World Mental Health Day 2025 falls on 10 October and will focus on sharing experiences of mental health and providing the space for people to talk about it and raise awareness.
Assessing the state of mental health in the workplace may seem like old news, with workplace strategies, policies and education having been in place for several years, but this article challenges employers to review their current practices, ensuring they have the best support available.
If you need assistance with any of the following, please contact your Mattioli Woods consultant or email us today:
- auditing your mental health strategy
- investigating whether there is room for improvement
- quantifying return on investment for any additional spend on mental health interventions
Why should we bother?
Mental health affects every member of the workforce, ranging from thriving through to severe or chronic issues. The state of an individual’s mental health can fluctuate according to work-based demands or external factors such as poor physical health, family issues or finance pressures.
The most recent Labour Force Survey1 has estimated that 148.9 million working days were lost because of sickness or injury in 2024. On average, this amounts to 4.4 days lost per worker, of which, 9.8% were attributed to mental health issues. This represents the third largest cause of absence excluding minor illnesses and a significant cost to businesses through lost working time.
Often, the build up to crisis point and subsequent absence of an employee can mean the employee has been less productive for a long period before they are physically absent.
What are the legislative considerations?
When conducting a review of the strategy, it’s important to check the latest legislation. An employer’s legal responsibilities generally sit within health and safety legislation.2 Employers have a duty to ensure that employees do not accidentally inflict physical injuries on themselves, colleagues or customers in the general course of their role, but they also need to consider whether there are undue pressures within the workplace that could have a negative impact on the mental health of their staff.
Ask yourself:
- Is the work within a high-risk industry?
- Has each role been assessed for mental health risk factors?
- Could any preventative or supportive measures be implemented to reduce or mitigate these risks?
- Are the policies and procedures up to date?
- Are employees routinely surveyed to understand whether there are any new hotspots?
The speed of evolving technology and AI means that employee roles are changing incredibly quickly. Original audits may be well out of date.
Mattioli Woods recommends an annual mental health audit is conducted as best practice and can assist with this process.
How can we educate and inform our employees?
Training of both managers and employees can be highly effective in helping employees identify alarm bells. Face-to-face training can be great for introducing support; however, there are individuals who may not be able to take time out of their current roles, or the training can be geographically prohibitive.
E-training for all staff can be lower cost and more easily accessible at a time convenient to the individual.
What help is available to support our employees?
Help can be outsourced via specific contracts such as employee assistance helplines with counselling services or integrated within insurance policies such as group income protection or private medical cover. Care is required to ensure all workers have access, and the contact process is easy to find, known and understood.
Any educational support can also be augmented through the introduction of mental health first aiders and specialist roles. It’s important to ensure those individuals also have a greater degree of support in case they’re burdened with stressful scenarios from those seeking help.
Engaging employees to participate in the annual World Mental Health Day 2025 events and challenges can also be used to reinvigorate awareness across the workforce. There are several useful tools available to employers on the website.3
Mattioli Woods can assist with the design, implementation and ongoing management of your mental health support. If you would like to discuss your strategy further, please contact your Mattioli Woods consultant or email us today.
1Office for National Statistics | Sickness absence in the UK labour market
2Health and Safety Executive | Legislation on leading health and safety
3Mental Health Foundation | Events & challenges