Keep mental health front of mind: how firms can prioritise employees’ mental health

The pandemic has rapidly accelerated the pace of change in firm’s approaches to mental health and there can be no turning back. Employers have responded to this unprecedented mental health challenge by stepping up their support for employees by developing, implementing and enhancing mental health and wellbeing strategies and action plans.

Before the pandemic, ill mental health was responsible for 72 million working days lost and cost the UK economy £99bn per year. And the Centre for Mental Health estimates that as many as 10 million people will need new or additional mental health support as a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The good news is, there are practical steps that every firm can take to genuinely make a difference and support their staff’s mental health. As the latest step in the CBI’s campaign for more diverse and inclusive workplaces, we’ve produced a member-exclusive guide to help you.

Using real case studies from firms of varying sizes in different sectors and regions, ‘Keep mental health front of mind’ showcases the actions businesses have taken to support the mental health of their staff during the pandemic, and highlights the learnings that firms can take forward to normalise conversations about mental health at work. The guide recommends three actions that will help businesses make significant progress:

1. Champion mental health and wellbeing from the top and make it a shared priority
2. Target action towards early interventions to enable people to perform at their best
3. Create a culture that prioritises staff mental health and wellbeing

As the UK enters a vital period - where businesses adapt to a post-pandemic environment with a new set of ‘rules’ for what working life looks and feels like - there is an opportunity to innovate, to grow and to put the health and wellbeing of employees at the heart of recovery. If your firm is passionate about this issue, view our diversity and inclusion campaign to find out more about our work.