More than half of us report our mental health as ‘not good’: 5 reasons you should care, and 5 ways to fix it

Our mental health and day-to-day wellbeing are affected by numerous things, whether individually or in combination. Things like illness, bereavement, social life or lack thereof, your job and the security of it, your family circumstances among many other things. For so many of us, work is a huge part of our lives – we spend hours a day there, and it has a direct effect on our lives and wellbeing. It really isn’t a surprise that how we feel at work can impact the rest of our lives outside of the office.

With nearly 70% of people reporting feeling disengaged at work, companies need to be aware that poor employee mental health has real consequences, both for the employer and the employee. Have a read below to find out why you should be making mental health your business.

It’ll save you money

Bad mental health left unchecked can cause your staff to take time off work, and time off work costs money, and can ultimately result in you losing staff members. High employee turnover is nothing anyone responsible for hiring wants to see.

Employees suffering from mental health issues are way more likely to take time off work, but it’s not just absence you need to keep an eye out for. Presenteeism, that is, employees who are present but not fully functioning due to mental health problems can be less productive.

There’s also the fact that if employees continue to feel work is worsening their mental health, they might leave. Someone handing their notice in due to burnout isn’t an exit interview any HR professional wants to do, so thinking through how to ensure your staff’s mental health is a priority and not an afterthought is something that should be on everyone’s mind, particularly your management team. A study by Deloitte found that for every £1 a business spends on mental health interventions, employers get an average return of £5 in reduced absence, presenteeism, and staff turnover – it will literally keep money in your pocket.

Productivity levels are better

When you’re happy, it shows in your work. Higher output levels are associated with mental well-being at work, and it’s been proven that employees produce higher-quality work when they’re feeling at their best. Employees who feel supported by their employers regarding mental health are proven to be more productive and less likely to take time off work due to stress or mental health issues. Gallup research shows that engaged employees, who often have better mental well-being, are 21% more productive than their disengaged counterparts. If you’re not excited by a 20% uptick in productivity, you’re doing it wrong.

Your employees will be more engaged

When people’s mental health is good, they care about things more. That’s it, that’s the advice.

Employees that are mentally well, take care of their wellbeing and are supported by their managers tend to have higher energy and levels of mental clarity. They make better decisions and are more invested in the work they’re doing. They also tend to be more open-minded; good mental health can encourage creativity and the willingness to try new things. The UK's Stevenson/Farmer review of mental health and employers highlighted that employees in good mental health are more engaged than those who are not.

The mood in your office will be brighter

If your team has a good mental health baseline, you’ll experience more positive attitudes within your workforce. Mentally healthy employees are more motivated and enthusiastic about their roles. Mental wellness encourages a more supportive culture and a team that will share when they’re struggling as opposed to keeping it to themselves. The old adage of ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’ rings true: when your staff share their struggles, they open themselves up for support and help from those around them.

Employees who feel supported at work are more likely to build and maintain positive relationships with their colleagues and management too, evidenced by a study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. It was found that employees with high levels of mental well-being had significantly higher levels of job satisfaction.

Your culture will sell itself

If you’re in a supportive work environment, you’re way more likely to tell your friends and network about it, resulting in an enhanced reputation for the business. Your employees will be more loyal, leading to people sticking around for longer – if you’re happy in your role, and supported when times get tough, why would you think about moving on?

Here’s how to do it

Get the work-life balance right

Holiday allowance, flexibility in hours and an ability to work with their managers to build a schedule that suits everyone are all things that can help in getting this right. Encouraging staff to use their holidays is important – we’ve all met that one colleague who never seems to take time off, and making sure your team aren’t so overwhelmed they’re working late every night is vital too. If your staff are more remote, keeping in touch with them and checking how things are going regularly, not only when things start to slip is key to keeping on top of your team’s mental health.

Mental health programs

Use external providers, online resources and in-office events to give your team access to mental health support. Providing resources can be the first step in showing that you’re supportive about mental health – if the management is talking about it, then everyone will likely feel more comfortable doing so too.

Those mental health days you see businesses posting about on Linkedin can be a good first step, but don’t do it as an empty promise; if you’re going to share content about encouraging staff to talk and seek support, you have to be ready for it when it happens. One way to do this is to ensure your business has a trained mental health first aider (or ideally, more than one!). Many organisations like St. John Ambulance and MHFA England offer these courses, and they can be invaluable for building a support network within your business. MHFA England reports that 75% of employees who had spoken to an MHFA said it led to the help they needed to manage their mental health, and the Workplace Wellbeing Index, undertaken by Mind showed that workplaces with mental health first aiders in place reported higher levels of peer support, and earlier intervention for mental health issues, leading to issues being caught before they caused a disruption, both to work and to the employee’s health. It’s a no-brainer.

Build a culture of sharing

This is your leadership team’s time to shine. By ensuring those at the top are approachable, and actively encourage their team to share their opinions and concerns without fear of any repercussions, you build a solid foundation for open communication. Having good inclusive policies that promote inclusion and respect is important here too – employees will feel safer sharing their thoughts and feelings without feeling they may be judged for it. Clear communication channels and transparency around these are vital – if there’s a dedicated person someone should talk to about their mental health, make sure everyone knows who that is.

Training and development

This has myriad benefits. It enhances your staff’s knowledge, can keep them up to date with current industry developments, and also ensures they’re always feeling competent and confident that they can perform their tasks. It’s also a really good way of advancing your employee’s careers – if there is a clear path set out for them, with goalposts to reach that are regularly discussed, they’re more likely to be willing to work towards it. If your staff don’t know how to progress, they never will.

There’s probably a lot of training you can do internally; every team has a member who excels at one specific thing – get them to share their best practice and advice. You can also employ outside trainers; either get them to come on-site and deliver training for all, use e-learning platforms or send specific team members on training courses. You can also send staff to conferences, workshops and seminars, giving them a chance to learn and develop amongst their peers - the options are endless.

Recognition for achievements

Recognising employees for what they do on a regular basis can boost morale and enhance engagement. If an employee feels appreciated for what they do, they’re a lot less likely to go looking elsewhere for a better option, and it also fosters a more positive work environment – you’ll find your staff start to cheer each other’s achievements on and collaborate more on things they wouldn’t previously. Rewarded behaviour will reinforce itself, and encourage other team members to follow suit.

In this day and age, where we’re all a bit frazzled and nearly everyone you know will have experienced a period of burnout, prioritising mental health isn’t just about compassion, it’s a strategy you really do need to adopt. As stated in the title, with over half of the UK workforce reporting their mental health as ‘not good’, the impact on businesses doesn’t bear thinking about. Taking steps towards having an open and proactive culture when it comes to mental well-being is really the only option.

Ultimately, a workplace where mental health is valued and supported from day one and not just when things are too bad to bear ensures we’re preserving loyalty amongst our staff, strong performance levels and also building a strong reputation for being employers that care. Taking action now is better than waiting until there’s a crisis. Make mental health a priority; it’ll make your business more successful, stable and sustainable overall.