Look under the bonnet of any thriving company, and beyond a solid
business plan and clear strategy, you will certainly find the
skill, commitment and talent of its people are the engine driving
its success.
The Mental Health
Foundation found that the average person in Britain says
“I’m fine” at least 14 times a day, but any business or family
can suddenly find a staff member or family member who is
struggling.
Almost 1 in 3 people will be struck by mental health problems
whilst in employment, and it is the single largest cause of
disability in the UK.
The economic and social cost of mental health problems in the UK
amounts to more than £100 billion every year. It is the number
one cause of sickness absence, with around 70 million work days
lost.
More importantly, no statistic can ever begin to capture the
devastating and isolating impact on those people affected by
mental health issues, and on their families and friends.
As the World Health Organization says, ‘there is no health
without mental health’, it is just as fundamental to our
wellbeing as any physical illness.
This is why today, on World Mental Health Day, I believe that
it’s the perfect time to promote mental health awareness in the
workplace and encourage colleagues to look out for each other. I
am proud that my own department runs mental health and wellbeing
events and is growing our pool of Mental Health First Aiders,
developing a culture where people can speak openly about their
mental health problems.
We are working hand-in-hand with business, inventors and
innovators to address these challenges and opportunities facing
our economy and society. As part of the government’s biggest
increase in R&D spending, we
announced last month 8 new Mental Health Networks to bring
together researchers from health to the humanities, to work
collaboratively with charities and people who have experience of
mental health issues.
Together, they will pool their knowledge to help improve mental
health outcomes.
The networks will further our understanding of the causes,
development and treatments of a wide range of mental health
issues, and support our ambition to make Britain the best place
in the world to develop treatments to help people live longer,
healthier and happier lives, giving us all more opportunities to
fulfil our ambitions in life.
The good mental health of employees is not only socially
responsible, but make business sense too.
By tackling mental health stigma and helping people understand
that mental health belongs to everybody, employers will see
productivity, staff retention and sickness rates improve - it is
an issue that businesses can’t afford to ignore.
