recent survey found that more than one third (34%) of adults in the UK felt anxious due to financial worries. The survey, commissioned by the Mental Health Foundation, also found that 1 in 10 adults felt hopeless about their finances, while...
Half of frontline workers say job pressures are ‘out of control’
An 18-month long study into wellbeing within the emergency services has found that frontline healthcare workers are exhausted and at high risk of experiencing mental health disorders and burnout. The detailed report from mental health digital platform 87percent.co.uk, entitled The State of Mental Wellbeing on the Frontline, reveals that almost 1 in 2 (49%)...
Workers feel under pressure to hide mental health struggles
A survey has found that many UK workers feel under pressure to hide their mental health struggles and “put on a brave face” at work as the government encourages them to head back to the office. The survey of more than 2,000 people, commissioned by online healthcare provider Lime Insurance, found that just over...
Mental Health Awareness Week highlights benefits of nature
Taking place from 10th-16th May, Mental Health Awareness Week 2021 will focus on the role nature can play in boosting our mental wellbeing. Hosted by the Mental Health Foundation, the annual awareness week will encourage people to connect with the natural world around them to help support their psychological and emotional health. The theme...
Landmark mental health study reveals rise in loneliness
A landmark mental health study reveals a mixed picture for the UK one year after the Covid-19 pandemic took hold, with more adults experiencing loneliness. The Mental Health in the Pandemic study, which began shortly before the first national lockdown in March 2020 and has asked questions of the UK public at 10 intervals...
Study shows pandemic’s impact on mental health
A new research study has found that key indicators of poor mental health and wellbeing – such as loneliness, suicidality and not coping well with stress – have worsened among UK adults since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The four-nation longitudinal study, led by the Mental Health Foundation and its university partners, has...