The publication of Business in the Community’s Mental Health at Work Report 2018 has highlighted how much further many employers still have to go in supporting people’s mental health in the workplace, particularly with regard to unmanageable workloads.
The report does present some positive findings. 45% of employees in 2018 believe that their organisations are doing well in this respect, compared to 40% in 2016, and 30% of line managers surveyed have received some training in the area. However, byt any stretch of the imagination the progress in the right direction is slow.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s (CIPD) own 2018 report presents some worrying statistics. 22% of the organisations they surveyed cite mental health as the single most significant cause for long-term absence, as opposed to 13% two years ago, and employees’ reporting of mental health issues has also risen sharply. This may well be a result of the efforts of organisations to raise awareness of the importance of mental health, so may in some respects be a positive sign, but nevertheless it points to an urgent need to do more.
Workload is almost always the major contributing factor to stress, and it is important that we develop a greater understanding of what lies behind such unhealthy practices as staff working when ill for fear of somehow showing weakness. Too frequently, it appears, managers are paying lip-service to these problems, perhaps making the right noises to their staff but then undermining it by their own examples.
If you are an employer concerned that you may not be doing enough to tackle these challenges, or feel that you could perhaps be more effective, the good news is that there is a wealth of material available to assist you to improve. Business in the Community and Public Health England have produced a Mental Health Toolkit, CIPD and Mind have their People Managers’ Guide to Mental Health, and then there is the Mental Health at Work gateway.
With so much information and help so readily available, in such clear and easily digested formats, there is no reason why any employer, no matter the size or type of their business, should feel it appropriate to delay or even ignore taking action.
Have a question? Contact Alison via email for more information.