THURSDAY 26 JUL 2018 3:02 PM

SURVEY SHOWS MENTAL HEALTH IS STILL A WORKPLACE CONCERN

With ambition levels rising, energy levels dropping and possible mental health issues impending, especially for employees in the finance, government and health care sectors, the workplace becomes quite an intimidating place.

Mad World, Europe’s leading work place mental heath and wellbeing event, carried out a survey with regards to improvements in attitude towards mental health issues in the work place. The findings demonstrated that three-quarters of respondents saw improvements in attitudes towards mental health issues, 42% of respondents felt there were minor improvements while 32% felt there was significant improvement. However, almost 80% of respondents felt there was still a high level of stigmatisation against mental health issues.

The survey suggests, senior leadership must do more and should openly discuss mental health in the workplace in order to accommodate and form a better understanding on mental health issues. These changes include; more training for line managers, developing an open culture to be able to talk about these issues, end ‘macho cultures’ of working long hours, encourage employees to achieve goals and give praise when completed and bring forth personal stories and experiences linked to mental health.

Mad World’s mission statement is to eradicate stigma and spark a new era of mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. This year’s event is to be held in the city of London on Tuesday the 9 October at 155 Bishopsgate. This event will include a wide range of leaders across many industries. “We’re working with some inspiring people and many organisations, ranging from leading corporates to smaller companies, to ensure all attendees leave the day feeling inspired and equipped to implement the necessary changes in their workplaces” says Simon Berger, co-founder of Mad World.

According to the Health and Safety Executive UK (HSE) Mental ill health in the workplace can range from feeling a bit ‘low’ to more known issues such as anxiety and depression to more serious mental conditions such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Mad World’s event will provide an inspiring and influential line up of keynotes.