Mental Health is being talked about more, yet there is still a stigma attached causing so many people not to seek help when it is desperately needed…
We met Mates in Mind at UK Construction Week back in October 2019, we were shocked at the statistics they were communicating about mental ill-health in the construction industry and asked the team if they could prepare something to share with our customers and audience of construction professionals.
Mates in Mind is a leading UK charity which enables organisations, of any size, to improve their workforces’ mental health. We do this by working alongside employers to provide the skills, clarity and confidence to positively transform the mental health of their workforces.
The charity was established back in 2017, because the business and human cost of mental ill-health on UK industries was becoming both increasingly concerning and unavoidable.
In 2019, the HSE found that depression and anxiety accounted for 44% of all work-related ill health cases and 54% of all working days lost due to ill-health. The report highlighted that the total number of working days lost due to this condition in 2018/19 was 12.8 million days, equating to an average of 21.2 days lost per case.
An individual’s mental health can be influenced and impacted by workplace pressures and working conditions – from mounting responsibilities and tight deadlines to inter-workplace relations and managerial support. Therefore, it can have an influence on our overall mental health both positively as well as negatively.
Presenteeism is the presence of people who are ill at work and is difficult to quantify. This is now acknowledged as a key factor for businesses; and therefore, demands that employers consider the impacts of poor mental health on the productivity and health of their workforces, and by extension, their business.
At Mates in Mind we know that the ultimate cost of poor mental health is a human one.
With over 6,507 suicides registered in the UK last year alone, Mates in Mind are striving to get people talking about mental health. The negative impacts of mental ill-health are widespread: in the UK alone, 3 in 5 employees will experience mental health issues as a result of their work.[i] It is vital we open up this conversation.
We understand that workplaces and the overall health of our businesses are determined by the health of our employees. That is why we are here to help.
Working in partnership with over 350 organisations, reaching more than 235,000 individuals across the UK, we are transforming workplaces across the UK. By providing organisations with an approach support by dedicated Support Managers, communication materials, a suite of tools and resources, technical support and more, we are striving for long-term change.
We are using our joined-up approach to mental health to help employers embed a meaningful and long-lasting change within their workplaces and improve the mental health of their employees.
For more information about how Mates in Mind can support your organisation and managers in improving mental health at work, get in touch with the team at support@matesinmind.org
[i] The Prince’s Responsible Business Network, Mental Health at Work 2018 Summary Report, 2018