Category: Workplace Mental Health

In the past two years, thanks to numerous bank holidays, many workers in the United Kingdom have engaged in a practice that has shown dramatic benefits for our mental health, work-life balance, and overall wellbeing: a four-day workweek. 

Anxiety and stress at work are sharply on the rise, and worryingly only a quarter of workplaces are estimated to actually have plans in place to support people should they experience chronic stress. What are the common themes at work that people find anxiety inducing? Tackling these could reduce chances of chronic stress or burnout. We’ve broken down common workplace anxieties and what you can do to support people experiencing them.

Anxiety at work is on the rise. Over 8 million people in the UK experience an anxiety disorder, and burnout and stress are costing industries over 70 million sick days per year. What exactly is making employees in workplaces so anxious, and what are the truths about just how many of us are anxious at work?

Many teachers these days are facing overstuffed workloads and packed diaries, giving them little time to complete tasks and take well-deserved breaks. This pressure, as well as the pressure of being frequently reviewed, can often lead to a decline in teachers’ mental health. Michael tells us of his experience, and why he ended up making the decision to leave teaching.

There is a mental health crisis facing the education sector. Over the past few years, teachers, team leaders and support staff have seen unprecedented levels of change to their workload. From pivoting lesson plans for online delivery, creating support packages to help students learn remotely, to the recent cost-of-living crisis and budget cuts to the sector – it’s no surprise that education staff are recording persistent, higher levels of stress in their roles. There are calls for the sector to evaluate their support mechanisms for staff, and provide a psychologically safe space for staff to feel valued, and supported to bring their whole selves to work.

For many workers, Christmas is a time of year for rest and annual leave. However, for people supporting those living with mental illness or experiencing mental health problems, this isn’t always the case, and in fact it can be the festive period where support is required the most. We spoke to Cathal, Beth and Monika, Rethink Mental Illness mental health recovery workers, about the impact of their work at this time of year.

It’s estimated that we consume as much as 60% of our food and drink in the workplace and spend more than 40 years of our life at work. For our partners Eurest and 14forty, workplace caterers, this made them think about the link between nutrition and mealtimes and worker’s mental health. How can you ensure as an organisation you’re supporting employee’s mental health through mealtimes?

There’s much more to a mentally friendly work set up than pretty décor and new plush furnishings. An office space that’s truly inclusive for those living with mental health problems, experiencing poor mental health and that’s psychologically safe and inclusive for all, starts with policy and practice and may include environmental factors such as food and mealtimes and specifically designed office spaces for all types of workers.

For World Mental Health Day, we spoke to Rees Bramwell, Senior Nutritionist at our partner Eurest and 14forty. Eurest brings award-winning contract catering services to businesses across the UK, who use their knowledge of how mealtimes and nutrition contribute towards good mental health to promote mentally healthy workplaces up and down the country. We checked in with Rees to find out what they’ve been doing to prioritise mental health, from amending internal policy to creating fundraising schemes.

Heading off on annual leave should be an exciting moment in your work calendar. A moment of respite, when you can switch off and feel assured you’re leaving your work and pending actions in safe hands. However, often the weeks that bookmark this protected time are chaotic, with overtime and meeting-heavy days exacerbating stress levels and sometimes even leading us to question if it’s worth taking leave at all. In this piece, experts from Mental Health UK explore their top tips on what you and your colleagues can do to make time off truly relaxing and carefree.

During the pandemic, the number of us working from home skyrocketed. For some of us, this change became permanent and the new normal. Whether it’s a couple of days a week or every day, many of us are still working from home and experiencing the isolation that can come with it. Evie, 30, from rural Norfolk, shared her experience of loneliness with us, and what she has found helpful to keep more connected.

Living and working rurally can bring added challenges to the sense of loneliness we’re all susceptible to. Thanks to our partner Neptune Energy we were able to fund our Rural Connections programme, delivered by our founding charity Change Mental Health, to help build mental health awareness and address isolation in areas like rural Scotland. We spoke to Iona from Creatomatic, a web design and development agency in Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway, about their experience of the programme.

Our valued supporter, Darren Drudge, works as Customer Services Assistant for our partner Lloyds Banking Group. Sophia from our Communications team spoke to him about his experiences of the pandemic and how his dad’s mental illness affected his own mental health and led him to feel alone. His recent participation in March Around The World, a work fundraising event, enabled him to expand his network locally and get things back on track.

New research by Mental Health UK explores British workers’ experiences of loneliness in the workplace and how it can impact on our mental health.

With recent reports stating that only 51% of people felt a sense of belonging at work, how can we look to create, and re-create a sense of community and belonging within the workplace to tackle loneliness and exclusion?

Hybrid working is here to stay, but how can you generate a more inclusive culture and improve mental health?

Stress left unmanaged is bad for our health. Excess stress can present itself in a wide range of emotional, cognitive, behavioural and physical ways, which can negatively affect our day-to-day lives. While stretching ourselves at work is positive as it helps us to grow, too much pressure puts a strain on us and eventually could lead to burnout. Jennifer, Sophia and Shannon tell us about their past experiences of burnout, demonstrating that the self-awareness they developed now helps them to spot the signs of stress and keep mentally healthy.

Leading performance marketing agency, Merkle, is partnering with Mental Health UK this December, to bring to the fore the importance of inclusivity and support for people affected by a mental health problem. You can get insight from them below where they share their best practices for creating a mentally healthy work environment.

With three quarters of workers now working beyond their contracted hours, our campaign encourages workers to ‘call it a day when the day is done’.

Research released by iwoca and Mental Health UK today shines a spotlight on the mental health of small business owners.

YouGov polling commissioned by Mental Health UK has found that almost one in four (23%) women workers in the UK are currently struggling to manage feelings of stress and pressure at work.

After weeks of living under lockdown, our worlds are slowly starting to open up again. With restrictions beginning to ease, many people that were furloughed are now being asked to return to work. But what do you do if you’re feeling anxious about returning to work? Laura Peters, Head of Advice and Information Services at Mental Health UK, provides some useful tips.

The coronavirus outbreak has had a huge financial impact on UK businesses. The government have offered a Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme in order to help businesses retain staff during this difficult time. Those on furlough will also need to adjust to a significant change. We’ve outlined some of the ways you can support furloughed staff with their wellbeing.

As the government announces social distancing measures, what can we do to look after our own mental health? We will continue to update this article as the situation changes with the most up-to-date advice.