World Mental Health Day – it’s good to talk

Last week [10 October] was World Mental Health Day and people across the country were sharing content on social media, raising money and having ‘Tea and Talks’ with colleagues and friends to show that mental health matters and it’s okay to ask for help.

Celebrities, sport stars and even royals were also getting on board – from Kate Middleton, who gave a speech in Birmingham about the importance of breaking the stigma around mental health to Olympian Simone Biles, who talked about taking as much care of her mind as she does her body.

In terms of the workplace, the timing of World Mental Health Day couldn’t have been more relevant, coming hot on the heels of the CIPD’s and Simplyhealth’s Health and wellbeing at work report 2023, published just two weeks earlier.

The report showed that workplace absences soared to their highest levels in a decade, with UK employees being absent an average of 7.8 days over the past year – two whole days more than the pre-pandemic rate of 5.8 days. Interestingly,  mental ill health was cited as the main reason for long-term absence from work and one of the top causes for short-term absences.

Thankfully, there have been huge strides in raising awareness and tackling the stigma around mental health. Thanks to initiatives like World Mental Health Day, Stress Awareness Month and Time to Talk Day, the courage of those who have spoken out and a positive shift in attitudes, individuals are more open to talking about their mental health challenges – whether that’s with friends, family or colleagues.

However, issues such as the cost of living crisis, global financial uncertainty and even climate change are continuing to have a real impact on people’s mental health. So what more, as employers, can we do to support our teams?

Creating an open and inclusive culture at work, where managers feel empowered to have conversations with staff about mental health and signpost them to sources of support, is imperative. Spotting the signs, reviewing workloads, encouraging a good work-life balance, offering flexible working and promoting mental health awareness are all tools that employers can embrace to ensure their staff feel supported in this area.

And it can’t simply be about paying lip service to a topic that is on everyone’s lips.  It’s about making tangible changes that have leadership backing, are written into policies and are clearly communicated. Importantly, as business leaders, we have to walk the talk and lead by example.

Employee health and wellbeing initiatives and policies are high on our agenda at Freshwater. Since the pandemic, we’ve offered a style of working called ‘Freshwater Flex’, where staff can choose to work from home or in the office depending on their needs, those of clients and of the business.

We’ve also established a People Standards and Inclusion Group, made up of representatives from across the business, who organise wellness initiatives that support our team, while building morale and guarding against work-related stress.

In the last few months, the Freshwater team has been having a go at everything from fitness challenges and breathwork exercises to Nidra yoga and Nia dance classes. There’s been talks on nutrition and alcohol awareness, delivered by team members, while our latest initiative encourages staff to ‘get moving’ by taking a break from their desk, for at least 30 minutes a day, and having a walk with colleagues.

All of this is absolutely essential – not only is it the right thing to do, but supporting people to stay well and at work obviously makes good business sense too.

But having a positive approach to mental health in the workplace is just one area of focus and shouldn’t be looked at in isolation. Employers need to take a holistic view – from promoting exercise, healthy lifestyles and a work life balance to crafting policies around other health and wellbeing concerns, such as menopause, periods, reproductive issues and men’s health.

Fortunately, there’s a huge amount of resource out there to help employers do just that, including Public Health Wales’s Healthy Working Wales initiative, which provides employers with insightful content around healthy working environments, healthy lifestyle behaviours and supporting employees with a health condition.

While there is a clear business case for organisations to think creatively and invest in the health and wellbeing of their employees, the picture is much bigger than this. The average person in Wales will spend around 90,000 hours at work during their lifetime, which means, as employers, we have both a responsibility and a huge opportunity to have a positive impact on the health and well-being of the nation – and its balance sheet.

This article was written by our chief executive, Angharad Neagle, and featured in the Western Mail on 16 October 2023