Leading companies sign up to mental health and wellbeing commitment

Thirty of the UK's leading organisations, including Barclays, Royal Mail and Unilever, have signed the Mental Health at Work Commitment, recognising the importance of promoting wellbeing and good mental health in the workplace.

Mental Health at Work Commitment

What is the Mental Health at Work Commitment?

The Mental Health at Work Commitment is a simple framework of six core standards which aims to create working environments where employees feel they can thrive. The core standards, which have been developed by businesses, mental health charities and trade organisations, are:

  1. prioritise mental health in the workplace by developing and delivering a systematic programme of activity
  2. proactively ensure work design and organisational culture drive positive mental health outcomes
  3. promote an open culture around mental health
  4. increase organisational confidence and capability
  5. provide mental health tools and support
  6. increase transparency and accountability through internal and external reporting.

The framework builds on standards proposed in 2017 by the government-commissioned Thriving at Work independent review of mental health and employers.

Why should employers commit to improving employee mental wellbeing?

According to a YouGov survey conducted for Business in the Community and Mercer Marsh Benefits, only half (51%) of workers feel comfortable talking about mental health at work. This coincides with the statistics that two in five (39%) workers say they have experienced a work-related mental health issue in the past year, and 300,000 people lose their jobs each year because of long term mental health problems.

As well as employers having a duty to keep their staff members safe and well, it?s also worth noting that stress, depression and anxiety are responsible for 15.4 million lost working days a year according to HSE statistics.

Employers who sign the Mental Health at Work Commitment will lead the way in implementing each of the six standards for their employees, improving staff wellbeing and reducing the consequences of mental illness.

See also

How to combat seasonal affective disorder (SAD) in your workplace

Are you protecting your employees from work-related stress?

Do I need a mental health first-aider in my workplace?

Find out more

Mental Health at Work Commitment: Make the Commitment

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