Local Mind Charity Launches Website To Help UK Businesses Look After Staff’s Mental Health

The cost of mental health for UK business has grown, estimated to be around £45 billion a year in lost productivity through sick days, stress, anxiety, and presenteeism.[4] COVID has only deepened the UK’s mental health crisis, and driven staff to work longer hours to prove their value to businesses looking to save money. Almost half (46%) have felt more pressure to be present at work[5], even when they’re ill. This in turn is more likely to contribute to employees developing mental health issues, so employers need to focus on protecting their staff.

However, over half (56%) of staff surveyed by Deloitte and Mind wouldn’t feel comfortable talking to their line manager about their mental health[6]. This isn’t surprising, given that 9% of employees who disclosed a mental health issue to their employer were disciplined, demoted, or dismissed[7]. It’s clear that there’s a need to educate businesses on how to support their staff with their mental health.

To combat this, one of Mind’s local branches, Hammersmith, Fulham, Ealing, and Hounslow Mind, has launched a website for its workplace wellbeing initiative: Well at Work.

Well at Work provides organisations with mental health training by mental health professionals, helping staff to become more resilient to workplace stress, and helping managers to become more empathetic and understanding towards common mental health issues.

Mental health training helps empower staff on an individual level, helping them to reach out for and to provide support for others. It also helps on an organisational level, driving cultural change that can enhance performance, improve communication, and make the workplace a more supportive environment for everyone.

Organisation-wide training in mental health awareness is one of the most effective ways businesses can improve the wellbeing of their staff, and has one of the strongest ROIs of 6:1.

The new website marks the latest push to help UK staff deal with mental health issues, and to educate managers on how to support them.

Alice Cheshire, Head of Well at Work, says:

‘For over a decade HFEH Mind has been helping organisations of all sizes to look after their team’s wellbeing. The impact of COVID means this work is more important than ever and we are excited to launch our new website to make it easer for organisations to get the support they need.’