Trigger Warning: this blog mentions suicide.
At Mates in Mind, we advocate for positive mental health in and through work, because work should be good for us. Therefore, as we start the New Year, and with Time to Talk Day (6 February), Mind Your Head campaign for the farming sector (10-14 February), and National Apprenticeship Week (10-16 February), it is a really important time to stop and reflect on where you, as an organisation and employer, are at in terms of your mental health journey.
In this blog we will look at how to assess where you are, so that you can put plans in place to optimise the mental wellbeing of your workers.
Why this is important
We recognise that there is a mental health crisis, particularly for men and across certain sectors:
- An estimated 16.4 million working days were lost due to work-related stress, depression, or anxiety in 2023/24, which accounted for 55% of all working days lost due to ill-health [1].
- Men account for three-quarters of all suicides [2], and it is the biggest killer of men under 35 [3].
- In 2021, there were 6,319 suicides registered in the UK [4], of which 507 were in construction alone [5].
- A third of construction workers live with severe levels of anxiety [6].
- Drivers of large goods vehicles had a suicide rate 20% higher than the national average [7].
- Virtually all UK farmers (95%) under the age of 40, rank poor mental health as one of the biggest hidden problems facing the industry today [8].
Step One: Where are you now?
Do you:
- Have a mental health policy in place?
Supporters: you can download a policy template from the Portal.
- Conduct individual stress risk assessments and act on them?
Supporters: you can download an assessment template from the Portal.
- Have Mental Health First Aiders?
All readers: find out about our mental health and wellbeing training.
- Train all workers to spot the signs of mental ill-health in themselves and others?
All readers: please download the ‘Spotting the Signs’ infographic as a starting point.
- Have an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) in place?
- Communicate your policies, assessments and support to your workers?
Supporters: you can download templates from the Portal.
- Check that your workers know what support there is?
- Check what support your workers actually want?
- Re-assess the value and impact of your mental health provision on a regular basis and adjust your plans if necessary?
Supporters: please remember to complete the assessment in the Portal every year.
If you are interested in joining our community to benefit from the Supporter resources above, please:
Some of the questions in the list above may seem obvious, but did you know that:
- Research [9] found that whilst ‘47% of employers said they offer regular workload reviews to their employees, … just 14% of employees said they receive this’.
- '54% of employers claimed to have asked what mental health provision employees need, only 15% of employees said they have actually been asked.’ [10]
- A study [11] found that, ‘Interviewees referred to a lack of understanding about their roles and responsibilities as an employer or manager related to mental health at work: ‘there might be a government policy in place, I genuinely don’t know’’.
- ‘Nearly two-thirds of businesses (64%) say they have seen a rise in absenteeism because of employee mental ill health’ and yet ‘less than half (44%) collected data on employee mental health conditions, whether anxiety or depression’. ‘Although slightly more (46%) did collect data on stress-related disorders.’ [12]
These are all worrying statistics given that under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, The Equalities Act 2010, and Protection from Harassment Act 1997, employers have a duty of care to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of their employees, including mental health/stress, and to protect employees with mental ill-health against discrimination and harassment.
In addition, if you are not measuring the true reasons for absence (and please bear in mind that the statistic on absenteeism above does not include presenteeism), then how can you measure the impact of your mental health support. However, it should be noted that, research found that ‘over half of UK employees (and notably 57% of Millennials) do not feel comfortable disclosing mental health or psychological conditions.’ [13]
So, in order to get accurate statistics on which to base your plans and to track progress made during the year, you need to create an open and supportive workplace culture, to address the stigma that surrounds mental health, and giving workers the confidence to be honest about the reasons for their absence.
Read our blog on workplace culture.
Why assessment is important
Did you know that according to government statistics, it has been estimated that, on average, preventing a single job loss can save employers £8,000 in recruitment costs and business output [14]. In addition, analysis shows that employers that proactively invest in mental health support for their workforce can make significant gains, with an average £5 return for every £1 spent on wellbeing support [15].
Overall, supporting the mental wellbeing of workers benefits the business, e.g., increased productivity, a reduction in sickness and staff turnover, and it demonstrates that you are a good, safe, and supportive place to work. This matters, because, for example, ‘88% of construction workers viewed the provision of mental health support as important when choosing their next job’ [16].
There is clearly a business case for optimising the mental health of workers, but employers also have a moral duty to their staff. Good mental wellbeing has positive impacts on everyone, e.g., confidence, purpose, achievement, positive relationships, and inclusion.
