THE IMPORTANCE OF MENTAL HEALTH IN YOUR WORK PLACE
With one in four (in other words, 25%, more than one person you know, could be you or a family member) suffering from some sort of mental health issues in any single year, mental health can no longer a taboo subject.
With the past focus on improving physical safety, the Construction industry is now waking up to the opportunity to promote mental health.
BSA joined Mates in Mind last year to support their work in promoting mental health alongside physical safety and health.
And why? Doesn’t everyone just feel bad from time to time?
Mates in Mind has written that ‘In a sector with a high number of male workers we cannot ignore the specific risks associated for men and mental poor health. Suicide is now the leading cause of death in men between 15 and 49, and they are often in employment.
A recent ONS study found that, in England, the risk of suicide among low-skilled male labourers, particularly those working in construction roles, was 3 times higher than the male national average (March, 2017).’
The ‘Stop. Make a Change‘ campaign has found that more than 400,000 days are being lost to work-related stress, anxiety and depression in the Construction sector, and the fact is that a worker is more likely to die of suicide in our sector than they are from a fall from height.
Quoting from Mates in Mind, according to the Centre for Mental Health (Mental Health at Work: Developing the business case (Sainsbury Centre, 2007), 91 million days are lost each year (across the UK) due to mental health problems. The Centre has calculated that the total cost to employers is estimated at nearly £26 billion each year – equivalent to £1,035 for every employee in the UK workforce.
One third of this £26B is due to absenteeism, two thirds are thought to be the cost of low productivity due to ‘presenteeism’.
With so many suffering or at risk, its quite likely that although individuals can feel very isolated, that there are others nearby who have either experienced the same issues, or can help. But there is more that employers can do to facilitate better mental health to the benefit of all.
Taking simple steps to improve the management of mental health in the workplace should enable employers to save 30% or more of these costs a year.
Stop. Make a Change
in 2017, more than 60 companies across 1,000 sites and more than 60,000 employees in the infrastructure sector took part in the Stop. Make a Change campaign on one day, 18th April. On the day, site work was suspended so that focused discussions could take place and real changes could be made.
In 2018, the Stop. Make a Change campaign will extend across the UK Construction industry (including maintenance) but over a two weeks commencing 16th and 23rd April to support organisations which can’t hold a 100% stop on a single day.
Mental Health is the this years key topic and Stop. Make a Change is also focusing on Plant Safety.
Companies joining the campaign are asked to show commitment by signing up to cross-industry initiatives or developing their own programmes for improving Mental Health and/or Plant Safety.
What can we do?
The first step is awareness: Recognising that this issue can affect you in any size of business from one employee to one hundred thousand employees. Especially for small businesses, the financial strain alone of supporting a single employee who is ‘off with stress’ or other mental health issue is prohibitive so awareness and prevention can be key.
Many businesses are now providing ‘Mental Health first Aid’ training. This is not a seven year medical degree course but focuses on 5 basic steps known as ALGEE:
Assess for risk of suicide or harm
Listen non-judgmentally
Give reassurance and information
Encourage appropriate professional help
Encourage self-help and other support strategies
The training is typically via a two day course.
For many, organising formal events for this years Stop. Make a Change campaign (16th-28th April) and making commitments within the timescale may be impractical. However, it is well worth looking at the resources available on the Mates in Mind and the Stop. Make a Change websites and creating a plan for improving the Mental Health of your organisation over the next 12 months and possibly joining in next year.
Your approach needs to identify areas of greatest risk or possibilities for benefit, and the timings and resources required. BSA can help with this process – speak to your normal BSA contact or call Jonathan Gough on 01483 467270 or email jonathan.g@bsims.co.uk