As we approach World Mental Health day on 10 October, we take a look at how businesses are creating a more mindful environment when it comes to mental health in the workplace. And it starts from the top, with some brands encouraging their managers to talk about their experiences with mental health in order to get employees to open up too.
Statistics show that 45% of sick days have been a result of stress and poor mental health in the workplace, amounting to an estimated £26 billion for employers. This clearly demonstrates businesses should look to address the root cause. Big brands like Unilever and M&S train their managers to act as a first point of contact for employees who may be struggling in silence. Businesses are training mental-health first-aiders, who will be trained to spot and assist their people who may be experiencing emotional distress.
However, some brands are also aware of the messages they promote internally about mental health issues, conflicts with how comfortable employees feel to discuss their feelings, and access the help that is on offer. Some businesses are addressing this by reducing work stress through some downtime, such as a cut off from emails at a certain point in the day and introducing meditation within the workplace to create a more mindful approach to their day. This puts the onus on the business to create a healthy work-life balance, rather than relying on the employee to prioritise mindfulness amongst the many things on their to do list.
By introducing a mental health programme, businesses could see a drop in the number of sick days and decrease in the bill for valuable time and resources lost. In addition, having health and wellbeing as part of your brand’s culture, helps to attract those who have a work-life balance on their wish list when looking to join a business.
Click here to read our article ‘Mental Health – One in three sick notes relate to mental health problems’.
If you would like to create a healthy workplace, please contact a member of the HPC team who are happy to advise you on what works best for you:
T: 0844 800 5932
E: help@highperformanceconsultancy.com