This demonstrates that everyone benefits from a mentally resilient workforce. But, before you can start to put plans in place to create positive mental health in work, you need to know where you are starting from.
What should an assessment include?
We encourage our Supporters to start their journey with us by undertaking our specially developed assessment, which will help their organisation determine the gaps which may be preventing them from reaching their desired goals. These gaps can exist in knowledge, practices, or skills. Knowing what is working well and what needs to be developed is an important step towards reaching an organisation’s mental health and wellbeing goals and could also save a life.
If you are not a Supporter, you may want to use a combination of desk research (please see below for what information should be gathered) and anonymous surveys (e.g., online tools like Survey Monkey) for employee consultation, because, as we saw earlier, many UK employees do not feel comfortable disclosing mental health or psychological conditions.
As we can see from the above, sickness absence levels and staff turnover rates provide an indication of the mental and physical wellbeing of your workers. Therefore, this is where our assessment starts.
We also look at what you already have in place, e.g., policies and assessments, Mental Health First Aiders etc. It gauges senior leadership commitment – because gaining management buy-in is an essential first step in ensuring that mental wellbeing is integrated into the organisation. Through open, collaborative, and inclusive communication, management can achieve wider organisational buy-in and manage any resistance to change.
The assessment continues through practical support, communications, awareness and more. It is designed to be comprehensive in order to identify what you do already, what is working, and most importantly where there are gaps, either in terms of ensuring your mental health provision is successful, or gaps in the provision itself.
Next Steps
For our Supporters, once they have completed the assessment, we evaluate any opportunities for growth within their organisation. We provide a personalised report and plan of action, developed specifically for their needs. Our Support Managers work with our Supporters every step of the way to help implement their plan and help their organisation reach its goals.
For non-Supporters, collating the information previously described will help you to identify the gaps and therefore to create a plan for how, when and who will work on implementing the solutions.
Once you have established where you are and have a plan to create a working culture where work is good for the mental health of workers (employees, contractors, supply chain etc.), now is the time to communicate your commitment and there is no better time than during the February awareness dates mentioned at the start of this blog. Find out more and download free resources:
Supporters: please log in to the Portal to download your exclusive resources and posters.
Below are some key steps to ensure your plan works:
- Spot the signs – train your team to spot the signs of mental ill-health in themselves and their colleagues.
- Stop the stigma – help address the stigma by creating an open and supportive culture. Encourage senior leaders and managers to lead by example, by speaking about their own experiences. Include a mental health check in during team meetings. And encourage everyone to ask each other if they are okay.
- Start the conversation – empower all workers with the skills, knowledge and confidence to start a conversation either if they need help, or if they spot someone who they think needs support.
- Signpost support – remember, you are not expected to have the solutions, we just ask that you provide a listening ear, to reassure the person that you take what you have been told seriously and it will be kept confidential (unless there is a safeguarding concern), and signpost the person to further help if needed. Support includes: NHS 111 (option 2), GP, your Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) if you have one, text BEAMATE to 85258, or you can find a full list of services on our page: Need Help?
Conclusion
In this blog we have looked at how to start your journey towards optimising the mental wellbeing of your workers. During 2025, our blog series will focus on how you, as an employer and manager, can build positive mental health in and through your workplace.
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Remember, you are not alone, there is always someone to talk to or somewhere to find additional help.
References
[1] https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/assets/docs/hssh2324.pdf
[2] Suicides in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)
[3] MPs to examine men’s mental and physical health in new inquiry - Committees - UK Parliament
[4] Suicide statistics - House of Commons Library (parliament.uk) Suicide statistics - House of Commons Library (parliament.uk)
[5] Suicide by occupation, England and Wales, 2011 to 2021 registrations - Office for National Statistics and Construction project risk & value management | Glasgow Caledonian University | Scotland, UK (gcu.ac.uk)
[6] Supporting the mental health of self employed construction workers report, Mates in Mind, 2022 supporting-the-mental-health-of-self-employed-construction-workers (2).pdf
[7] Office for National Statistics 2017
[8] Virtually all young UK farmers worried about poor mental health (personneltoday.com)
[10] Exclusive: 15% of staff asked about mental health provision needs - Employee Benefits
[12] Managers complacent about rising rates of employee mental ill health (personneltoday.com)
[14] Government response: Health is everyone's business (publishing.service.gov.uk)
[15] Mental health and employers: the case for investment - pandemic and beyond | Deloitte UK
[16] Construction workers want mental health support in new jobs | Project Scotland