Take part in a National Employee Mental Wellbeing Survey from Business in the Community

Our emotional health, in both adult and childhood, is the biggest driver of our adult wellbeing, followed by our partner relationship and our employment.  Mental health is one of four areas recommended by the Commission on Wellbeing and Policy where action would improve wellbeing, with wellbeing at work another.  This is why we are supporting the National Employee Mental Wellbeing Survey from Business in the Community → Take part

This week is Mental Heath Awareness week #MHAW16. 

To coincide, Business in the Community have launched the National Employee Mental Wellbeing Survey  – the UK’s largest survey of mental wellbeing at work, taking place annually over 3 years. It includes the personal wellbeing questions used by the Office of National Statistics to measure national wellbeing. 

Are you aged 16-64+ and currently in employment in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland?

→ www.thewellbeingsurvey.org.uk

Why take part?

• Mental ill health is the leading cause of sickness absence in the UK and is on the increase. 15.2 million days of sickness absence in 2013 were caused by everyday conditions such as stress anxiety or depression – a dramatic increase from 11.8 million days in 2010.
• be part of an unprecedented collaboration to transform how the UK approaches mental wellbeing at work.
•  National Employee Mental Wellbeing Survey  wants to hear from all UK employees – line managers, senior leaders, direct reports – in order to give a complete picture of workers’ mental wellbeing now,what employers are doing about it, and what needs to change.  Every opinion counts.

We want to conduct the UK’s largest survey of mental wellbeing at work in the UK to gain a snapshot of the UK workforce’s mental wellbeing, and its capacity to support wellbeing.

– Business in the Community

Why businesses should take part in the survey?

BiTC believe we are nearing a crisis point for mental wellbeing in work and it is a business critical issue for all organisations:

• Mental health costs the UK £70 billion per year, equivalent to 5% of GDP.
• Mental ill health costs each employer £1,035 per employee, per year.
• Failure to unlock the workforce’s full potential costs UK business £6 billion.
• Only 2 in 5 employees are working at peak performance.
• Studies suggest that presenteeism from mental ill health alone costs the UK economy £15.1 billion per annum, almost twice the business cost of employee absence from work.
• More line managers are experiencing stress-related ill-health and symptoms of psychological ill-health.
• 3 in 5 managers are concerned about the impact of longer working hours on their stress levels.

There is still a stigma associated with mental health, through a lack of understanding.  People might feel very happy to tell a colleague about a physical injury they’ve sustained, but when it comes to mental health, people can keep this to themselves through fear of being treated differently or judged.

• Only a third of employees received any support to manage workplace stress.
• Less than half of those that are affected by mental ill health feel confident to disclose their condition in the workplace, which can mean issues become more severe.

→ Information for employers

→ Information for individuals

→ Take the survey www.thewellbeingsurvey.org.uk