Shrewsbury event to highlight mental health in the workplace
Take a look around your workplace. How many of them would you say are suffering from mental health problems? One, two? Or maybe three or four if it is a big workplace? Well according to the mental health charity mind, the figure is closer to 50 per cent. A recent survey of 44,000 workers found that half suffered from poor mental health.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development is highlighting the problem at Shrewsbury Town Football Club tomorrow. The event, which is aimed at employers, will provide advice about improving mental health in the workplace, managing stress at work, and encouraging teamwork.
Nicky Adams, of the charity Samaritans, will be running a class on 'active listening' and emotional health in the workplace at the event.
Mrs Adams, who is a senior lecturer in human resources at Wolverhampton University, says many people turn to Samaritans because they feel unable to talk about their problems at work.
"If people are having problems at work, they are often not confident in talking to somebody in the workplace," she says.
Mrs Adams says the reasons that people might feel unhappy at work are manifold, and may often be linked to other problems they are facing outside work.
The Mind survey found that poor relationships with line managers, along with workload, had the biggest negative impact on employees' mental health. Poor relationships with colleagues came a close third.
Mrs Adams says: "People talk about how they feel stressed at work, it might be that they feel they don't fit in, that they are different in some way, people who work in an environment where there aren't many people from their ethnic group, all these things can create pressure.
"People not having the job they want, relationships in the workplace, these can also affect people."
Mrs Adams says just as outside influences can add to problems at work, the same can work in reverse.
"If people have got issues at work, they might also talk about the impact it is having on their home life," she says.
Mind says about 300,000 people lose their job each year due to a mental health problem.
The charity, along with 13 other organisations, has created the website mentalhealthatwork.org.uk for employers and employees with information, advice, resources and training that workplaces can use to improve wellbeing.
The CIPD Shropshire event at Shrewsbury Town FC takes place between 8.45am and 2pm tomorrow.
