Mental Health In The Workplace

By John Mitchinson In Health & Safety Statistics No comments

To paraphrase the promotion slogan of the 1973 film, “That will be the day”, starring David Essex,

“Show me someone who has never had any metal health issues and I’ll show you a Liar!”

Why do so many organisations, large and small, continue to ignore mental health?

The answer might well be that its hard to define, however, you don’t have to be a doctor or a
specialist to be able to identify someone in need of help.

Today’s modern life is thought to have created “the age of Anxiety” with one in five people feeling
anxious all or a lot of the time; as much as 27% of people say work issues, like working long hours,
and work deadlines are a source of the problem!

Even the government recognises it’s a hidden illness that needs addressing. The Scottish government had a mental health minister back it 2014, the present is Clare Haughey MSP: In 2015, Luciana Berger, Liverpool Wavertree Labour MP was made the shadow minister by Jeremy Corbyn and more recently Prime Minister Theresa May appointed a minister for suicide prevention, Jackie Doyle-price, Thurrock, Conservative MP.

“Statistically 22% of women are more likely to have anxiety issues against 15% of men,” (Getty)
Or is this a statistic that suggests women are more likely to talk about stress?

We think with all the good intentions concerning mental health we are missing the point, that instead of looking for an end result and try to treat the problem after the fact, we need to consider and adhere to the methodology of risk assessment.

To this end Your Health and Safety Company create bespoke courses, incorporating the hierarchy of controls when considering an assessment of mental health within the workplace.

Courses are designed to support your managers and team leaders to identify and act on mental health awareness; to use an action plan to assist them to discover how to cope and deal with the issues of stress, at the source, before it becomes an emotional, moral and financial situation.

Want to find out more? Contact us today and see how we can help.