The latestBupa wellbeing index revealed that 43% of male employees want their employers to provide more support for mental health. A mental health expert commented on what workplaces can do.
Bupa surveyed 8,000 UK adults and found that 50% of men admitted to having mental health issues. 65% of the employees felt there was stigma surrounding men’s mental illness.
Nathan Shearman is a psychotherapist at Red Umbrella and the director of training and therapy. He believes the results of the survey highlight the importance of mental health support for the workplace.
“The results, although shocking, are not entirely surprising,” he said.
“Even if your company has supportive policies and reduces risk factors of poor mental health, or creates a positive working environment – all very important – some employees will still be affected by outside influences that affect their work.
Employees are increasingly looking to employers for support, no matter what the situation.
This means that both proactive and reactive support, such as training or counselling, are part of the solution.
The study shows that mental health support is important in the workplace. This could be done by having mental health first aiders in the workplace or providing counselling and therapy.
Only 20% of respondents said that work was the most important factor affecting their mental health. However, all of them would find that their mental well-being had an impact on their work.
Shearman believes that workplaces should adopt strategies to combat the stigma surrounding men’s mental illness, even though there are efforts to reduce this.
He said: “We know that men are the hardest to reach for mental health support.
The stigma surrounding men’s health and the tendency to’man up’ and ‘get on with it’ are still barriers for males to feel able to receive support.
Increased transparency and awareness from a business standpoint about the challenges facing your workforce can go a very long way in improving the well-being of your employees.
The most effective way for men to deal with issues is to implement a strategy that reduces stigma, makes the most of existing support systems, and strategically adds services to meet specific challenges.
To find out more about how Red Umbrella supports businesses in their mental health training requirements, visitredumbrella.co.uk
The first time this article appeared was on HR News.
