Mental Health In The Workplace

By Carl Garreth Harris

While firms and companies have been increasing focussed on the health and safety of their staff over the past few years, the same concern for their employee's mental health's concerns at their place of work is a far more recent phenomenon.

A survey by the Confederation of British Industry reported that over 90% of its correspondents believed that the mental health of employees should be a concern of their company. Unfortunately, less than 10% of businesses actually have a mental health policy in place.

With most people spending a high proportion of their time at work the importance of mental health in the workplace should not be overlooked. Because of the stressful nature of work the mental and psychological well being of staff should be equally important as all other aspects of health and safety at work. In fact it should most probably be the factor of most concern within a companies health and safety regimen.

The good news is that more companies are now becoming aware of mental health issues within the workforce and actively encourage management and staff to attend training courses designed to being stress under control in the workplace.

Mental health awareness courses are of great benefit to workers. It makes them aware of stress and gives them the skills to deal with it. It also enables them to recognise signs of work related stress when it appears in colleagues.

It is important that businesses take advantage of the courses that are available as a stressed workforce will, in the long term, negatively impact on productivity and profitability. In the short term it will cause problems on the shop floor as well as a rise in absenteeism. Sending staff on a mental health training course will provide solutions for those already feeling the pressures of stress but will also be a pre-emptive safeguard to other employees who will learn how to identify the symptoms of stress and be able to take measures to ensure that stress doesn't develop.

Attending mental health in the workplace awareness courses will also produce this, one of the biggest benefits. Both management and worker will learn just what stress is as well as what its cause is. - 31520

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