67% Of Bosses Take Employee Wellbeing Seriously However 83% Unable To Deal With Mental Health Issues

LONDON - June 12, 2015 - PRLog -- 67% of bosses take employee wellbeing seriously but 83% do not know how to deal with employee mental health issues.

The Health Assured survey questioned 1023 employers and managers, from a wide range of industries throughout April and May 2015.

More than 67% of businesses questioned by Health Assured said today that they have taken action in the last twelve months to implement employee wellbeing measures within their business. However, 83% of those questioned believe they do not have the skills or knowledge to identify when an employee is suffering from mental health issues.

David Price, managing director of Health Assured, the employee wellbeing business said today, “Employees are your biggest asset; you need to look after them; you need to ensure that they are healthy not just physically but also mentally. Employee wellbeing is not just about ensuring that your employees are fit enough to come to work, it’s more than that, it’s about checking stress levels, identifying signs of bullying and harassment, it’s about ensuring employees are happy at work. Early intervention can also help prevent absenteeism issues so it is in the best interest of both the employer and employee to treat employee wellbeing as a priority”.

“Employers have to do more to educate themselves and their management on ensuring employees are happy at work. They must do more to identify areas of concern and engage better with employees. Work can have both a positive and sadly negative impact on our wellbeing - stress levels need to managed, some employees suffer from feeling neglected and abandoned and more needs to be done about bullying and harassment. An unhealthy workplace can have a negative impact on productivity so it is important that employers take the issue seriously”.

Price continues, “Employers may not be trained to identify the signs of mental health, however the signs can be easily identified. You may notice unusual characteristics such as: the employee is quiet, or may not be interacting with their colleagues, or you may notice a deterioration in productivity. Have an informal chat with the individual and see if you can offer assistance, and more importantly, someone to talk with. Build a culture where employees can trust their employer, you need to build a dialogue with employees, regularly speak with them, identify areas of concern and do something about it”.

“By treating employee wellbeing as an important factor within your business you are showing that not only do you care but that you are looking after the wellbeing of your workforce. This can have a positive impact on both productivity and absenteeism and it will also help to lock in loyalty from your employees”.

“The survey has found that in the last twelve month’s more employers are measuring employee wellbeing through the means of employee surveys, reviewing stress levels and doing more to encourage employee engagement such as organising social events and indeed having more one-to-one meetings with staff to enquire about their wellbeing”.

Price concludes, “Regularly measure your employee wellbeing levels through a survey or questionnaire, one that asks for the opinions of your workforce that can be answered honestly and anonymously, ensure that if there are areas of concern that you action them, this way your employees will realise that you take their views seriously”.

Notes to editor:

- Health Assured questioned 1023 employers and managers [from a wide range of industries] via telephone and in-person throughout April and May 2015.

- David Price is managing director of Health Assured.

- Health Assured is a leading Employee Assistance Programme and Occupational Health provider dealing with many of the UK’s leading organisations across private, public and non-profit sectors.

- For further clarification please contact Sammual James McLoughlin on 0161 827 8511.

http://www.healthassured.co.uk