Over the next year, around 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience some form of mental health problem.
At Prestige, we aim to support mental wellbeing, both in our own work and in our clients’ organisations. Wednesday 10th October is World Mental Health Day – a day designed to raise awareness about the importance of mental health and to reduce the social stigma for those who suffer from problems.
To celebrate, we’ve written this post, designed to help business owners, managers and team members to promote mental wellbeing across their organisations.
Mental health problems impact on every aspect of our lives – and that extends to the workplace.
In fact, according to the latest figure, mental health problems at work costs the UK economy around £35bn over the last year! To put things in perspective, that is £1,300 for every single employee working in the UK.
Promoting positive mental health doesn’t just improve the lives of individuals, it also delivers real, measurable business benefits, in terms of:
Taking mental health seriously isn’t just the right thing from an ethical point of view – it will also benefit the bottom line.
A mentally healthy workforce is an asset – don’t let it become a liability. Investing in training, and working hard to create an open, honest and supportive culture where mental health is treated seriously, understood and respected will benefit everyone.
Many people don’t like to admit when they are suffering from mental health problems. Talking about mental health regularly, and ensuring that staff feel confident that they can raise issues without stigma is essential.
Unless you know what’s happening in your organisation, you can’t change it. Regularly monitor how your team members are feeling, the factors that are affecting mental health, and what can be done to improve things.
Change only works in organisations if everyone is involved. Leading by example, with business leaders and managers opening up about personal experiences, and adopting mentally healthy working practices (such as work-life balance, healthy eating, exercise, and being fair and flexible in their own lives) will deliver benefits all the way through the workforce.
Having compassionate support from managers that understand and care about mental health is really important. Investing in specialist mental health management training and ensuring that the right support systems are in place in terms of HR and occupational health services will help you provide employees with the help they need to stay mentally healthy.
You’ll find additional information about all of these points and more at https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/how-support-mental-health-work.
Serious mental health problems rarely get better on their own – and taking steps to address them early is the best way to start solving and managing them.
If you feel you are suffering from mental health problems, there is no need to suffer alone. There is lots of help available, including:
Most people recover from mental health problems without medical intervention, but as a precautionary step, you should also visit your GP. If you are in distress and need immediate support, then go straight to your local A&E.
At Prestige, we understand just how important mental health is in any workplace, and we’re constantly working to create a positive culture of understanding and support – for team members, clients and candidates.
Over the past 12 months, we’ve invested heavily in staff training surrounding mental health – designed to help our team members to gain a real understanding of how to spot mental health problems in themselves and others, and how they can provide the right level of support. As part of this, we held a dedicated internal seminar to promote mental health across all our offices, and the workplaces we support.
In Hull, we partnered with mental health charity HEY Mind at Humber Business Week – helping to raise awareness of the good work the charity does, and the resources that are available for those who need them.
At Prestige, we’re 100% committed to creating and promoting safe, positive and fair working environments for the benefit of our candidates and clients alike – offering an ethical, professional service that protects everyone.
Come to Prestige as a client or as a candidate, and you will be treated in the same way – fair, honest and respectful support, from a professional team that’s there to help.
Additional information about the way we work, our industry accreditations, awards and association memberships can be found at https://www.prestige-recruitment.com/about-us.