Much emphasis has been placed on the rise of mental health issues at work. However, employers aren’t sitting idly by. Instead, they’re hoping to tackle the biggest hurdle: getting people to talk about the subject.
“Once only thought about as a service received passively to prevent decline, now wellbeing is seen as a choice made actively to maximise the length and quality of our lives.”
It’s an excerpt from an article written byApplied futurologist Tom Cheesewright. More particularly, it’s one of many penned nods to mental health in Bupa’s Wellbeing Edit an annual publication fielding comment from experts in the effort of gauging the UK’s progress on the matter.
We were keen to find out whatthe company found off the back of it, and so asked Bupa UK’s corporate director, Patrick Watt, a few questions. Here’s what he had to say:
Do you believe mental health problems in the workplace are getting worse, or is the UK making headway?
The UK is making important strides in improving workplace mental health experiences and wellbeing support, which is reflected in our publication the Wellbeing Edit.
The biggest change in recent years is the rise of business collaboration to address stigma as evidenced by the existence of the City Mental Health Alliance, alongside the growth of successful manager training programmes, workplace campaigns and high profile business leader engagement.
Our claims data shows that mental health treatment through work has increased 53 per cent over the last decade and one of the drivers is employees feeling more comfortable to seek help.
What do you believe are the benefits of investing in employees” health and wellbeing?
In the Wellbeing Edit which captures expert views on workplace wellbeing?” Dr Paul Litchfield OBE notes that proper investment should be a boardroom priority because it results in improved engagement, productivity, innovation and reduced absence.
This is compelling and is supported by research from the University of Warwick which found that happy employees work harder and are 12 per cent more productive, demonstrating the importance of investing in a health and wellbeing strategy for performance and business results.
If money was no object, what health and wellbeing perks/schemes would you advocate employers have in place
The businesses we support vary in size and the success of a wellbeing strategy is not determined by budget, but instead by authentic leader engagement and an approach centered around their people and workplace needs.
Many of the wellbeing and mental health specific campaigns highlighted in the Wellbeing Edit have little or no cost but, if there is budget, it’s important to provide access to treatment through healthcare that facilitates self referral for conditions such as mental health with inclusive wellbeing support, engaging apps and preventive health education.
Our health assessments include ongoing coaching and technology tools and deliver fantastic behaviour change by supporting employees to take charge of their own health and wellbeing and achieve their goals. Our data shows that 60 per cent of people feel better able to manage stress as a result of the support they receive following their health assessment.
Discussions around mental health issues have increased in the last 12 months, Watt explains on the next page
How important is emphasising support for staff
Emphasising support for employees is important, however, manager’s behaviour plays a central role in this. Across the UK there are businesses where workplace wellbeing is a boardroom priority and our research found that a third of people feel more able to talk to their line manager about mental health issues.
A quarter worry that discussing mental health issues in the workplace may affect their career prospects though.
The businesses we partner with, which successfully foster a more open culture, are the ones in which employees feel comfortable making use of the support available.
Our figures show that one in five employees see workplace culture and benefits as a key deciding factor when looking for a new position so emphasising support to staff is crucial to attracting the best talent and can play a significant role in retaining key people.
How would you advise SME bosses to address staff mental health?
As a first step: education and simply talking about mental health at work can make a big difference, allowing you to better understand what people need.
Mental Health First Aid England, a training organisation featured in our wellbeing publication, have a campaign called “Take 10”. It encourages employers to create time and space in the workplace to talk about mental health issues (with free downloads and guidance on its?website).
Access to online and face to face counselling, through health insurance or employee assistance programmes, are popular with employers as scalable support systems. These are ultimately reactive “safety nets”.
A more proactive approach could provide access to online health assessments tools with ongoing education modules to help employees address wellbeing concerns before they escalate. This is often implemented by businesses taking the first step to understanding the holistic wellbeing needs of staff as it provides new data to support decision making.
Do you believe that mental health as a taboo subject persists?
High profile business leaders have started sharing their recovery stories, which has definitely helped people to reframe the conversation around mental health in the workplace.
Many of the contributors in Bupa’s Wellbeing Edit cited the change in the discussion around mental health issues as the biggest positive change in wellbeing in the last 12?months and it is clear UK businesses now recognise that it is just as important to safeguard the mental health of employees as it is their physical health.
Businesses are making great progress, but it remains important for us to continue working together and sharing good practices so people with mental health issues receive the support needed.
