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According to the Telegraph, mental health issues account for more than 70 million lost working days each year; that’s 38% of all days lost due to sickness. Sickness causes a loss of production or output and increased pressure on remaining staff. It is very difficult to plan for sickness absence because it’s an unknown quantity. The cost of absence caused by sickness is costing UK businesses £29 billion a year.
One in six people off work on long-term sick leave are experiencing depression, anxiety or stress, and one in four people will experience a mental health problem in any given year. This means it’s likely that a number of your staff members will take time off due to mental health issues at some point. Improving the wellbeing of your employees can help to reduce the number of days lost through sickness and subsequently reduce the cost to your business.
Work-related stress
Stress, depression and anxiety caused by an employees’ work or working conditions accounts for 10 million of the 70 million days lost each year for mental health reasons. The Centre for Mental Health has found that work-related mental ill health accounts for more days lost than any other cause of work-related illness.
What is work-related stress?
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) defines work-related stress as “a harmful reaction that people have to undue pressures and demands placed on them at work.”
Common mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression, and work-related stress can both exist independently and go hand-in-hand. The symptoms are similar and stress can aggravate or trigger an existing mental health problem that might not previously have affected an employee’s work.
The HSE states that “in practice, it can be hard to distinguish when ‘stress’ turns into a ‘mental health problem’ and when existing mental health problems become exaggerated by stress at work.” The difference is often in how serious the symptoms are, how long they last and what impact they have on the employee’s day-to-day life. It’s usually a GP who makes the diagnosis and offers treatment. Most people with mental health problems can continue to work productively but individuals may need ongoing support.
What causes staff to suffer with mental health problems?
The best way to understand what affects staff mental wellbeing is to ask them. One way to do this would be to run a wellbeing survey for your employees. A survey would give you the opportunity to ‘take the temperature’ of the business and gain valuable insights about how your employees feel about a number of issues. Speak to HR and make use of the feedback mechanisms already in place, ensuring that wellbeing issues are covered.
Common triggers for stress and mental health problems include:
- Long working hours and no breaks
- Unrealistic expectations or deadlines
- Feeling overwhelmed by workload
- Overly pressurised working environments
- Poorly managed change
- High-risk roles
- Lone working
- Poor internal communication
- Bullying or harassment
- Personal issues such as bereavement, illness or financial worries
- Physical work environment including noise levels, lighting, space and temperature.
Once you understand what can cause stress and mental health issues, take a look at what your organisation is already doing to support employees and what impact your current approach is having. Now you can create an action plan and implement it. Supporting the mental health of your workforce leads to improved morale, loyalty, commitment, productivity and profitability.
Symptoms of work-related stress
Understanding the first signs of stress can help you to identify a potential issue so that action can be taken before the problem escalates. The symptoms of stress can be wide ranging and may only be noticeable by the employee themselves.
This is by no means an exhaustive list and should not be seen as medical advice.
Emotional symptoms
- Feeling depressed or negative
- Feeling disappointed in yourself
- Reacting more emotionally than usual – more tearful, sensitive or aggressive
- Feeling withdrawn or lonely
- Mood swings
- Loss of confidence, motivation and commitment
Mental symptoms
- Confusion or indecision
- Difficulty concentrating
- Poor memory
Changes from normal behaviour
- Lack of appetite or overeating
- Mood swings affecting behaviour
- Difficulty getting or staying asleep or sleeping too much
- Twitchy, nervous behaviour
- Changes in attendance such as arriving later or taking more time off
Physical symptoms
- High blood pressure
- Heart palpitations
- Tense muscles
- Unexplained aches and pains
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome
There are also some signs to look out for in your workplace as a whole, or within particular teams. An increase in sickness absence, disputes within a group, an increase in staff turnover, poor performance and an increase in customer dissatisfaction or complaints could all be symptoms of stress within a group.
