The Working Minds campaign has been created by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety is committed to improving the health of workers.
Tackling stress isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s a legal obligation. Working Minds can help you make it a routine priority for your business.
There are three main reasons employers should be looking to prevent stress and support good mental health in business:
- It's the law;
- It’s good for business; and
- It’s the right thing to do. Whether you’re a small business or a large corporation, the law requires all employers to prevent work-related stress to support good mental health in the workplace. It’s important to remember that in the end we’re all just people – and every one of us face pressures in and out of the workplace. By treating each other with respect and compassion at work we support our teams and colleagues to stay well. The earlier a problem is tackled, the less impact it will have for the person and your business. Stress affects people differently – what stresses one person may not affect another. Factors like skills and experience, age, or disability may all affect someone’s ability to cope. You can get started today with these 5 steps:
- Reach out and have conversations.
- Recognise the signs and causes of stress.
- Respond to any risks identified by agreeing action points between employer and worker.
- Reflect on the actions taken – have things improved?
- Make it Routine to check back in on how things are going. If you think that a worker is having problems, encourage them to talk to someone, whether it’s their line manager, trade union representative, GP, or their occupational health team. See: [Working Minds Employers - Work Right to keep Britain safe](https://workright.campaign.gov.uk/campaigns/workingminds/working-minds-employers/?utm_source=govdelivery&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=working-minds&utm_term=steps&utm_content=wm-31-aug-22)
The government has published a raft of consultations on tax and business policies. It is worth being aware of these, as they are a good indicator of future policy direction likely to impact small businesses.
Employers may worry about the use of Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA) following a series of press stories that have highlighted the abuse of the system.