World Mental Health Day take place on Thursday 10 October and is an opportunity for all of us to raise awareness of mental health issues and advocate against social stigma.
The day provides an opportunity for all employers and employees to add to the wider conversation that will be occurring on social media, television and elsewhere. This is an opportunity to highlight the fantastic work groups and individuals are already doing to address mental health stigma in the workplace, and introduce new and targeted activities anchored to the event.
The theme of this year’s event is suicide and suicide prevention.
Every year close to 800,000 people globally take their own life and there are many more people who attempt suicide. Every suicide is a tragedy that affects families, communities and has long-lasting effects on the people left behind. It is the leading cause of death among young people aged 20-34 years in the UK and is the second leading cause of death among 15-29 year-olds globally.
Mental health is a significant issue that organisations cannot afford to ignore:
- 1 in 4 British workers are affected by conditions like anxiety, depression and stress every year
- 9 out of 10 people who experience mental health problems say they face stigma and discrimination as a result
- 60% of people say that stigma and discrimination are as damaging, or more damaging, than the symptoms of their mental health problem and 54% percent of people say they are impacted most by such stigma in their place of work
Poor mental health can have a significant cost to employers:
- Every year a cost of between £33 billion and £42 billion is incurred by employers as a result of poor mental health
- Mental ill health is the leading cause of sickness absence in the UK, costing an average of £1,035 per employee per year
- 300,000 people leave their place of work each year due to poor mental health
For further information about World Mental Health Day, access to information for employers and employees and to download a ‘Time to Change’ activity pack visit: https://www.time-to-change.org.uk/
Macc participation in MIND’s Workplace Wellbeing Index 2019/20
Macc has signed up for this year’s Workplace Wellbeing Index. This year will be Mind's fourth Workplace Wellbeing Index and in its first three years, it has reached over 100,000 employees through the staff survey, working with 160 organisations.
Like any other employer, Macc depends on having healthy and productive employees – valued and supported staff are far more likely to deliver the best outcomes for our organisation. We know that people perform better when they feel able to put everything into their job and when they are confident, motivated and completely focused on doing that. Good mental health underpins this and is a priority for Macc.
Macc identified MIND’s Workplace Wellbeing Index as a benchmark of best policy and practice. We believe this will enable Macc to find out where we are doing well and more importantly highlight where we can improve our future approach to mental health in the workplace.
For further information about the index visit: https://www.mind.org.uk/workplace/workplace-wellbeing-index/