Mental Health at Work

An independent review on how employers can better support the mental health of employees, including those with mental health problems or poor well-being, has been published today.

The review warned that 300,000 people lose their job every year because of long-term mental health problems. Figures cited in the report also revealed that around 15% of people currently at work have symptoms of existing mental health problems.

In many workplaces, mental health is still a taboo subject and that opportunities are missed to prevent poor mental health and ensure employees who may be struggling get the support they need. The Stevenson/Farmer review, which can be found here http://bit.ly/2iC9EvH contains 40 recommendations. They include:-

• all employers should adopt mental health core standards, set out in the report;

• public sector, and private sector employers with over 500 employees, should take additional steps, again set out in the report;

• employers should be encouraged by legislation to report publicly on their workforce’s mental health;

• professional bodies should implement training and support measures for their employer members.