The easing of taboos over mental health and growing awareness of the nature and scale of the issues involved has helped place workplace wellbeing on the agenda. But the majority of firms still fall short of providing the care their staff need.
A survey by Aon has found only 39 per cent of companies think the support provisions they have in place are sufficient for the needs of their staff.
The study contacted 100 UK firms and over 700 around the world, with the research based on then ten ‘key resilience’ metrics identified by the World Health Organisation. When tested against this, the majority of firms were forced to conclude they have been falling short.
In addition, 28 per cent said they believed their mental health support was not set up to support staff “in a way that fits the modern day”.
Head of health and risk solutions at Aon’s Health Solutions UK arm Mark Witte said: “Though firms are providing mental health resources, the survey reveals that managers are not confident in addressing mental health issues.”
He added that these failings include a lack of targeting of “underlying health risks”, inadequate communication and the lack of “metrics to track change” at leadership level.
Across Europe, only 30 per cent of staff were described as ‘resilient’, suggesting widespread failing by companies.
Those working in the capital may find that seeing a mindfulness coach in London is a much more effective way of dealing with workplace mental health issues like stress and anxiety than relying on the in-house services, as these will be inadequate in the majority of cases.
Workplace stress has risen markedly in recent years, with Health and Safety Executive figures for 2019-20 revealing a year-on-year rise in case of stress, anxiety or depression had risen by 37 per cent, continuing a significant upward trend in recent years.
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