World Mental Health Day | Mental health is in our daily narrative, but that doesn't mean HR's work is 'done'

Mental Health policies were once seen as a 'should do' not a 'must do'. Now, post-pandemic, it's unusual for a company not to have some level of mental health support, policy or guidance in place.

Job done - right? Erm, not really.

It seems that for many, the policices are gathering dust while employees feel ignored, or worse still, are needing to call in sick or even resign due to mental health challenges.

It's been well reported that sick days are at a ten-year high according to new research by the CIPD. In addicion, MHR Global has found that nearly eight in ten UK employees (79%) do not believe their employer when they discuss or promote the mental health initiatives on offer. The same research revealed a fifth (19%) of the FTSE 100 posted about mental health on their social channels on relevant awareness days, but then did not reference anything to do with mental health at all for the rest of the year. The Mental Health Foundation, which leads World Mental Health Day, also found that 45% of people with feelings of anxiety keep it a secret.