27 Sep 2018

White paper: Mental Health and Wellbeing in the Workplace

Mental ill-health is recognised as a significant cause of absence from the workplace, however it is also a cause of much presenteeism. Healix’s paper discusses what employers can do to support and enhance the mental health and wellbeing of their employees.

Key findings

In 2015/16 work-related stress accounted for 45 per cent of all working days lost due to ill-health.
Around 15 per cent of people at work experience mental health difficulties at any one time, at an estimated cost of £33 billion to £42 billion annually to UK employers – Stevenson and Farmer (2017).
The most significant barrier to progress is still the stigma associated with mental health. At the highest organisational level, culture needs to change in order to address the stigma of mental health.
Communication of the mental health strategy as well as education, campaigns and role modelling in the workplace can facilitate a culture shift in the organisation, placing a focus on the importance of good mental health.

This papers offers advice to employers on how best to develop a mental wellbeing strategy.