By Alison Bromley Head of Partnerships, Onebright
By 2025, businesses will have made great strides in their understanding and acceptance of mental health at work. According to reports, 96% of UK’s top companies now provide some form of mental health support for their employees.
Statistics show that 15% of adults in the workforce suffer from a mental illness. The most common are anxiety, stress, and depression. The uptake of mental health services does not reflect this. This is due to a number of reasons.
Companies often believe that mental health is covered by their Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP), private health insurance and certain wellbeing apps. Although these services are important, they do not support everyone. They also don’t provide insights that can help organizations progress and develop personalised healthcare for their diverse employee population. Calling an EAP or private insurer when someone is ill can be a challenging step.
The UK’s annual PS51 billion mental health costs, of which PS24 billion can be attributed to presenteeism is the macro-picture of all the pain points experienced by every organisation and the HR teams’ concern for cases where people cannot access the support they need.
Our data and the data of other trusted institutions tell us that every day that an employee misses work due to sickness or is unable to perform, they lose between PS200 and PS350 in productivity and value. This is a conservative estimate based on the average gross salary plus employer costs. This adds up in larger organisations.
In some cases, employees will bring workplace grievances to HR. This can be a complex situation. It’s important to provide a proactive, caring service that helps people get an appointment for an expert assessment. This is the first thing to do in order to get the employee the help they need.
Return on Investment
Organisations can see tangible returns from investing in mental health initiatives. A recent meta-analysis by Deloitte shows that, for every PS1 spent on mental health support in the workplace, companies receive an average return of PS4.70 due to increased productivity and reduced absenceeeism. It makes sense, considering the costs associated with having an absentee or struggling employee.
Mentally healthy workplaces also improve employee morale and reduce turnover. They also strengthen the reputation of an organisation as an employer.
Your company probably has policies and strategies in place. But how effective are they? How can you improve on them and ensure that you take into account the true costs of absences at work and address any gaps you may have this year?
Four steps for assessing and implementing mental healthcare strategies
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Mental Health Audits
A tailored mental health audit is an effective tool to identify your employees’ specific needs. The audits evaluate the current mental health support in the organization, and highlight areas that need improvement such as resource gaps or stressors.
These insights can be used to guide the creation of new policies and programs. These evaluations are conducted in partnership with experts, ensuring a comprehensive and objective understanding of your organisation’s mental landscape. This will help you understand what is needed by your employees and whether it is working.
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Mental Health Training
Mental health training can be a simple and effective way to help employees. It also creates a solid foundation for support. Effective mental health education can come in many forms.
- Top down approachspan size=”font-weight 400 ;”>: Empowering senior leaders and managers to identify mental challenges, model positive behaviors, and create an ongoing dialogue about mental wellbeing. This approach ensures mental health is a priority at all levels of the organization.
- Mental Health Championsspanstyle=”font weight: 400 ;”>: Train employees to be peer supporters as a trusted source of contact for their colleagues. These champions promote open communication, organize regular check-ins and act as a link between management and staff. This can help form a culture that values care and early intervention.
- Training for all employeesspan font-weight=”400 ;”>: Training that is consistent and comprehensive at all levels can help to build a shared understanding of mental health. It could be interactive modules, webinars or practical workshops to teach stress management and resilience.
These initiatives empower employees and also contribute to an engaged workforce.
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Therapy Services
Access to professional clinical services plays a crucial role in comprehensive mental health care. These services include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, licensed psychologists and counsellors, as well as support for specific conditions, such as addiction management or trauma recovery.
These services can be provided by organisations through employee assistance programmes (EAPs), insurance plans or partnerships with external providers. EAPs offer employees 24/7 confidential access to professionals who are trained to manage mental health issues such as anxiety, stress and depression. These programmes provide a discreet and safe space where individuals can seek support, without being judged. They also address specific mental health issues. You can improve productivity and reduce absenteeism by investing in therapy services.
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Data and Analytics
It is vital to regularly track and analyse data about the effectiveness of mental healthcare strategies and policies in order to drive business growth and employee well-being. Metrics like productivity, absenteeism, and the reasons for sick leave provide valuable insight into the health of an organisation.
It is estimated that 875,000 workers will lose 17.1 million days of work due to mental health problems at the workplace in 2023. Understanding these patterns allows organizations to implement targeted interventions in order to reduce absenteeism, and to support their workforce better. The data from mental health audits will also allow businesses to measure the return on their investment and set goals.
Prioritising mental wellbeing in the workplace is more important than ever before. Mental health champions and audits are just a few of the strategies that can help create an environment in which employees feel valued and supported. These efforts not only benefit employees, but also help drive the success of an organisation. Think about ways to refresh and assess your mental health strategy this year.
The original version of this article, Assessing Your Workplace Mental Health Strategy for 2025, appeared first on Human Resources News.
