It’s the start of Mental Health Awareness Week and just one of the many articles and resources launched this week is this from the British Safety Council. They have launched a series of health and wellbeing videos and resources to provide support and information for employers and workers and a really good piece on SHP Online shares it:

https://www.shponline.co.uk/mental-health/mental-health-awareness-week-how-to-beat-stress-and-keep-the-mind-healthy/?elq_mid=1698&elq_cid=421138

So many barriers and taboos relating to mental health are being broken down and more people relate to this issue however some of the statistics available really highlight why it is so important for us all to continually focus on mental health not just in the workplace but throughout our lives:

• 1 in 4 will experience a mental health problem each year (MIND, 2018)
• In 2017 the overall cost of mental health problems to UK employers was almost £35 billion (Centre for Mental health, 2017)
• 3 out of 5 employees experience mental health issues because of work (Mental Health at Work, 2018 Summary Report, 2018)
• 84% of managers accept that employee wellbeing is their responsibility but less than a quarter (24%) of managers have received any training in mental health (Business in the Community, Mental Health at Work Report, 2017)
• 34% of construction workers surveyed had experienced a mental health condition in the last 12 months (Randstad, 2017)
• Suicide rates amongst construction workers was 3.7 times above the national average (Office for National Statistics)

Yet more really supportive resources relating to the workplace can be found here: https://www.mentalhealthatwork.org.uk/toolkit/workplace-stress-fulfilling-your-responsibilities-as-an-employer/ and The Samaritans have some really helpful information on their website: https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/support-and-information/if-youre-having-difficult-time/signs-you-may-be-struggling-cope/

There will be so much content and exposure of the topic this week but it doesn’t stop on Friday… it’s so important we keep the conversation going and are mindful of the health and wellbeing of ourselves and those around us both at work and at home.