Search Results for: mental

November 19, 2018

Business leaders call for legislation ensuring compulsory mental first aid at work

by Sara Bean • Legal news, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Business leaders have called today for the Government to update health and safety legislation to protect mental health in the workplace. In an Open Letter to the Prime Minister signed by more than 50 leaders of some of Britain’s biggest employers including PwC, Royal Mail, WHSmith, Mace, Ford and Thames Water calls on the Government to prioritise its manifesto pledge to amend health and safety legislation to put mental and physical first aid on an equal footing. With mental health issues estimated to cost the UK economy almost £35 billion every year as 15.4 million working days are lost to work-related stress, depression or anxiety the letter, signed by the Chairman of Mental Health First Aid England and the CEO of Bauer Media Group, along with leaders of some of the UK’s biggest employers, are asking that workplaces are required to make provision for mental as well as physical first aid.

November 19, 2018

The most common workplace tactics for health promotion may be detrimental for overweight employees

by Mark Eltringham • News, Wellbeing

Workplace health promotion programmes that encourage employees to take responsibility for their own weight may have detrimental effects for employees with obesity, reveals a new study. These range from feeling increasingly responsible for their weight but perceiving they have less control over it, to increased workplace weight stigma and discrimination. Ironically, these effects could even lead to increased obesity and decreased wellbeing. Published in Frontiers in Psychology, the study finds these pitfalls could be avoided through programs focusing on the employer’s responsibility to maintain employee health.

November 16, 2018

Biophilic design the key to improving mental health, productivity and stress levels

by Neil Franklin • Architecture, News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

An expert panel at this week’s Welcome to the Biophilic Concrete Jungle event in London made the case for incorporating the principles of biophilic design into the workplace, including for health and wellbeing considerations, the promotion of productivity and to address workplace stress and urban disconnection from nature. HOK organised the event. Panellists included Joyce Chan, Head of Sustainability and Trina Marshall, Regional Leader of Consulting from HOK, Professor Derek Clements-Croome from Reading University, Alexander Bond from Biophilic Design and Dr Ed Suttie from BRE.

November 9, 2018

Importance of mental wellbeing underlined on national stress awareness day

by Mark Eltringham • Company news, Wellbeing

In the fourth of their series of wellbeing events leading flooring manufacturer Milliken invited Neil Shah (founder and Director or the Stress Management Society and best-selling author) to run an ‘excelling under pressure’ workshop. Interior designers and architects are known to be amongst the most stressed workers with tight deadlines, financial pressure and an ultra-competitive environment.

October 26, 2018

We need to move on from the stigma of mental health to finding solutions

by Gary Helm • Comment, Wellbeing

Just as in physical health, everybody has a level of mental health. And while companies have begun to offer corporate gym membership discounts, bowls of fruit around the office, monthly massage and investment in huge amounts of ergonomically supportive furniture to try to assist their colleagues in maintaining a good level of physical health, few seem to be getting to grips with their colleagues’ mental wellbeing, despite the reality that they are dealing with huge numbers of employees who struggle.

October 23, 2018

Lack of motivation at work impacts both performance and mental health

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Over seven in ten UK employees want their employers to do more to motivate them claims a new study from Reward Gateway which suggests that some of the alarming effects that being unmotivated has on employees included a worsening in mood (60 percent); reduction in productivity levels (48 percent); declining mental health (46 percent) and a reduction in quality of work (40 percent). Over a quarter (26 percent) say their relationships with family and friends suffer and 2 in 10 admit to drinking more alcohol when lacking motivation.

October 10, 2018

Long waits for mental health treatment lead to life changing problems, RCPsych study finds

by Neil Franklin • News

A quarter of people (24 percent) with a diagnosed mental health condition reported waiting more than three months to see an NHS mental health specialist, a poll for the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) has found. Some (6 percent) say they waited more than a year to see an NHS mental health specialist – one man interviewed following the poll said he waited 13 years to get the help he needed. Where respondents’ mental health got worse, these waits led to relationship problems including divorce (36 percent), financial troubles (32 percent) and work problems including job loss (34 percent).

October 10, 2018

Third of working parents worry about their children’s mental health

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Today is World Mental Health Day and new research from Bupa has found that concerns over mental health is not confined to adults, as a third of employees say they worry about their children’s mental health while at work. The research, conducted among working parents of 4-18 year olds reveals that children’s mental health is among parents’ greatest concerns, on par with physical health and academic performance. The only concern that ranks higher is future financial prospects. More →

October 9, 2018

Majority of staff feel there is more awareness of mental health at work

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The majority of employees (77 percent) agree that people should take proactive steps to manage their mental health a new survey has revealed. Of those surveyed, the vast majority felt that there is increased awareness about mental health (87 percent) and that people are more willing to talk openly about mental health issues than they were a few years ago (82 percent). The impact of high-profile people speaking out about their own mental health challenges was believed to be the biggest influencing factor, cited by more than half (53 percent) of respondents. More →

September 26, 2018

CIPD and Mind launch guidance for managers to support mental health at work

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

The CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, and Mind, the mental health charity, have today jointly published a revised mental health guide for managers to improve support for those experiencing stress and mental health issues at work. The updated guidance follows recent CIPD research which found that less than one in three organisations (32 percent) train line managers to support staff with poor mental health.

September 25, 2018

Fifth of workers fake physical illness to cover up mental health issues

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

A fifth (42 percent) of UK employees call in sick claiming a physical illness, when in reality it’s a mental health issue and just 15 percent would tell their boss the truth about having a mental health issue a new report claims. According to the research from BHSF, over half (56 percent) of employees admitted to suffering from stress, a third from anxiety (36 percent) and a quarter from depression (25 percent). Despite 88 percent of employees suffering from poor mental health admitting that work is either the main cause or a contributing factor, just 15 percent would tell their boss if they were struggling with an issue of this nature. More →

September 11, 2018

Half of workers have experienced poor mental health in their current job

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

A new and major study into workplace wellbeing by the the charity Mind claims that poor mental health at work is widespread, with half (48 per cent) of all people surveyed saying they have experienced a mental health problem in their current job. The survey of more than 44,000 employees also revealed that only half of those who had experienced poor mental health had talked to their employer about it, suggesting that as many as one in four UK workers is struggling in silence. These findings are revealed as a new online Mental Health at Work ‘gateway’ is launched today by HRH the Duke of Cambridge. Mind, with support from The Royal Foundation, Heads Together and 11 other organisations, has created the UK-wide portal as a free resource for both employers and employees.