Why employee mental health should be your priority
2-minute read
The stress that the pandemic has caused has seen mental health and wellness discussed more than ever before.
Why is that relevant to a business? Why should management and HR take any action?
The costs of doing nothing
Lower productivity
Each year in the UK, employers as a whole lose between £17 and £26 billion due to presenteeism (when individuals are less productive due to poor mental health at work).Absence
Mental health issues (excluding stress) account for 26% of short-term absences, rising to 50% in the long-term (a period greater than 4 weeks).Staff turnover
Hiring and retraining costs UK employers £8 billion each year.Total cost to employers
The average cost to employers of poor mental health is between £1,205 and £1,560 per employee every year.
This cost is not just for those who are ill, but for all employees in a firm.
What to do
Businesses should focus on building and deepening connections within the organisation. Talking, especially regarding employee concerns, promotes a sense of openness, trust and loyalty from staff.
By developing trust and increasing employees’ sense of feeling of being a valued part of the firm, employee wellbeing improves and employee engagement subsequently increases.
Managers who show genuine interest in their employees are 59% more likely to have engaged employees compared to those employees supervised by disengaged managers.
Employees who are engaged with their colleagues and managers are 37% less likely to take absences, 60% less likely to cause errors and almost 50% less likely to leave voluntarily. All of this adds up to higher productivity, lower staff turnover, better-quality work and higher profitability.
Take the next steps to improve the mental health of your workforce
You can read more about what you can do to support your employees and reduce staff absences here.
Habitus specialises in providing practical, engaging and lasting solutions to mental health.
For more information on how Habitus can help your organisation increase a sense of belonging for employees, create happier teams and increase productivity, click here. Alternatively, send us a message by clicking here or contact us by phone on 020 7207 3186.