Can You Imagine A Company Like this?

At JR Corporate Health we regularly receive comments that reinforce the need for appropriate intervention, but potential clients sometimes respond to the introduction of our service by saying:
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• “I’m too busy to chat now”
• “I’m short of staff and I’m dealing with an emergency”
• “We’re only a small organisation.”
• “You can try and speak to the boss, but he won’t be interested”
• “I think we’re OK, thanks”

Many employers are not aware of their legal duty of care to provide appropriate Health and Wellbeing support for their employees that naturally includes their mental health and the ability to cope with stress that may impact on their work, motivation and performance. Enlightened employers recognise the positive impact of engaging professional support services at an early stage: a present and motivated workforce resulting in greater profitability!

ACAS, the independent advisory service recently published a Framework for Positive Mental Health at Work (July 2018).

They highlight the importance of addressing mental health issues, noting that: “People that feel good about themselves often work productively, interact well with colleagues and make a valuable contribution to the workplace.”

They also reported on a recent study by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, which highlighted the impact of mental ill-health on organisations:

The study found:

• 37% of sufferers are more likely to get into conflict with colleagues
• 57% find it harder to juggle multiple tasks
• 80% find it difficult to concentrate
• 62% take longer to do tasks
• 50% are potentially less patient with customers/clients.

The study also found that, for the first time, stress is the major cause of long-term absence in manual and non-manual workers.

Further evidence suggests that there is a large annual cost to employers, nationally, of between £33 billion and £42 billion (with over half of the cost coming from presenteeism – when individuals are less productive due to poor mental health in work), with additional costs from sickness absence and staff turnover. Source: Thriving at Work, Stevenson Farmer Review – p5.

The BBC recently reported on a survey conducted by the charity Mind “Poor mental health affects half of all employees, according to a survey of 44,000 people carried out by the mental health charity Mind. Only half of those who had experienced problems with stress, anxiety or low mood had talked to their employer about it. Read: Poor mental health at work 'widespread'.

In the face of this overwhelming evidence, what one thing could you change to make your business more profitable when it comes to Health and Wellbeing?