Mental Health in the Workplace
At Dynamic FM, the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees is central to our business ethos and success. This includes mental health as much as physical safety.
The Challenges facing our industry.
According to the Centre for Disease Control, Construction has the highest suicide rate of all industries, at 53.2 suicides per 100,000 workers. That is about four times greater than the national average (17.3/100,000) and five times greater than all other construction fatalities combined (10.1/100,000). In fact, suicide could rightfully top the list of OSHA’s Fatal Four Hazards, which unfortunately garner a lot more attention.
Mental affects how we think, feel and act and is directly linked to our physical health. It also plays a major role in people’s ability to maintain good physical health. Mental illnesses, such as depression and anxiety, affect people’s ability to participate in health-promoting behaviours. In turn, problems with physical health, such as chronic diseases, can have a serious impact on mental health and decrease a person’s ability to participate in treatment and recovery.
Mental Health can often seem less important than our physical health because we cannot see it clearly and it is not a tangible thing, but it represents a serious risk to both individuals and organisations. And whilst regulations and monitoring for physical Health and Safety have improved dramatically over the years, mental healthcare still lags behind.
Stevenson-Farmer Review
The 2017 Stevenson-Farmer independent review commissioned by the Prime Minister to examine workplace mental health found that poor mental health costs the UK economy between £74 and £99 billion a year. Deloitte’s analysis shows that the cost to employers is between £33 billion and £42 billion of this number.
Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Mind, said:
“We found that in many workplaces, mental health is still a taboo subject and that opportunities are missed to prevent poor mental health and ensure employees who may be struggling get the support they need. In many instances employers simply don’t understand the crucial role they can play, or know where to go for advice and support.
“The human cost of failing to address mental health in the workplace is clear. Workplace mental health should be a priority for organisations across the UK. Every employer in the UK has a responsibility to support employees with mental health problems and promote the mental wellbeing of their entire workforce.”
Dynamic FM’s Response
Dynamic FM recognises the importance of Mental Health Awareness within the industry and the challenges faced by individuals experiencing mental health difficulties. We are committed to supporting our employees with these challenges through a strategy of raising awareness and safeguarding.
In response to the Stevenson-Farmer Review, Dynamic FM have:
- Produced, implemented, and communicated a Mental Health Awareness at work plan.
- Developed mental health awareness among employees via training courses.
- Encouraged open conversations about mental health amongst our workforce and committed to providing support when employees are struggling.
- Provided employees with good working conditions and ensure they have a healthy work life balance and opportunities for development.
- Promoted effective people management through line managers and supervisors; Dynamic FM line managers take Mental Health Awareness VTQ training so they can effectively and efficiently support their workers.
- Committed to routinely monitoring employee mental health and wellbeing; Employees are monitored day-to-day by their line managers.
