Did you get away from it all, relax and forget about work? We do hope so: we love our work, but we still make it a priority to take regular breaks away from Private Psychiatry to recharge our batteries. It’s all part of looking after everyone in our practice’s wellbeing.
Sadly, many people don’t get a proper break. That’s the finding of research commissioned by Mind and released at the start of this month: 24% of workers said their boss tried to contact them while they were on holiday. Even worse, only 50% felt their boss respects that they have a life outside work, and nearly 30% admitted to that they often check their emails outside work.
Protecting your staff against workplace stress isn’t just about holidays, of course. Constant pressure, long hours, and a head-in-the-sand attitude to mental health just aren’t good for you, your employees or your business.
Stress is the main cause of sickness absence in the UK and mental health problems affect one in six British workers each year (CIPD, 2012). Given that 95% of workers don’t admit that they are off sick because of their mental health, this is probably an understatement.
Mental wellbeing at work really matters. Obviously, not all mental health problems result from poor practice in the workplace, but all too often, stress and lack of support at work contribute to or exacerbate someone’s illness.
The good news is that there’s a great deal you can do to make your workplace better for everyone’s mental wellbeing.
Some are really simple: for example, you can make sure everyone takes a full lunch break, including you.
Bigger steps such as making sure that everyone feels able to talk about mental health as openly and confidently as they would about flu or a broken leg may take longer – but working towards this could be part of a transformation of your workplace.
As a starting point, Mind has a range of resources for employers, managers and individuals.
And just as importantly, we hope you and everyone you work with have a wonderful, relaxing summer holiday.
Business in the Community benchmarked FTSE100 companies in 2013. Those that prioritised employee engagement and wellbeing outperformed the rest of the FTSE100 by an average of 10%.
