Mental Health And Your Workforce
14.7% of UK workers experience mental health problems within workplace annually
12.7% of sick days in the UK are due to mental health problems
Preventing the exacerbation of mental health problems in the work place could save UK businesses around £8m per year……..
…….But how do we prevent something we can’t see?
If your employee breaks a leg over the weekend, you can visibly tell they need work place adaptations
If your employee breaks a leg because you didn’t move cables out of the way, you are liable for a negligence claim.
It’s the same with mental health, despite the fact that we do not like to talk about it.
Mental health awareness week is a way of breaking down those barriers, but from an employer perspective it is also a chance to ensure you are fulfilling your duty of care and keeping your staff well. With good strategies in place, you can benefit from:
- Increased productivity, efficiency and innovation
- Increased profits and decreased business costs
- Reduced absenteeism & staff turnover
- Enhanced reputation of your business
- Ensure you are legally compliant with the HSE
What Can You Do?
Here are some of the tips we use at DBS to help both our staff and clients feel their very best:
- Parking – we ensure there is space to park. Simple thing, but the added stress of trying to find somewhere to park, ensuring you have enough change for the metre, predicting how long you will be, being late for a meeting, worrying if you desperately need to finish something but your parking has run out…. It adds to a very stressful day, and mostly at the very start of the working day
- Lighting – luckily, as our buildings are all Victorian/Georgian, we have the benefit of large windows. The effects of natural light on workers productivity and efficiency is well known. There’s less strain on the eyes and the natural light boosts serotonin levels in the brain.
- Break space – We have a bistro area, a kitchenette and landscaped gardens. Any employee of our clients can leave their desk to fetch a coffee or have a quick breather, just seconds from their office. Sometimes a 5 minutes break from the office can prevent hours of procrastination and stress induced errors.
- Approachability – we ensure our staff know that no matter the problem, no matter how big or small it may seem, we will listen without judgement, without ridicule and with empathy.
If you would like more information as an employer, please download Minds handy guide for employers here.
For anyone struggling to support an employee through mental illness, or anyone who needs help themselves, please call 0300 123 3393
For legal advice regarding mental health, please call 0300 466 6463
Thank you from all at DBS