Over half of all work-related ill health is due to stress, depression, or anxiety.
You can support HSE’s Working Minds campaign to raise awareness of how to promote good mental health at work. The Working Minds campaign brings together a range of tools and support to help businesses.
Employers have a legal responsibility to help their employees. Leaders and managers can check in on how people are feeling and coping at work. Failure to manage stress at work can cost employers in reduced productivity, negative impact on performance, poor morale, increased employee sickness absence, recruitment, and retention challenges etc.
We all have challenging times and like any other work-related risk to health, risks to mental health should be included in risk assessments at work. We support our clients with stress risk assessment, strategies for supporting employees with their mental health and having a culture that encourages raising awareness about mental health.
Anxiety and depression are the most common mental health problems and whilst the causes can be due to difficult life events, they can also be caused by work-related issues, or a combination of both. 2024 mental health statistics, show more vulnerable groups are the younger generation, BAME or LGBTQIA+. Men are also less likely to talk about their mental health and women are more likely to report anxiety. Younger people aged 16-29 are 28% more likely to experienced anxiety.
Managing mental health at work
Employers have a responsibility to identify the risks of stress and act on them to improve conditions at work. That might mean adjusting and helping someone manage a mental health problem.
There are practical resources and support available:
Working Minds campaign free online learning
HSE’s risk assessment template to record risks and actions.
employing disabled people and people with health conditions on GOV.UK