Mind Week tackles ‘the elephant in the room’

“Approximately 70 million working days a year are lost in this country every year due to mental ill health,” says Cam-mind’s development manager Aly Anderson. “We want to help local employers to tackle this problem by taking steps to protect the mental wellbeing of their staff, to support those having difficulties effectively and to create a culture where mental health issues are no longer the elephant in the room.”

She adds: “There are so many myths and misconceptions relating to mental health problems and one of the aims of this year's Mind Week is to challenge those — and the stigma and discrimination that go with them.”

Cam-mind, Hunts Mind and Peterborough & Fenland Mind have been working together across the county to raise awareness of these issues and encourage local employers to put the mental health and wellbeing of their employees much higher on their agendas.

“There is a strong business case for changing attitudes within the workplace and encouraging people to be more open about their mental health,” says Sarah Hughes, CEO at Hunts Mind, in St Neots.

“More working days are lost due to stress, depression and anxiety than any other work-related illness,” she adds. “The personal cost of this for those concerned can be enormous, but added to which there is the vast financial cost to UK businesses — currently estimated at around £26 billion per year.”

“The reason that many employees keep quiet about their mental distress is that they fear discrimination from managers or colleagues. This means problems spiral and are often not identified until too late, exacerbating the business and human costs, as well as placing added strain on colleagues.”

The three local Minds already offer a range of services supporting local employers in creating a healthy workplace, including training in stress management and relaxation skills, Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) and Laughter Workshops.

They are also leading on the local MINDFUL EMPLOYER network project, working alongside a range of other statutory and private sector employers across the county. MINDFUL EMPLOYER is a nationally recognised charter mark for employers who want to demonstrate their commitment to providing a mentally healthy workplace and regional networks across the country offer regular support ‘by employers for employers’.