How to Promote Positive Mental Health and Wellbeing in the Workplace
27 November 2024
REBA has just published its Employee Benefits Trends for 2025 report, finding that employers believe mental health support is the most important benefit to purchase in 2025. As we saw during our Mountain of Lost Benefits research, many employee benefits go underutilised, and simply offering a service to your workforce isn’t enough to make a difference. During this blog, we’ll explore how to promote positive mental health and wellbeing in the workplace alongside your benefits offering to make the most impact.
Mental Health and Wellbeing at Work
Mental ill health is the single largest cause of disability in the UK, contributing up to 22.8% of the total burden, compared to 15.9% for cancer and 16.2% for cardiovascular disease (National Library of Medicine). It’s unsurprising that the REBA Benefits Trends for 2025 report found that 51% of employers rated mental health support as very important and 44% as fairly important. With statistics suggesting that for every £1 spent on mental health support, you’re likely to see a £5 return, we agree with the 51%. Supporting employee mental health and wellbeing at work is vital for sustainability and future growth.
Why You Should Prioritise Mental Health at Work all Year Round
It’s the perfect time to address the topic of mental health at work. Winter is coming… the festive season, whilst joyful, can be a difficult and stressful time. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is more prevalent during the winter months when there is less daylight. Then, we have Blue Monday: The third Monday in January - the most mentally challenging day of the year to come.
The steps you take to support and promote employee mental health and wellbeing at work today will set you and them up for a brighter tomorrow. Helping your employees stay mentally and emotionally healthy is just as important as your financial and physical wellbeing initiatives, creating happy and loyal employees.
Four Reasons for Aligning Your Employee Mental Health Strategy with Business Needs
1. Absenteeism
The average rate of absenteeism per employee per year has increased from 5.8 in 2019 to 7.8 in 2023 (CIPD). This increase pushes up your absenteeism costs, which, until recently, was approximately £500 per employee annually.
39% of short-term absences (up to four weeks) are related to poor mental wellbeing, including clinical depression and anxiety, while stress is responsible for 26% (CIPD). The numbers increase considerably when we look at long-term sickness absence (four weeks or over), with mental ill health being the top cause (63%).
The cost of mental health problems is equivalent to around 5% of the UK’s GDP, costing the UK economy at least £117.9 billion annually (Mental Health Foundation).
2. Presenteeism
The increase in employee absences could suggest that employees are prioritising their wellbeing and taking time off when they’re not at peak health.
This isn’t the case. Around three in four UK employees observe presenteeism (working while physically or mentally unwell) among employees working at home and in the office (CIPD).
Presenteeism is a productivity killer and can cost employers more than absenteeism does, giving you another reason to explore ways to enhance mental health at work. Those absent from work will return to health more quickly than those who continue to work through an illness, as they’re giving their mind and body the rest they need to return to health.
3. Retention and Recruitment
Have you taken our free Retention Risk Assessment yet? By answering three questions, we can tell you whether you’re at risk of high employee turnover.
Employee retention is a hot topic, especially as we approach January when job applications peak. As part of our retention risk research, we surveyed over 1,000 UK employees to discover how many would seek a new role in 2024. We discuss the results in our blog - Retaining skills & reducing employee turnover in 2024 & beyond!
One question we asked our respondents was what they think HR should prioritise in 2024, and the second most popular reply was employee health and wellbeing.
Raising mental health awareness, improving mental health at work, and embedding an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) into your culture and benefits offering will empower your business to attract and retain top talent.
4. The Perks of Healthy Employees
Mentally healthy or mentally resilient employees benefit your business, and investing in employee wellbeing is one of the best investments you can make! When you prioritise mental health at work, it can enhance all areas of your employees’ lives, creating resilience and balance and making life more joyful. That energy and optimism feed into their work, creativity, and loyalty towards you - their employer.
How to Support Mental Health at Work
Knowledge is power; the more information leaders and managers have on mental health, the more equipped they’ll be to provide support. Your managers don’t have to become counsellors, but having the ability to recognise changes in their colleagues and knowing where to signpost them for support makes all the difference.
Understanding the Mental Wellbeing Cycles
We’ve mentioned seasonal changes and what January will bring, but did you know there’s a formula used to calculate why Blue Monday falls when it does?
Where W=weather, D=debt, d=monthly salary, T=time since Christmas, Q=time since the failure of New Year's resolutions, M=low motivational levels, and Na=the feeling of a need to take action (Wikipedia).
Whether mathematically correct or not, the formula reflects the elements that have a considerable impact on mental health during the New Year, as we explain below:
- Mid-January weather is often wet and gloomy - a component of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
- Debt… Brits spend, on average, an extra £750 at Christmas. Some may be in debt, tightening their belts or have less disposable income during January.
