CBI publishes guide to help employers tackle mental stress

The Confederation of British Industry has published guidance for employers on how to tackle health and wellbeing after finding that the scale of the UK’s mental health challenge is growing. 

This guide looks at existing good practice and recommends that employers take three steps to improve the health and wellbeing of their staff.

These are:

Lead from the top

Senior leaders should demonstrate commitment to the organisation's health & wellbeing strategy and communicate its value.  

Intervene at an early stage

Give staff access to preventative health & wellbeing support such as a support helpline or private medical insurance.

Create a supportive workplace culture

Raise awareness of mental health and build a culture where it can be discussed confidently and openly.  One way of doing this is for leaders to share stories of their own mental health problems on the organisation's newsletter or intranet.

It also recommended giving people the option to work flexibly to help those experiencing poor health return to work.

According to the report almost 1 in 3 people of working age in the UK have a long-term health condition and the proportion of people saying that their physical or mental health isn't good has increased over the past 10 years. 

Front of Mind: Prioritising Workplace Health and Wellbeing.

Most firms say that they aren't taking action because they don't know what works and couldn't see the benefits for others that have invested.”