World Mental Health Day: ‘R U OK'?

Wednesday 10th October was World Mental Health Day 2018, and coincidentally last week I presented the findings from our work in support of the independent review of mental health and employers by Lord Dennis Stevenson and Paul Farmer 'Thriving at Work'.1 Our report Mental Health and Wellbeing in Employment: A supporting study for the Independent Review explored the cost of poor mental health and the return on investment for employers from mental health interventions in the workplace, and showcased good practice examples from other countries.2 My presentation, in conjunction with Mind, the mental health charity whose CEO is Paul Farmer, was to senior executives from all Virgin companies at one of the Branson homes in Oxfordshire.

I have presented the findings from this work many times now, almost every month since the report was published a year ago. When I do so I always feel very proud of our role in supporting the rise of awareness around Mental Health in UK society and the case for employer investment. My presentations focus on showcasing the high level findings of our work. We found that the annual cost of poor mental health to UK businesses is £32 - 43 billion each year, approximately 2 per cent of GDP, and the return on investment is £4.20 for every £1 invested in employee mental health.3 In presenting these high-level findings, I try to bring to life the case for investment for those who are not already bought in to its importance. However, at this event, despite the lovely Cotswold surroundings, my attention was taken by two more specific statistics coming from my co-presenters on the relationship between debt and mental health, and the link with suicide in the UK.

On the relationship with debt, some two-thirds of employees who are struggling financially report at least one sign of poor mental health that could affect their ability to function at work.4 The signs include loss of sleep, poor concentration and reduced motivation. Five per cent of employees say they are struggling to make ends meet. This means that nearly one million people in the workforce could be suffering from poor mental health due to financial difficulties. As the awareness on employee mental health rises, this is something employers are not yet giving sufficient priority to.

On the link with suicide, every two hours a man takes his life in the UK; that's 12 male suicides a day and 84 male suicides a week.5 I already knew that suicide is the biggest killer of men...