'Mind Your Own Business' - how can we best support employers to improve the mental health of their employees?

Abstract

Despite the prevalence of mental distress within workplaces, health promotion workplace interventions have tended to focus on physical health,2,3 perhaps because employers understand this. Research with employers in the Yorkshire and Humber region revealed that despite stress and mental health problems being the most prevalent causes of sickness absence, only 33% of respondents provided mental health and stress reduction interventions, compared to 79% on exercise.4 From the perspective of employees, research from the Priory Group5 highlighted that fewer than three In ten people would tell their employer about their mental health condition.It is well documented that creating mentally healthy workplaces has benefits for employees and employers. Research from Business in the Community found that the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) 100 companies, which had robust arrangements for employee engagement and wellbeing, outperformed the rest of FTSE 100 companies by 10%.6Traditionally, where mental health interventions in the workplace have existed, they have tended to focus on individuals, relating to problems and not answering why and how interventions work.7 The recent report by the Chief Medical Officer8 commented that workplace strategies which were about prevention had not proved cost effective, and by focusing on risk, it may perversely lead to an increase in Illness reporting.The knowledge of how and why interventions are effective Is Important when considering the diversity of workplaces In the United Kingdom. Initiatives promoting mental health within workplaces need to be mindful of the uniqueness of organisations, their working climates and priorities.9 Resources, both financial and time, are limited within the public sector and with employers; therefore, learning should be shared to make best use of these limited resources.An increasing number of employers would like more support on mental health, and Rotherham employers expressed this same need.10 Rotherham's response was to deliver a project to assist workplaces to be mentally healthy places for all, help managers to support at risk people and create a positive attitude towards employing people with mental health problems. Mind Your Own Business (MYOB) was managed and delivered by National Health Service (NHS) Rotherham on behalf of Rotherham Strategic Partnership from 2008 to 2013, funded primarily by the Big Lottery Fund with additional funding from NHS Rotherham. MYOB was part of Altogether Better in Yorkshire and the Humber, a five-year regional-local collaborative programme aimed at building the region's capacity to empower communities to improve their health and wellbeing and to reduce health inequalities.MYOB had a particular focus on small and medium employers (SME) which have fewer resources than larger employers. During the period of the programme, MYOB worked directly with 1,679 individuals, 102 (72%) SMEs and 39 (28%) large employers, spanning the public, private and voluntary sectors.Employers were engaged by MYOB through third-party referrals from teams and agencies that linked with employers such as Rotherham Investment and Development Office (part of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council), Healthy Schools, Voluntary Action Rotherham and Being Better (which was a European funded project supporting businesses with health and financial management) and advertising.DELIVERY MODELThe level of Interventions depended on the needs of the employer. The project facilitator would, If requested, meet with the employer offering a needs assessment to assess their current working practices against evidence based practice. Various Interventions were offered:* Accredited Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training;* Managing Mental Health: Skills for Line Managers training;* Directory of services;* Train the trainer courses;* Assistance to develop resources, for example, staff Intranet/leaflets;* Support with specific queries from employers; and* Learning events In response to National Policy; Fit Note and Equality Act briefings. …