HR Industry News

Mental illness at work

— 11 October 2007 —

Mental illness is increasing in the UK. It is the fastest growing cause of sick leave, with a vast economic cost: some 13 million working days are lost every year due to stress, depression, and anxiety. Work and Pensions Minister Lord McKenzie and Health Minister Ivan Lewis have now called on businesses to tackle the stigma attached to mental health conditions in the workplace, and have launched a practical managers’ guide containing advice on how to support their staff.

Lord McKenzie urged businesses to stop "burying their heads in the sand", saying the pressures of today’s global economy mean that everyone will encounter mental ill health at work at some point. He said the personal and business costs of ignoring these issues are immense and cannot be ignored. Despite this, there remains a taboo on talking about mental illness at work. Lord McKenzie said fear and ignorance are the biggest barriers, with employees actually being afraid to tell their employer about their condition.

The most enlightened employers are investing in health risk appraisal tools, team resilience programmes and employee/manager training on the preventative side whilst sourcing support for employees in crisis (whether it be work or personally based) using Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs), private medical insurance and Cognitive Behaviuoural Therapy (CBT) initiatives. Of course these all take initial investment but some tremendous returns are being reported. Paul Avis, Corporate Development Manager , LifeWorks

The survey revealed that eight out of ten respondents believed work can help people recover from mental illness. Three quarters thought that employers focus too much on what people with a mental health condition cannot do, instead of what they can do. 80% felt that employers have a responsibility to provide care and support to employees with mental health conditions.

I believe that this report will help employers to provide better support to their staff who develop mental health problems in the workplace by encouraging people to talk about problems.  Both businesses and employees benefit from tackling these issues, staff feel supported while businesses benefit from reduced sickness absence and improved. Ivan Lewis, Health Minister

The manager's handbook has been developed by Shift, the Government’s programme to reduce the stigma and discrimination directed towards people with mental health problems, in an initiative supported by the Health Work and Well-being strategy.

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