Poor mental health costs the UK economy between £74 billion and £99 billion a year, with 1 in 6 workers
experiencing problems such as anxiety, low mood and stress at work. The
Stevenson/Farmer review
‘Thriving at Work’, highlighted that an estimated 300,000 people lose their jobs each year due
to mental
ill-health.
According to ONS
long term sickness is on the increase. For employees aged between 16-34 years old, the
largest overall increase in type of long-term sickness was for mental illness, phobias and nervous
disorders, which rose by around 20,000 (a 24% increase).
Whilst all of this can feel fairly overwhelming, we hope that by building knowledge and understanding
around mental health in the workplace, you will feel less fearful and be able to put a plan in place to
help support your employees.
We have pulled together a whole host of resources, websites and charities who specialise in helping to
raise awareness of, and offer advice on, how to support employee’s mental health at work:
Our blogs on ‘Tips for
Mindfulness in the Workplace’ and ‘Wellbeing in
the Office
’ are a great way to
see how you can increase positivity and good mindset in your office.
If you are one of the small and medium organisations that account for 99% of the businesses in the UK,
you may be able to benefit from the free resources from the Federation of Small Businesses which include
this guide to help small businesses navigate workplace mental health, along with tool
kits to support small
businesses with mental
health in
the workplace.
Charity Mind has a great host of articles, free resources and
events:
Mental Health at Work https://www.mentalhealthatwork.org.uk/
People Manager’s Guide to Mental Health https://www.mentalhealthatwork.org.uk/resource/people-managers-guide-to-mental-health/
Finally, some practical advice from the NHS and In-Equilibrium:
Every Mind Matters https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/
Wellbeing at Work https://www.in-equilibrium.co.uk/wellbeing-at-work-resources/
We hope you found this blog reassuring and insightful and please do get in touch with us if you would
like to discuss anything further.