Motor trade organization joins HSE to help worker with mental health
The latest figures from HSE show there were an estimated 914,000 cases due to work-related stress, depression, or anxiety for workers in Great Britain in 2021/22. That’s an 11% rise from the 822,000 cases in 2020/21. An estimated 17 million working days were also lost to work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2021/22, which covers more than half of all working days lost due to work-related ill health across the same period.
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Research from the regulator has also found that those who work in motor vehicle repairs, the wholesale and retail trade, had a significantly higher workplace injury rate in 2021/22 compared to most industries. HSE’s Working Minds campaign was launched last year and is aimed specifically at supporting small businesses by providing employers and workers with easy to implement advice and tools to help them recognise and respond to the signs and causes of stress and support good mental health in the workplace. The law requires all employers to protect workers from stress at work by doing a risk assessment and acting on it.
There is an economic benefit to employers supporting staff’s mental health. Figures from a Deloitte report show employers can see a return of £5.30 on average for every £1 invested in mental health, while the total annual cost of poor mental health to employers has increased by 25% since 2019, costing UK bosses up to £56 billion a year.
Liz Goodwill, Head of the Work Related Stress and Mental Health Policy Team at HSE, said: “We’re calling on employers in the automotive industry to ensure that recognising and responding to the signs of stress becomes as routine as managing workplace safety. Bosses in the automotive industry should hold regular catch-ups with workers and their teams.”
“Working Minds helps employers to follow 5 simple steps based on risk assessment. They are to Reach out and have conversations, Recognise the signs and causes of stress, Respond to any risks you’ve identified, Reflect on actions you’ve agreed and taken, and make it Routine. It needs to become the norm to talk about stress and how people are feeling and coping at work.”
Guidance, risk assessment templates and talking toolkits to help employers spot the signs of work-related stress and prevent issues before they become a problem, can be found through HSE’s Working Minds campaign:
