Brainstorming solutions to the workplace mental health crisis

Poor mental health was the leading cause of British workers taking off work for illness in 2021, costing employers an estimated 43 billion pounds ($56.9 billion).

GoodShape, which manages workplace absences for companies, estimated that the cost of sick leave to employers rose by 31% from before the pandemic, not accounting for the cost of hiring and training replacement staff.

Of that 31% , Mental ill health accounted for 19% of all lost working time in the U.K. up to Nov. 28, slightly more than confirmed cases of Covid-19 according to the data shared in Bloomberg .

Clearly working from home during the pandemic has not resulted in the hoped for improvements between work, health and productivity. A complex set of factors will be at play, but the impact of this will be seismic in terms of efficiency and performance, but also the more difficult to assess indicators like organisational culture and workplace conflict.

Such data is useful in describing the urgency and saliency of the issue, but its real effectiveness is in focusing our attention and finding solutions.

A good place to start planning for Mental Health Awareness Week which is just around the corner and will take place 9-15 May 2022 and start having these conversations that will support positive mental health in the workplace, and act as means of preventing and ameliorating conflict in the workplace.