Call for national workplace mental health strategy

The government is being urged to develop a national workplace mental health strategy that enables businesses to better manage and support employee mental ill health.

The call, in a ‘white paper’ by the Occupational Safety and Health Stakeholder Alliance (OSH), an alliance of nine leading health and safety organisations, was made to coincide with World Mental Health Day yesterday (10 October).

The grouping has also called on businesses to assess and review their safety and health leadership, commitment, strategy and culture to ensure their workplaces are psychologically safe and conducive to positive mental health.

Occupational safety and health professionals and others who have OSH responsibilities, such as those in HR, need to make use of good OSH approaches and tools to support organisations, particularly small and medium-sized businesses, to prevent and manage psychosocial risks and to protect and promote mental health, the alliance argued.

It has also urged the government to ensure the Health and Safety Executive and local authorities are adequately funded and able to deliver the required levels of inspection and enforcement needed to drive the organisational approach to prevent and manage psychosocial risks.

Vanessa Harwood-Whitcher, chief executive of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), a member of the alliance, said: “To really turn the tables and improve mental health at work, there needs to be a significant focus on prevention. Issues such as unreasonably high workload or poor work-life balance can impact on people’s mental health so it’s crucial that businesses assess the risks and ensure they are being proactive.

“This needs to be supported at government level, while OSH professionals can drive change on the ground, ensuring good health and safety risk management is embedded in the overall organisational structure,” she added.

The alliance consists of: IOSH, the British Occupational Hygiene Society, British Safety Council, British Safety Industry Federation, Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors, International Institute of Risk and Safety Management, National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

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