Why it's important to work somewhere that supports mental health

Over 526,000 workers suffered from work related stress, depression or anxiety between 2016 and 2017 and, currently, there are 1 in 6.8 people experiencing mental health problems in the workplace. It’s a huge problem inside, and out of, the workplace. The problem is further exacerbated by the fact that less than 24% of line-managers have had mental health training. However, at InterQuest Group, I’m very fortunate to work somewhere that really appreciates and offers support to employees who need help regarding mental health. In fact, we were so encouraged by the exposure mental health was rightly receiving, that we created our own social media campaign in support of Mental Health Awareness Week, to contribute in any way towards igniting a conversation on the topic. But, not everyone is lucky enough to have such a supportive organisation despite mental health being an extremely important issue.

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One stat that I read recently; was that 15% of employees who disclosed a mental health issue faced disciplinary procedures, demotion or dismissal. That’s shocking! Especially since providing mental health support not only benefits employees but also the organisation, as evidence suggests that 12.7% of all sickness absence days in the UK can be attributed to mental health conditions. A healthy workforce is therefore a productive workforce, which can save UK businesses up to £8 billion per year! One of our values at InterQuest is “Teamwork”. It means we are one team which need each other to collectively achieve our shared ambitions. We can only do this if our colleagues are healthy and happy.

It’s really important to work somewhere that supports mental health because unfortunately, the stats state that 60% of employees experience a mental health problem due to work at least once in their career. This is potentially due to the fact 91% of managers agree that what they do as a manager affects the wellbeing of their team. Given these figures, it’s likely one of us reading this article will require some support down the line from their employer, to help them through a mental health problem, so it’s vitally important to choose an organisation which will be there.

So if you’d like to work somewhere which truly supports the wellbeing and mental health of its employees, why not come join us at InterQuest Group? We’ve hosted breakfast meetings on the topics of mental health in the workplace and one of our chosen CSR charities is also Spark Support, a mental health charity close to our hearts. We’ve climbed the Yorkshire Three Peaks and we’ve got a lot more in store to raise money for Spark and mental health, in order to ignite the conversation around mental health in the workplace, because it’s time to break down the stigma and act.

By our Head of Internal Recruitment Julie Pratten