'Mind Your Own Business' - how can we best support employers to improve the mental health of their employees?

Headnote

Every organisation in Britain is affected by mental distress and ill health in the workforce. At any one time, one worker in five will be experiencing mental distress, depression or problems relating to stress. Mental ill health is normal in every workplace in the land.1 Ruth Fletcher-Brown, Public Health Specialist (Mental Health and Domestic Abuse) at Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council looks at how best we can support employers to improve mental wellbeing in their organisation.

Despite the prevalence of mental distress within workplaces, health promotion workplace interventions have tended to focus on physical health,2,3 perhaps because employers understand this. Research with employers in the Yorkshire and Humber region revealed that despite stress and mental health problems being the most prevalent causes of sickness absence, only 33% of respondents provided mental health and stress reduction interventions, compared to 79% on exercise.4 From the perspective of employees, research from the Priory Group5 highlighted that fewer than three In ten people would tell their employer about their mental health condition.

It is well documented that creating mentally healthy workplaces has benefits for employees and employers. Research from Business in the Community found that the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) 100 companies, which had robust arrangements for employee engagement and wellbeing, outperformed the rest of FTSE 100 companies by 10%.6

Traditionally, where mental health interventions in the workplace have existed, they have tended to focus on individuals, relating to problems and not answering why and how interventions work.7 The recent report by the Chief Medical Officer8 commented that workplace strategies which were about prevention had not proved cost effective, and by focusing on risk, it may perversely lead to an increase in Illness reporting.

The knowledge of how and why interventions are effective Is Important when considering the diversity of workplaces In the United Kingdom. Initiatives promoting mental health within workplaces need to be mindful of the uniqueness of organisations, their working climates and priorities.9 Resources, both financial and time, are limited within the public sector and with employers; therefore, learning should be shared to make best use of these limited resources.

An increasing number of employers would like more support on mental health, and Rotherham employers expressed this same need.10 Rotherham's response was to deliver a project...