Managing mental health in the workplace
Leading mental health charity Mind suggests a three-pronged approach to managing mental health in the workplace:
- Promote wellbeing for all staff
- Tackle the causes of work-related mental health problems
- Support staff who are experiencing mental health problems
Create an open culture in the workplace where mental health is not taboo
Are your employees being honest about the reason they have called in sick? In 2013, Head of Workplace Wellbeing at Mind, Emma Mamo, wrote an article for HRZone about Mind’s survey, which “found that 90% of people who took time off work due to stress did not cite stress as the reason for their absence, with the majority telling their boss they had a physical health problem, such as a headache.” Mind has found that one in ten people have resigned due to stress, and one in four have thought about it. 25% of those surveyed by the charity said they felt that they couldn’t talk to their managers about stress at work.
The taboo around mental health does seem to be decreasing. More people are talking about it openly, including celebrities such as Denise Welch who spoke to the Sunday Mirror about the stigma that surrounds mental health. In a study conducted by employee health risk specialist PMI Health Group it was found that 52% of UK HR professionals now regularly engage with their staff about their mental wellbeing.
Director at PMI Health Group, Mike Blake, said: “The old stigmas about mental health are finally beginning to fade as employers realise that a sit back and wait approach to such issues is no longer an option.
“Being proactive and making regular checks on employees’ emotional, as well as physical, health should be an important part of every employee wellbeing policy and can have a huge impact on how long the condition lasts.”
One major way you could tackle mental wellbeing in the workplace is to create an open and honest culture where mental health is not taboo. You could raise awareness of mental health and encourage discussion. Normalising conversations around mental health can help employees to open up to their line manager and discuss their concerns before they become a major issue. Hold regular one-to-ones with staff and make sure to ask them if they’re feeling stressed or worried about anything, both in the workplace and at home. There are some great free resources available from Mind that have been created to help businesses take care of their staff.
IOSH Managing Safely is a 4 day course which can assist supervisors in Managing the Health, Safety and Wellbeing of their staff and implement an inclusive and open Health and Safety Culture which includes Mental Health.
Make an occupational health service available to employees
The NHS offers a Health at Work service that is available to businesses. Whether you use this service or employ your own OH advisor, it can help to reduce levels of absence and associated costs to your company, increase productivity and decrease disruption caused by absent employees, help employees to feel more valued, and enable employees off sick to return to work sooner.
Benefits of improving employee mental well being
You can help to reduce how many days are lost due to mental health issues by improving employee engagement and wellbeing in your organisation. Carol Black, an expert adviser on health and work to the Department of Health, spoke at the Hay Festival about a small business in Cornwall, Trac, which wins awards for the way it approaches workplace wellbeing. In 2014, the national average for sick days per employee was 4.4, Trac’s was 1.58.
Taking a proactive approach to health and wellbeing can positively affect your business’s bottom line. In a blog post about whether businesses should up their spending on health and wellbeing, financial protection insurer Unum gave the example of Manchester-based employment law firm Peninsula Business Services as a good case study. This company was ranked in third place in The Sunday Times Best Companies To Work For poll in 2014. It provides a weekly keep-fit session for its staff, has decreased the working hours of its telemarketers and HR advisors, and offers flexible working. In 2013, Peninsula Business Services increased its pre-tax profits by 22% on the previous year.
Conclusion
Employers are becoming more concerned about their employees’ mental health and wellbeing, but there is more work to be done. When undertaking risk assessments for staff and considering how to manage health and safety in the workplace it is important that you do not forget mental health. By providing the correct framework for management employers can reduce absences caused by work-related stress and mental health problems, increase employee productivity and maintain high workplace morale, all of which can boost profits and reduce costs associated with sickness.
If you want to gain a recognised certificate in workplace health and safety, take a look at the NEBOSH Level 3 General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety, which is offered as a classroom-based course by SAMS Ltd.
SAMS believe that Mental Health and Wellbeing are an integral part of a company’s Health and Safety Culture and with a Counsellor on the SAMS staff it is something we feel strongly about. We have always encouraged an open door and inclusive approach to Mental Health within the company and this is something we foster within our clients Safety Systems by encouraging a Health and Safety Culture that is inclusive, open and supportive. Course such as IOSH Managing Safely and NEBOSH support managers in creating a culture where staff feel like they and their issues matter.