According to the Mental Health Foundation, a staggering 70 million working days are lost each year in the UK due to mental health problems, costing employers approximately £2.4 billion per year.
During 2020/21, the Health & Safety Executive recorded 822,000 workers suffered with work-related stress, depression or anxiety (new or long-standing), with each worker taking on average 21.6 sick days.
The COVID pandemic has resulted in mental health support and employee wellbeing becoming more of a priority than ever before. With more and more people suffering from isolation and anxiety caused by lockdown, and now with the anxiety and stress of returning to the workplace, employers have a duty of care to up the ante when it comes to the support they provide to their employees, and a financial incentive to do so when considering the aforementioned stats.
More employees are now subject to hybrid working patterns, so they may be feeling the effects of a lack of support, misread messages, wrongly interpreted emails and negative feedback that much more. Throw in apprehension over a return to the physical workplace, the daily commute, the cost of fuel etc. and it’s reasonable to assume that instances of anxiety and work-related stress will rise further. As an employer or line manager, it is not always clear how to tackle these issues.
That’s where we can help you…
EML has an accredited Mental Health First Aider who is available to support you in developing a workplace culture that holds the health and wellbeing of the workforce in high regard.
If you don’t have the experience to implement tools to monitor and prevent mental health issues, we can help you using several methods including:
-
- The delivery of tailored, company-specific coaching to line managers focused on implementing positive mental health initiatives.
- The provision of a “mental health toolkit”.
- Design and roll-out of bespoke documentation to assist with the support and management of mental health within the organisation.
- Working with you to develop a culture that removes the stigma surrounding mental health and encourages open conversation in this regard.
- Step-by-step guidance for management to support employees absent from work due to mental health conditions and help them return to work.
We can also help you develop a Wellbeing Strategy that will positively impact on the mental and physical health of your workforce and thereby help improve overall business performance.
If you’re an employer faced with issues relating to mental health, please get in touch to find out more about our Mental Health First Aid service.