Stepping Stone 04 Mental health and wellbeing
Introduction
Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being at all ages is essential to sustainable development. The benefits of good mental health are numerous, particular, recognised as impacting upon wellbeing, worker safety, housing, inclusivity, discrimination and even climate change.
With one in six employees experiencing a mental health problem at any one time, and stress thought to be responsible for almost half of all working days lost in Britain due to health issues, the relationship between the workplace and mental health is a complex one.
All businesses have a legal duty to provide safe working conditions – this includes ensuring that work is not causing or contributing to mental ill-health.
Businesses that invest in a meaningful mental health strategy have healthier, happier and more resilient employees.
In focus: work-related stress, depression or anxiety
“A harmful reaction people have to undue pressures and demands placed on them at work”
914,000 workers suffering from work-related stress, depression
or anxiety (new or long-standing); 17.0 million working days
lost due to work-related stress, depression or anxiety [Labour Force Survey, 2021/2022]
Professional occupations, associate professional and
technical occupations have statistically higher rates of
work-related stress, depression or anxiety when compared to all occupational groups.
Actions for you
All employers have a legal duty to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees – this extends beyond their physical health and safety and includes mental health.
The Health and Safety Executive provides helpful and practical guidance on stress and mental health at work, including managing risk and supporting good mental health in the workplace. This is a great starting point for members when considering their approach to managing the risks to mental health.
Key KPIs to adopt
- Percentage of employees engaged and trained on mental health
- Percentage of employees represented in management-employees joint committee
- Number of action items identified by joint committee
- Number of action items resolved:
- Number of work-related health and safety incidents
- Categories per type of work related incident
- Number of incidents per number of hours worked
- Number of action items identified by joint committee
Further reference:
- BIBA members can benefit from the services of our facility provider, Mental Health in Business. MHIB offer guidance, support, training and coaching. You can find out more at biba.org.uk/members/biba-schemes/mental-health-in-business/
- In 2017 the Government commissioned an independent review of the role employers can play to better support individuals with mental health conditions in the workplace. The report, Thriving at Work, recommended core standards that employers of all sizes can and should put in place.
- The World Health Organisation’s guidelines on mental health at work provide evidence-based recommendations to promote mental health, prevent mental health conditions, and enable people living with mental health conditions to participate and thrive in work.