Why is mental health and wellbeing is a boardroom priority

Poppy Jaman OBE

CEO, City Mental Health Alliance

As we face a global mental health crisis, I believe that employers, a cornerstone of every society, can be play a key role in our recovery.

Imagine if every employer built a culture which challenged mental health stigma and signposted to appropriate support, so that anyone who is struggling will feel comfortable to ask for help.

What if jobs and projects were designed to ensure that people thrive rather than burn out? Action such as this could help millions of individuals to stay mentally well. More widely, this combined effort across employers would contribute to society’s recovery, reduce strain on the NHS and the economy. Prioritising workplace mental health is the right thing to do.

Leaders can’t afford not to

It’s also the business critical thing to do. Poor mental health costs UK businesses £45billion and 70 million workdays each year, according to a pre-pandemic report from Deloitte. Meanwhile stakeholders – employees, customers and investors – are increasingly judging organisations on workplace culture. If there was an IT problem costing businesses thousands every month, as well as impacting on productivity and corporate reputation, the leadership team would take action.

Any sustained change to business culture requires leaders to commit to action and be accountable for progress. I am proud that CMHA members are leading the way on workplace mental health, and this success is down to the fact that in each of these businesses, the leadership team is engaged on the workplace mental health agenda.

Poor mental health costs UK businesses £45billion and 70 million workdays each year, according to a pre-pandemic report from Deloitte.

I am also seeing these leaders innovate to support positive mental health in their wider ecosystem. Some businesses are including wellbeing clauses in supplier contracts and offering mental health awareness training to contracted builders and cleaning staff. While others are ensuring that their services are supportive of customers who may be struggling with their mental health.  

As we emerge from this global pandemic, the concept of the workplace is being redrawn, while more boardrooms are considering their social conscience and purpose. Leaders have an opportunity to reshape businesses so that they play a role in tackling our mental health crisis, while also putting their organisation in a stronger position to weather future storms. Now is the time to act.