The issue of mental health in the workplace may be something businesses have gotten better at tackling in 2024, however, the problem is still one of the leading causes of workplace sickness across the UK.

The problem may be bigger than what it is being reported, as a separate survey of UK workers showed men were far less likely than women to admit to suffering with mental health in the workplace. The survey, conducted by Priory Group found 40% of men admitted to having never spoken to anyone about their mental health. It found work was the biggest cause of stress, depression or anxiety amongst the men polled.

According to data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), the primary contributors to workplace stress, anxiety, and depression are workload pressures, unrealistic deadlines, lack of managerial support and excessive responsibility. Specifically, in skilled trade professions, there were 620 self-reported cases of work-related stress, anxiety, or depression per 100,000 workers. These findings underscore the importance of addressing these factors to promote better mental health in the workplace.

To tackle this issue and raise awareness of mental health amongst manual trade workers, Health and Safety Expert of Blue Trolley, David Davies, has shared the below guidance for employers:

“Mental wellness at work plays into the daily health and wellbeing of all of your employees, making it your responsibility as an employer to provide appropriate support to your staff. Some ways in which you can do this include:

Providing proper training for managers

In certain trade professions it can be the case that soft skills are overlooked by businesses, with the focus being more on operational performance. This is a big oversight in many industries. Any employee put in charge of managing a team should be given full manager training, giving them the skills and tools to appropriately support their team through any stress caused by their work. This will additionally safeguard businesses from a HR standpoint as it reduces risk of situations being mismanaged by unskilled managers.

Training a mental health first aider for your business

It’s required for businesses to have a physical health first aider but many businesses overlook mental health first aid. You can put a designated team member on a course to become your appointed first aider. They will be trained to appropriately support your staff. This can be beneficial to have a third-party, outside of a team, for staff to talk to confidentially about their mental health concerns.

Creating a culture of support from the top down

Healthy working environments are set at the top and feed down into the culture seen at junior levels. Creating an atmosphere where it is acceptable to raise concerns, creating safe spaces to talk and being open and honest about the acceptance of mental health can all go a long way toward fostering a positive culture. 

Offering proper resources to staff

There are some great online resources that can be compiled and offered to your staff to point them in the right direction for mental health support as a first point of call. Mind offer a wide range of documents to use for free at work, including manager training documents and action plans for staff.

Offering mental health benefits

Workplace perks have become more of a focal point to recruit top talent, making mental health benefits a consideration for businesses looking to put together a good package for trade workers that are full time employees. Popular perks being offered by big businesses include free access to counselling and apps which offer mental health support and mindfulness sessions.

Regularly assessing workload and employee wellbeing

Having regular 121s can provide the opportunity to spot an issue before it develops. In many trade jobs such formalities can be forgotten about, so making the time to have a quick catch-up with your staff and providing an open forum to raise issues can make a world of difference to their wellbeing. Be sure to put in enough time to discuss any issues and allow them to speak openly without judgement.

Offering reasonable adjustments to those struggling with mental health

Employees have the right to request reasonable adjustments to be made to their role for health concerns, with mental health concerns being no exception to this rule. Reasonable adjustments could be flexible working hours, changes to the requirements of their role or giving them extended time out for appointments. Make use of your HR representative if you have one to support staff requesting this.

Reducing any risk for manual workers

If your staff uses machinery or tools, this could be a potential hazard if they are operating these in a poor headspace. Stress, anxiety or depression could impact their reaction times, decision making and focus. This could lead to mistakes being made which could put not only their safety, but the safety of others at risk. Speak to your employees and discuss their mindset and if they feel capable of undertaking any dangerous aspects of their role if they have made you aware of mental health issues which could impact their ability to do their job. Be sure to approach this in a respectful and understanding way to keep them involved in the decisions being made on their behalf.”