- With the excess spending over Christmas, the January pay slip may not go as far as usual.
- Your employees will have a break over Christmas and spend quality time with friends and family. The holiday season experience differs for all, but the formula reflects those who may feel low once the festivities end.
- Guided by our internal wellbeing gurus, we shy away from resolutions at Pluxee UK. Still, we understand that many make and break them soon after the clock strikes midnight, and there can be a sense of failure because of it.
Everything we’ve listed above can negatively impact your employees’ motivation levels, but as the 'Na' element of the equation suggests, the desire to act and make positive change remains. When we look at it this way, the elements all point to Blue Monday falling at an appropriate time, regardless of whether the formula is viable.
The Role of EAP
Take steps to support your employees’ mental wellbeing and enhance resilience throughout the year. Then, when we reach these pivotal dates, like Blue Monday, your people will have the internal and external resources they need to avoid the negative impact.
An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is a vital resource for any business and an employee benefit that will yield a return. So much more than a counselling service, EAP provides your employees with the tools they need to enhance their mental wellbeing daily with self-care tools, a journal - even access to podcasts and exercise videos. Being active is great for boosting our mental wellbeing, and with our EAP, the dark evenings won’t hinder employees in their quest for fitness. They can even use the bad weather as an excuse to enhance their wellbeing through guided meditation and relaxation techniques.
Post-Christmas debt is another reason that mid-January is a challenging time, and EAP can help here, too. Our desktop site and app contain a wealth of resources on coping with financial stress and include videos from money and mindset coaches. We can also give them access to Information Specialists who can advise them on taxes, benefits, divorce, bereavement, and more.
These preventative, resilience-boosting tools form part of our Employee Assistance Programme offering. Embed them into your employee benefits package and use them to nurture a culture of wellbeing.
EAP Speeds-up Access to Mental Health Support
1.75 million people were in contact with mental health services at the end of June 2023. The NHS is under immense pressure in all areas of care, including mental health. It can take up to a week to get an appointment with your GP and even longer to start on the path to proper care.
EAP doesn’t replace NHS support. We have different packages available, and although employees can access a BACP-accredited counsellor 24/7, 365 days a year, care plans are created for a specific number of sessions. EAP could get your employees on the path towards mental health support quicker than they could if they go through the NHS, but it shouldn't replace it in terms of continuing long-term care. The quicker you can get your employees onto a care path with a counsellor, the speedier their return to health and work will be.
Speedier access to care = money saved through reduced presenteeism and absenteeism!
Discover more in our blog, ‘Why are EAPs so beneficial to employees?’
How to Promote Positive Mental Health and Wellbeing in the Workplace
The right benefits matter, but you must empower employees to use them. They must also know that they’re there in the first place, so consistent benefits communication and promotion are vital.
Create a Culture of Mental Health Support
Creating a workplace culture that embeds mental health and wellbeing at the heart of everything is essential for effective promotion. Wellbeing washing is prevalent in many businesses unless it’s first and foremost part of the culture. When you live and breathe mental wellbeing, it becomes a regular part of the conversation. The awareness is there, as is the desire to genuinely support employees.
Younger managers are leading the way in creating a culture of mental health support. 68% of Gen Z and Millennial leaders actively support their teams’ mental health. This figure drops to 58% of leaders aged 35-54 and only 40% of those aged 55 and above (HR Review).
Training-up Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAs) is an impactful way to create the right culture and promote mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. Trained to recognise the signs of mental ill health, they offer peer-to-peer support and signpost those who need help. Your MHFAs are your mental health champions and can lead various activities and engagement initiatives to promote and support mental health at work.
Remove Barriers and Break the Stigma
A stigma remains around mental health support, specifically among men - a topic we explore in detail in our blog, 'Men’s Mental Health… Community and Permission'. By taking steps to break down the barriers and stop mental health from being a taboo subject to discuss in the office, you can make a real difference.
Awareness events like Menopause Awareness Day, Stress Awareness Month and International Men’s Day help you bring conversations to the workplace, normalising discussions around mental health. Use them to promote your solutions and show your employees that you prioritise their wellbeing.
Continue the Conversation with Pluxee UK
When you promote positive mental health and wellbeing in the workplace, providing a safe space for employees to be vulnerable, you’re creating an environment where your employees don’t just come to work but feel they belong in your business.
Invest in your employees’ health and reap the benefits of a happier, more loyal workforce ready to face life’s challenges.
Sources: CIPD, Mental Health Foundation, Wikipedia, REBA, HR Review.
