Mental Health at Work 2019 Report: Scotland Focus – Time to Take Ownership

Mental Health at Work 2019 Report: Scotland Focus – Time to Take Ownershipshows that progress is being made on mental wellbeing. There is evidence of increased awareness and positive action in Scotland – but not at the scale and speed needed.

Poor business practices and culture experienced by staff

Unacceptably, some employers are still contributing to the psychological harm experienced by their staff through poor business practices and culture. To address this, the report that is based on a YouGov panel survey of more than 5,000 full- and part-time employees, including more than 500 Scottish workers, includes recommendations on how to create positive, inclusive workplace cultures that support employees’ mental health.

bitc-wellbeing-report-MentalHealthatWorkReport2019ScotlandFocus-Feb20 DOWNLOAD

Latest findings show work as contributing to poor mental health

This report has been published as part of Business in the Community’s (BITC) UK Mental Health at Work survey, in partnership withMercer Marsh BenefitsandBITC’s Wellbeing Leadership Team. In the the latest findings, Scotland’s employees report experiencing the same rate of poor mental health in the past year due to work or where work was a contributing factor as for the UK as a whole (39 per cent).

The three main causes of work-related poor mental health in Scotland are:

  • too much pressure
  • workload affecting ability to take leave (leavism)
  • poorly handled organisational change.

Employers in Scotland can do more to relieve this pressure. Negative work relationships and people feeling unable to trust their managers also have negative effects on people’s mental health.

The report includes recommendations on how to create positive, inclusive workplace cultures that help rather than harm the mental health of the people who work in them. These recommendations are proposed by BITC, Mercer Marsh Benefits and nine national partners. These are:

  • Chartered Institute for Professional Development (CIPD)
  • Mind
  • Mental Health at Work
  • Mental Health First Aid England
  • Institute of Leadership and Management
  • Business Disability Forum
  • Involve
  • Salary Finance
  • Society of Occupational Medicine.

To find out more about BITC membership, or a wellbeing partnership, contact BITC’s membership team.

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