The number of people affected by mental health issues in one form or another reaches almost 25% and yet so few people have more than a rudimentary understanding of the mental health issues affecting our communities.
There is a lot of great work being done to raise awareness and help improve the situation both in the community and in the workplace. For Mental Health Awareness Week, several organizations have been working to help people feel more comfortable discussing mental health.
The Royal Foundation, Heads Together, led by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, is one of these organizations. Prince Harry himself has even reported recently that he has struggled since the death of his mother and has sought the help of counsellors.
Mental health issues affect every aspect of our communities and mental health awareness for employers is of special importance due to the impact of poor mental health on performance at work.
There are several reasons for business owners and managers to be more aware of the mental health issues facing their workforce. One of these reasons is that employees often don’t feel comfortable speaking with their employers about the problems they are having; they are afraid of being stigmatized or judged in ways that could have an effect on their livelihood and job security.
In fact, a study conducted by Mind revealed the following statistics:
When asked how workplace stress had effected them:
- More than 21% agreed that they had called in sick to avoid work due to stress.
- 14% said that they had resigned and 42% had considered resigning due to stress.
- 30% of staff disagreed with the statement ‘I would feel able to talk openly with my line manager if I was feeling stressed’.
- 56% of employers said they would like to do more to improve staff wellbeing but don’t feel they have the right training or guidance.
An easy way to become more informed on the issues facing your employees is to take a course designed to help employers understand the issues and help improve staff wellbeing. We have some very good online courses that can help you and your teams understand how to help team members with the mental health issues that commonly affect people in the workplace. You can find the details here.
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