"Giving employees access to the right support early can make a meaningful difference to their wellbeing, while helping them remain well and in work."
- Paul Shires - Health Shield
Just 34% of HR decision makers are confident that their employee benefits support workers’ mental health, new research from Health Shield Friendly Society has found.
Health Shield’s Britain at Work report found that employers estimate each of their employees took an average of 11 days off over the past year. Mental health accounted for 2.4 of those days, second only to sickness or ill health at 4.2 days. Family leave and physical injury were also cited as reasons for absence.
Mental health-related absence was higher among younger workers, with under-44s taking an average of three or more days, rising to 5.3 days among 18-27-year-olds, compared with 1.9 days among workers aged over 44.
Three quarters of employees said they believe mental health counselling would help reduce absence from work or support a quicker return.
The research was conducted by Censuswide on behalf of Health Shield across 500 UK HR and benefits decision-makers and 2,000 UK employees. It found that the most reported challenges to maintaining a healthy work-life balance are high workloads or job demands and family or personal responsibilities, both at 30%.
These were followed by long working hours at 29%, difficulty switching off at 21%, lack of flexible working at 17%, and not enough support from employers at 15%.
The key reasons for providing employee health benefits were cited as retaining employees at 49%, maintaining or improving productivity and reducing absence, both at 47%.
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"Mental health challenges often build gradually, affecting how someone feels long before they reach the point of needing time off," Paul Shires, director at Health Shield, said.
"People shouldn’t have to wait until they are struggling to cope before they can get help. Giving employees access to the right support early can make a meaningful difference to their wellbeing, while helping them remain well and in work."
Perry Timms, HR influencer and founder & chief energy officer of PTHR, added that "absence is only part of the picture," and that "high workloads, long hours and difficulty switching off can gradually erode people’s capacity to perform, even before they reach the point of taking time away from work.
"Employers need to look at the everyday experience of work and address the pressures that can leave people struggling. Creating healthier ways of working can make a real difference to both wellbeing and performance," Perry continued.
The Britain at Work report contains broker insight from Emily Jones, head of workplace wellbeing at Broadstone Financial Solutions. She said: "When mental health is having such a significant impact on the workforce, employers need to understand whether their existing benefits are meeting that need.
"Brokers can help clients identify gaps and build a more targeted approach, ensuring investment is focused on support that employees genuinely need and value."
