Employers given tools to understand and improve mental health of workers

A free online platform offering practical ways to boost mental health in the workplace is now available for employers.

The resource includes face-to-face training opportunities, clear guidance on the legal duties of businesses, and specialist third-party contacts. This means that employers can now access the means of creating a culture of support and wellbeing at work from one single source.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) helped to develop the content as part of a collaboration with a wide range of partners across the public, private and third sectors. The aim is to support employers to access the resources to promote a mentally healthy workplace as more people return to their physical working environments in recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recent research shows poor mental health costs Scottish employers over £2 billion every year and that for every £1 spent on mental health interventions, employers get back £5 in reduced sick days and increased productivity.

Chief Executive of PHS, Angela Leitch, said:

“These last few years have been difficult for many people across Scotland and has had an impact on the mental health of many.

“Returning to our workplaces could also be a further challenge because of changes in personal circumstances. It is widely recognised that being amongst colleagues can be beneficial to our mental health and being back in the workplace can also be a more positive and productive experience.

“This toolkit will therefore be of considerable benefit to employers and to their staff as we move out of the restrictions we’ve lived with for two years”.

It comes as See Me – Scotland’s national programme to end mental health stigma and discrimination – has launched a complementary digital portal that gives employers access to a one-size-fits-all framework for workplaces. This will help companies make continuous improvements to directly tackle mental health stigma and discrimination.

Visit the online platform Supporting a mentally healthy workplace (external website)

Visit the See Me in Work portal (external website)