CIPD research has recently found that the number of people to have experienced mental health problems while at work has increased form a quarter to a third over the last five years.
According to Punter Southall Health and Protection, a growing number of employers are now tackling mental health challenges by introducing wellbeing strategies focused on improving their workforce mental wellbeing.
45% of companies now have a clearly-defined wellbeing strategy in place, compared to less than a third (30%) in 2016. 82% of these strategies include mental health, with a further 15% saying they plan to add mental health initiatives to their strategy in 2017. 56% of employers said that mental health support is one of the most effective wellbeing initiatives for their business, together with employee assistance programmes (EAPs) and on-site medical support.
The research also highlighted that EAPs are considered the number one wellbeing benefit. They are favoured by 89% of employers because they are proven way to help people cope with personal or work-related issues causing distress and seen as an effective way to manage mental health at work.
The research found over three-quarters (76%) of wellbeing training for line managers covers stress and resilience, further reflecting the growing importance employers are placing on mental health and the key role of line managers in tackling this.
The research also found that 39% of companies plan to introduce mindfulness sessions over the next few years as a way of addressing specific concerns about the mental health of employees such as “heavy workloads”, “burn out” and “lack of resilience”.
Others are focusing on financial education and sleep management – both issues were highlighted as two of the fastest growing areas of wellbeing. In February Punter Southall Health & Protection hosted a ‘Wellbeing Masterclass’ and introduced a range of experts to discuss wellbeing.
If your business needs advance on how to improve their mental health policies and practices then please contact High Performance COnsultancy. We are a UK leading specialist in Employment law, HR and Health and Safety Services contact us via the form below or call us on 0843 509 4543.
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