Mental wellbeing of the UK workforce

In 2021/22 over 900,000 workers suffered from work-related stress, depression or anxiety according to a Labour Force Survey (LFS). It’s not surprising to learn then, that 76% of employees believe their company should be doing more to protect the mental health of their workforce.

In recent years (and prior to the coronavirus pandemic), the rate of self-reported work-related stress, depression or anxiety had shown signs of increasing. The current rate is in fact higher than the 2018/19 pre-coronavirus levels, with 17 million working days lost (LFS) and a cost to the UK economy at least £117.9 billion per annum (London School of Economics).

It’s not surprising to learn then, that 76% of employees believe their company should be doing more to protect the mental health of their workforce.

The following steps (collated here by communications experts NewZapp) can help companies to build a culture that better supports employees with their mental wellbeing.

Make support networks accessible

Mental wellbeing is complex. For you to provide effective mental healthcare it is likely that you will need support from professionals. This could be:

• Trained mental health first aiders within your organisation.

• An external mental healthcare support scheme provided by a professional body.

• Signposts to charities and helplines (some of which are listed at the bottom of this blog).

In many cases, all three of the above may be the best option.

Alongside these support networks you also need a clear mental health policy. Your employees need to know that you take mental health seriously and hold significant importance over their wellbeing.

Once you have the right policy and support in place, the remaining five steps will help you convert your culture into a more supportive environment for those experiencing mental health challenges.

Consider how your work environment impacts mental health

To know how to effectively support your team you need to know if there are any factors that could have a negative impact on mental health. For example, a big project with tight deadlines, a noisy work environment, an increase in lone working, or poorly managed change could all cause mental health problems. By taking into consideration all the possible triggers and ensuring you monitor and measure them, you can make the necessary changes or interventions to protect your staff.

Remove the perception barrier

As the statistic at the top of this page pointed out, many people are reluctant to seek professional help. That is because there is still a huge stigma around mental health. Many people put excessive pressure on themselves and believe their employer would regard a mental health issues as a weakness or failure.

Your employees need to feel comfortable and confident in sharing their experiences. They need to know that good health, both mental and physical, is a company priority. The best way to achieve this is to lead from the top. If senior leaders and line managers are honest and open, the barriers will begin to lift.

Equip your line managers with the right tools

If an employee went to their line manager and informed them they were struggling with their mental wellbeing, are you confident that all your line managers would know how to respond? If not, this needs to change. Here’s a few things that are worth considering:

• Mental health training.

• A recap of your mental health policy.

• A reminder of the importance of regular 1:1s or catch ups.

• Encouraging line managers to speak out about their own mental health.

• Signposting line managers to guidance on how to start the conversation. (This factsheet has some useful guidance.)

Ultimately, if your line managers are confident, your employees will feel better supported.

Communicate, communicate, communicate

The more we communicate about something the more comfortable we feel. But we are all different and we prefer to consume information, and engage, in different ways.

Therefore, the more channels you use to spread the message the more aware your employees will be of your commitment to support their mental health. From the induction process, through to articles, posters and weekly tips for line managers.

Every time you discuss mental wellbeing, it has the potential to resonate with another person.

And finally…

If you’re a line manager, don’t forget to lead by example. Actively encourage your team to adopt healthier

Useful Resources

Work-related stress, anxiety or depression statistics in Great Britain, 2022

Work-related stress, depression or anxiety is defined as a harmful reaction people have to undue pressures and demands placed on them at work. The latest estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) show:

• The total number of cases of work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2021/22 was 914,000, a prevalence rate of 2,750 per 100,000 workers.

• In the recent years prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the rate of self-reported workrelated stress, depression or anxiety had shown signs of increasing. The current rate is higher than the 2018/19 pre-coronavirus levels.

• The number of new cases was 372,000, an incidence rate of 1,120 per 100,000 workers.

• The total number of working days lost due to work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2021/22 was 17 million days. This equated to an average of 18.6 days lost per case.

• In 2021/22 stress, depression or anxiety accounted for 51% of all work-related ill health cases and 55% of all working days lost due to work-related ill health.

• By top-level industry averaged 2019/202021/22, stress, depression or anxiety was most prevalent in:

– Public administration and defence; compulsory social security

– Human health and social work activities

– Education working habits by working sensible hours, taking full lunch breaks, taking annual leave and resting after busy periods. Maintain a good work–life balance and set boundaries between your work and home life, including guidance around accessing work devices or inboxes out of office hours.

Here are just some of the resources available to help companies better support employees with their mental health.

• Legal guidance surrounding mental health from ACAS - https://www.acas.org.uk/health-and-wellbeing

• Guidance specifically for line managers from CIPD - https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/culture/wellbeing/mental-health-support-report#gref

• An overview of mental health at work from Mind - https://www.mind.org.uk/workplace/mental-healthat-work/

• Ways to tackle loneliness (the theme for Mental Health Awareness Week 2022)https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work/public-engagement/mental-health-awareness-week

• How to get help for mental health from the NHS - https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/

• In terms of occupation averaged 2017/182019/20, higher rates of stress, depression or anxiety were found in:

– Professional occupations

– Associate professional and technical occupations

• The main work factors cited by respondents as causing work-related stress, depression or anxiety were workload pressures, including tight deadlines and too much responsibility and a lack of managerial support (2009/102011/12).

• Of the 914,000 workers suffering from workrelated stress, depression or anxiety in 2021/22 an estimated 452,000 believed it was caused or made worse by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.