Mates in Mind has said it was encouraged by the level of engagement driven by a debate that took place in the House of Commons for increased mental health awareness at work.
The charity has also extended its thanks to those MPs who highlighted the work Mates in Mind carries out along with its Business Champions and Supporters from across construction and related sectors.
Mates in Mind has said it believes more must be done, however, to achieve a fundamental change to workplace mental wellbeing, as the impact that mental ill-health poses to UK workplaces is both incredibly widespread and complex.
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in 2017/18 there were 15.4 million working days lost as a result of work-related stress anxiety or depression, up from 12.5 million in the previous year. This equates to 57.3% of the 26.8 million work days lost to ill health.
Mates in Mind will now seek to act upon the important items added to the political agenda during the debate, appealing to leaders across UK’s industries to take note of the growing evidence of need, and also the means by which to take action. This will include the standards recommended by the Stevenson/Farmer review of mental health and employers, published in October 2017.
The report identified six core standards that could apply to all workplaces regardless of size:
- Produce, implement and communicate a mental health at work plan
- Develop mental health awareness among employees
- Encourage open conversations about mental health and the support available when employees are struggling
- Provide employees with good working conditions
- Promote effective people management
- Routinely monitor employee mental health and wellbeing.
Using such measures, as detailed within the ‘Thriving at Work’ report, and working in collaboration with industry partners, Mates in Mind has developed its mental health programme which embodies the principle that there is no health without mental health.
The charity can, therefore, offer its support to industry leaders to develop a positive mental wellbeing environment and drive a meaningful shift in workforce cultures across the UK.
In response to the debate, James Rudoni, Managing Director of Mates at Mind, said: “At Mates in Mind, we believe in a long-lasting transformation of workplace mental health, through which organisations can go beyond tackling a crisis of mental ill-health and act to prevent it in the first instance.
“In this way Mates in Mind affirms the position taken by Minister Norman Lamb in that a ‘fundamental point is that the approach we should be taking is about preventing ill health in the workplace’. Therefore, while we celebrate the actions being taken to move mental health up the government agenda, and the legislative changes that could develop from the debate, we will continue to work with our industry partners to strive for the transformation of workplace culture.”
For more information, visit www.matesinmind.org.
