Thriving at Work, Home, Anywhere
In support of our THIS-ABILITY campaign, Youmanity wishes to help raise awareness of Mental Health issues. It is reported that some 300,000 people with a mental health problem lose their jobs each year. This very stark statistic jumps out from the first paragraph of a Government review published in Thriving at Work. This review of mental health and employers, by Dennis Stevenson and Paul Farmer, was commissioned by Theresa May and published in October 2017.
People with physical health conditions struggle to remain in work, but those with mental health problems are losing their jobs at a much higher rate. About 15% of people in work have symptoms of an existing mental health condition so the cost of not solving the problem is huge, in both human and financial terms.
If you are a bit of a data geek, you will find lots of statistics in the report - a lot of these focus on the financial cost to employers and the public sector. Although it can sometimes feel harsh to talk about the financial cost of health problems rather than the human cost, these type of data can be important when trying to persuade an employer to invest in something that will support good mental health in the workplace.
The authors of the review make a series of recommendations to employers, government, regulators and the public sector. The key recommendation for all employers to adopt a series of mental health standards. There is also a list of enhanced standards which the report recommends public sector employers and larger private sector employers should adopt.
Whilst it is true that many public sector employers are taking mental health seriously, the actual success of what they do can vary. A policy or initiative may sound good but how it is implemented and how widely it is understood and acted on are what makes the real impact.
An important organisation facilitating productivity between This-Abled persons, employers and businesses is the Business Disability Forum. More info HERE
