Mental health should be high on the agenda and considered by all companies in all industries, including manufacturing. It can affect one in four people at some point in their lives and have a significant impact on employee wellbeing. Employers should promote good mental health as well as providing support when an issue emerges.
On Tuesday 8th March 2022, Clarion and Q5 hosted an evening with Mental Health charity Mind’s CEO Paul Farmer, to discuss the topic of mental health in the workplace, the event was held at Q5’s London office Thorney House in Westminster.
To a packed room of attendees, Paul, co-author of Government review 'Thriving at work, shared some invaluable insights around mental health and wellbeing in the workplace; selected key themes included:
- Mental health costs employers between £33 billion and £42 billion a year, with an annual cost to the UK economy of between £74 billion and £99 billion.
- Investing in employee’s wellbeing is not only a moral obligation but also a commercial necessity as mental health is a potential key variable which can impact on their business, both positively and negatively.
- The importance of empowering employees with the toolkit to manage their own mental health supported by the organisation's own plans and processes.
- The benefits of upskilling management with the ability to identify colleagues who may be suffering with the skills to offer signposting and support.
“Paul shared with us that that 1 in 4 people experience a mental health problem in any given year. Whatever the size of your workforce that is a significant percentage and will have an impact on your business. Employers do therefore have a role to play in providing that support. After the past two years we have all experienced and the continuing uncertainly the world is facing now, employers need to think differently than they did three years ago and consider the impact this has had and continues to have on our people.
Some of these conversations might be difficult and challenging but they definitely mean you are moving in the right direction if they are taking place.” Sarah Tahamtani, Partner, Clarion.
“Paul’s discussion around mental health in the workplace brought to life just how important people’s wellbeing is to an organisation. Organisations need to have continuous plans in place to monitor and support their employee’s mental health, not only as a moral obligation, but also to address the economic variables that can affect a business if this isn’t looked after. Employees should feel safe enough to come to leaders with any issues and be encouraged to think about what they can personally do to help themselves optimise their own mental health. Leaders need to be proactive and visible when speaking about mental health in the workplace. This fosters an environment of psychological safety, where, people can then be encouraged to create their own positive mental health plan. Those in authority should be encouraged to talk about their own mental health journeys to normalise and open conversations around mental health.” Annabel Tonge, Director, Q5 Partners.
Clarion, Q5 and Mind therefore encourage organisations to sign up to the free Mental Health at Work Commitment, to action this please click here.
You are also able to benchmark your organisation’s performance on mental health via the Mind Workplace Wellbeing Index here
Disclaimer: Anything posted in this blog is for general information only and is not intended to provide legal advice on any general or specific matter.
