Addressing mental health trouble in the workplace

The results will go on to form the basis of an in-depth whitepaper examining the scale of the mental health crisis amongst United Kingdom students.

“Experts say that stress and depression are the major causes of mental health problems among the students”.

According to an NHS report in August, one in three sick notes handed out by Global Positioning System are for mental health and behavioural issues.

Despite 60 per cent of the UK’s private sector workforce now being employed by small businesses, much of the help available on mental health in the workplace is not tailored for the sector, leaving many without support.

We need a lot more resources and more people on the frontline, particularly in Yorkshire and we need mental health services that are less bureaucratic.

Globally, more than 300 million people suffer from depression, and 260 million suffer from anxiety disorders-many of whom live with both conditions.

We can all take some responsibility to ensure mental wellbeing in the workplace is a priority, we need to be there for each other.

Mental health “Managing the conversation” for line managers. Through Future in Mind funding the new school mental health and wellbeing project, now launched as Compass BUZZ, was commissioned on behalf of five clinical commissioning groups (CCG’s) within North Yorkshire. When employees have a mental disorder and it is disclosed, employers must keep the information confidential and the employee should be supported to return to work after recovery with reasonable adjustments made to their job if necessary and/or be allowed to return in a graded fashion or be placed in less demanding and more appropriate roles within the organization.

The move comes as the society gets set to promote World Mental Health Day on October 10. Safe spaces can mean different things to different people, so don’t be scared to ask your employees what they would like.

Despite a raised awareness, just 30% of workers feel comfortable and happy speaking to an employer about mental health, according to a report from The Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

TransferWise’s head of people and environment, Rachel Lloyd, said mental health was still seen as “taboo”.

Chris Garside, Managing Director at Compass Group UK & Ireland, said: “We are extremely proud to have become signatories of the Time to Change pledge and are absolutely committed to raising awareness around mental health and further enhancing a supportive and open working environment through our own campaign”.

“Through Project Aspire we are committed to improving the lives of all our residents, including those with mental health problems“.

He said although employers most often complained about low productivity, regular absenteeism and poor attitudes of some members of staff, they failed to link these happenings to mental health challenges, of which stress may be a compounding factor.

She said: “Since November past year, our advisers have seen more than 1000 new vulnerable people contacting us about their debts, prepared to speak openly about their issues”. Just-in-time interventions provided via mobile devices (or to put it more simply, text messages) are now being tested in two studies to see whether they can enhance assertiveness and reduce stress among adolescent apprentices at workplaces in Switzerland.