Research

Why is mental health important to organisations everywhere?

The interaction between work and mental health issues is complex.

According to the Centre for Mental Health (Mental Health at Work: Developing the business case (Sainsbury Centre, 2007), 91 million days are lost each year due to mental health problems. The Centre has calculated that the total cost to employers is estimated at nearly £26 billion each year – equivalent to £1,035 for every employee in the UK workforce.

Taking simple steps to improve the management of mental health in the workplace should enable employers to save 30% or more of these costs a year.

The business costs of mental health comprise

£8.4 billion a year in sickness absence

The average employee takes seven days off sick each year of which 40 per cent are for mental health problems. This adds up to 70 million lost working days a year, including one in seven directly caused by a person’s work or working conditions.

£15.1 billion a year in reduced productivity at work

‘Presenteeism’ accounts for 1.5 times as much working time lost as absenteeism and costs more to employers because it is more common among higher-paid staff.

£2.4 billon a year in replacing staff who leave their jobs because of mental ill health

Source: Centre for Mental Health

Right now, one in six workers in the UK is experiencing depression, anxiety or stress.

In a construction population of 2.1M representing 6% of the UK workforce that suggests 350,000 people in construction at any one time.

It means that although dealing with mental ill health can feel isolating there will always be someone close by and at work who can help or are dealing with similar feelings.

In a sector with a high number of male workers we cannot ignore the specific risks associated for men and mental poor health. Suicide is now the leading cause of death in men between 15 and 49, and they are often in employment.

A recent ONS study found that, in England, the risk of suicide among low-skilled male labourers, particularly those working in construction roles, was 3 times higher than the male national average (March, 2017).

Life in construction offers jobs and careers full of energy with a unique mix of diversity, skills sets, opportunity and life experience. It offers workers across the UK a chance to change the face of the world we live in, both for themselves and for others.

Because of this every single person in Construction deserves the chance of positive mental health. Also because of this that we know that together, we’ll get construction talking.

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