Systematic approach to supporting mental health is key to changing workplace attitudes
Supporting the mental wellbeing of a diverse workforce will be discussed by Dr Nick Taylor, Co-founder & CEO at Unmind, on 9 September at 10:15 during REBA’s Employee Wellbeing Congress. Register here to attend.
The Employee Wellbeing Research 2020 report, published by REBA in association with AXA PPP healthcare, highlights that 55% of employers have a dedicated strategy for managing employee mental health, a rise from 46% last year.
It is giving rise to profound change in the way mental health is perceived and tackled. For example, almost all organisations that have a mental health plan in place (94%) say their approach is changing company culture for the better. In organisations where there is no formal mental health strategy, only 67% agree they are making strides in improving company culture.
The divide is also apparent when it comes to senior management support for creating more mentally healthy workplaces.
A huge 79% of employers that have a specific strategy in place say bosses lead by example in trying to make clear that mental health is a priority, compared with only 39% of organisations where there is no strategy.
Importantly, 77% of employers with a strategy believe staff feel able to discuss mental health problems and seek support without fear of ridicule or stigma. For employers without a strategy, this figure decreases to less than half (43%).
Greater numbers of employers with a managed approach to supporting mental health are also offering awareness training to line managers and employees. They include mental health in their diversity and inclusion strategies and treat it as if were a protected characteristic, such as age, gender or race.
“The gap in terms of a mentally healthy culture between those employers with a dedicated strategy to improve it and those without, mirrors our findings from 2019,” says the report. “It underlines that a strategic rather than a tick-box approach to addressing psychological wellbeing is key in bringing about meaningful and lasting change to workplace culture.”
A total of 309 wellbeing, HR and employee benefits professionals were surveyed for the research.
Download a copy of the 92-page Employee Wellbeing Research 2020 (free to REBA Professional Members and all those working for REBA Associate Members).
The author is Rima Evans, freelance writer for REBA.
