Industry experts host a discussion on the link between mental health and the Great Resignation.
Mental Health in the Workplace
A group of experts made up of clinicians and business management experts from across the spectrum held a round table discussion to debate how to tackle the pressing issues of mental health in the workplace. The discussion was held against the backdrop of the rising tide of pressure to return to the office and what economists have dubbed, ‘The Great Resignation’.
A recent survey by PwC of more than 2,000 UK workers from a range of industries found that almost one in five UK employees say they are likely to change jobs in the next year as they seek better pay and job satisfaction.
Latest ONS figures show that one in seven working adults in the UK (14%) said they were working from home offices.
A modest 17% said they would prefer to be working either full-time or mostly in an office environment in a mindset shift where people were able to achieve greater work- life balance while working remotely during the pandemic.
Consultant psychiatrist Dr James Woolley of Schoen Clinic Chelsea sat down with Management Consultant Ngozi Weller, co-founder of mental health consultancy Aurora Wellness along with Yemi Jackson, CEO of talent agency Engage Transform to discuss the link between Corporate Wellness and Business Performance.
They covered issues ranging from the importance of work / life balance and why we need to measure employee mental health outcomes and to what extent is it the remit of a manager to deal with mental health issues in a business scenario.
Employee Mental Health As Important As Company Profit
Management Consultant, Ngozi Weller spoke of the need for businesses to approach employee mental health with same business metrics as company profits, she said: “Businesses must apply the same rigour to mental health investment as they do to any other investment. Investing in the mental health of the workforce will lead to increased productivity or increased profitability.”
She spoke about the need to create robust mental health policies that value employees and ultimately strengthen the workforce, saying: “It Isn’t enough to tick the mental health box by offering pool tables, wellness days or onsite massage and not taking mental health seriously will have a hefty price tag for business.”
Consultant psychiatrist, Dr James Woolley explained that he first began to see an increase in people coming to him with workplace related mental health issues on a self-referral basis prior to the pandemic, but that he is now seeing more of a partnership approach between the employer and employee when it comes to mental health.
Finally, talent agency CEO, Yemi Jackson summed up with the fact that many people move on when organisations fail in their duty to equip employers from exec level down with leadership skills including how to recognise mental health issue and giving mental health support, to see it as an investment not a cost, she explains that once the culture turns toxic, that’s when you generally see an exodus. Yemi explains: “If organisations can get the culture right, the impact in terms of well-being is so much bigger than anything the government or the NHS, for example, can do due to the fact we are 70/80% of our time at work and well-being needs to be at the very top of the agenda. “
