Stress and Mental Health in the Workplace David Lyon, Centre for Mental Health

Stress and Mental Health in the Workplace Stressors: Within the workplace Outside the workplace Stress as an indicator of an underlying mental health condition

Workplace stress Not a medical condition – and not necessarily workplace-caused But its effects in the workplace are real – and can aggravate underlying medical conditions

Mental Health conditions - Prevalence One in four at some point in their lifetime One in six in the workplace at any one time Of which: Only one in four will seek treatment 76% of line managers say they have managed at least one person who they knew had a mental health condition (Employers Forum on Disability, 2008 Great Places to Work survey)

What do we mean by mental ill health? Variety of conditions Common: depression, anxiety, phobias Less common: bipolar disorder, schizophrenia Medical interventions for these range from talking therapies to medications Majority of conditions can be managed safely within the workplace

CIPD survey findings published Oct 2011 Stress is the most common cause of long-term sickness absence for both manual and non-manual employees. Employers planning to make redundancies in the next six months are significantly more likely to report an increase in mental health problems among their staff (51% compared with 32% who are not planning redundancies). For manual workers, stress is now level with acute medical conditions and has overtaken musculoskeletal problems to become the top cause of long-term absence. While among non-manual staff, stress has moved ahead of acute medical conditions.

Legal considerations Equalities Act 2010 Ongoing Mental Health conditions now specifically identified as a disability Obligation on employer to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ What might these adjustments be? What is ‘reasonable’? Actually, the business imperative is greater...

Costs Sickness absence Presenteeism Staff turnover Total cost to UK economy - £26bn (2007)

The Business Case Total cost to a company for each person employed = £1,035 / year Source: Centre for Mental Health, 2007

Call to action Policies Workplace set-up, physical and cultural Recognition of work as a protective factor Employee Assistance Programmes Training

BITC Workwell Model

Role of the workplace Line managers should be supported to understand that the health and wellbeing of employees is their responsibility, and should be willing to take action when health and well-being are at risk” Dame Carol Black Working for a Healthier Tomorrow (2008),p59; “All staff need information on mental health conditions, how to identify early signs and symptoms and most importantly training to enable them to have the confidence to approach someone who is showing signs of distress and signpost them to appropriate help” Dr Steve Boorman NHS Health and Wellbeing (July, 2009), p85.

Line Manager Training an evidence-based training programme to build the confidence and competence of line managers to identify and support staff experiencing mental distress in the workplace

Thank you David Lyon, Centre for Mental Health