Wellbeing is climbing up the corporate agenda and more businesses are implementing measures that encourage employees to bring their best selves to work.
There are plenty of benefits that companies can use to prioritize health, however, when it comes to mental health, it’s a different story.
According to research from CV-Library over three quarters (77.8%) of UK workers agree that not enough is being done to support mental health at work. In fact, almost half (46.1%) have considered resigning from a job due to lack of support. The survey of 1,100 UK workers, also found that 42.9% said that aspects of their job can cause them to feel anxious or depressed. Worse still, they have no one to turn to. 60.2% of Brits confessed that they would be too embarrassed to disclose information about the state of their mental health to their employer.
Yet, with 15% of people at work having symptoms of a mental health condition, the stigma around opening a dialogue about mental health is making the matter worse.
A Government review in association with Mind, found that around 300,000 people with a long-term mental health problem lose their jobs each year.
From this survey it’s sad to learn that workers aren’t feeling supported by their employers when it comes to their mental health and it’s clear more needs to be done to tackle this. Also with almost half respondents confessing that they’ve thought about quitting a job due to lack of support, employers need to know how to address these issues.
So how can employers help? 83.6% of professionals believe that employers should offer mental health days for employees, with 78% agreeing that they’d be more likely to work for a company that did.
The majority 88.4% also said that they believe that employers should be given training to help them understand mental health and how to help employees who may be suffering.
Honesty and communication jointly contribute towards a great company culture and the wellbeing of employees needs to play a part in this. Employers need to create an environment where employees feel they can approach their boss if they’re struggling or take some time out when they need to recharge their batteries.
The respondents also listed the top 5 things their bosses can do for them to prevent poor mental health below:
- Promote a healthy work-life balance
- Create an environment where mental health is not stigmatised
- Refer employees to a counselling service
- Talk more openly about mental health
- Have an internal counselling service for employees
Food for thought indeed.
Do you have any issues surrounding employee wellbeing? why not give HR Revolution a call and see how we could help
