According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), a quarter of people in the UK will suffer from a mental health problem in their lifetime. The most common issues tend to be anxiety and depression, and are most often symptomatically mild, tend not to last for very long and can usually be treated with medication prescribed by a GP.

Mental health issues are often a reaction to difficult life events such as bereavement, but can also be caused by work-related issues such as stress. The pandemic and lockdowns of 2020-21 exposed many of us to both causes so we shouldn’t be surprised that mental health has become a hot topic.

An employer framework for mental health

Even before the events of three years ago, the government had started to address the issue. It commissioned the Thriving at Work report in 2017, which showed that 300,000 people with a long-term mental health problem lose their jobs each year and around 15% of people at work have symptoms of a mental health condition. It proposed a set of ‘mental health core standards’, a framework that all organisations could implement quickly.

These core standards include:

• Producing and implementing a mental health at work plan that promotes good mental health among all employees
• Developing mental health awareness among employees by making information, tools and support accessible
• Encouraging open conversations about mental health and the support available when employees struggle
• Providing employees with good working conditions and a healthy work-life balance
• Promoting effective people management to ensure all employees have a regular conversation about their health and wellbeing with managers
• Monitoring employee mental health and wellbeing by understanding available data, talking to employees and understanding risk factors

Mental health in the transportation industry

Project Centre, one of the nominees for this year’s CIHT Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Initiative of the Year Award has been shortlisted for a mental health initiative that reflects the core standards outlined in Thriving at Work.

On hearing of its nomination, Project Centre commented: “We are committed to fighting stigmas and changing views on mental health in the workplace. Our trained mental health ambassadors provide important information and raise awareness among colleagues, encouraging people to open up, as well as supporting those who are struggling.”

Nathalie Richards, a senior engineer at Project Centre, is also an active member of its Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Group. She said: “Project Centre has shown me how much it will invest in employee wellbeing and mental health through the appointment of mental health ambassadors. Becoming one and getting the mental health first aid training has enabled me to be there for others.”

Mental health first aiders are trained to recognise warning signs and develop the skills to approach and support a colleague who is struggling. Such support in the workplace is obviously welcome, but there are concerns that training mental health first aiders could become a box-ticking exercise for some companies and that these staff are – unfairly – taking on the responsibility for driving better mental health outcomes within a business.

However, given how underserved mental health has been until very recently, any initiatives must be welcomed. There’s a huge amount that people and businesses still don’t understand about the subject, so the steps being taken now should be just the beginning of a greater awareness of mental health issues.

Did you know that CIHT offers mental health training on CIHT Learn? Get started with an overview of ‘Mental health in the workplace’ which is free for members and counts towards one hour of CPD.

Have you booked your place for an unforgettable evening at the CIHT Awards celebrations on June 15?

Words by Craig Thomas