UK employees are facing a ‘line management lottery’ when it comes to workplace health support, an analysis has suggested.
The study by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) has shown that 13 million people work for employers where managers are not given training in how to promote health and wellbeing.
The situation is particularly stark for workers in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), where two-thirds of employees are working in organisations where managers do not receive this training, the RSPH has said.
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Training to promote health and wellbeing can include skills such as mental health first aid, managing health conditions at work, signposting, understanding reasonable adjustments, smoking cessation guidance, and other measures.
The society has cited research by the Workforce Institute showing that managers have a greater impact on their employee’s mental health than doctors or a therapist.
Line managers are well placed to make positive interventions on the health of their employees given the frequent contact between them, the RSPH has said.
With the right training, line managers can spot warning signs early on which can prevent physical and mental health issues escalating, it has also argued.
The analysis has followed the Department for Work and Pensions publishing it’s Get Britain Working white paper last month, which has included proposals for an independent review into the role employers can play in creating and maintaining healthier workplaces.
The society has have previously called for workplace health support to be increased, arguing that all UK workers have the “right to a healthy workplace” and that a minimum level of support should be introduced across the entire workforce.
It has also pointed out that, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), there are currently 600,000 people off work with long-term health conditions who would like to work, and 4.1 million people are in work with a health condition that is ‘work limiting’.
William Roberts, RSPH chief executive, said: “We need to radically rethink about how we see the relationship between our work and our health.
“Every single day in workplaces up and down the country, millions of conversations happen between line managers and staff. With the right training and skills, these could be so much more valuable.
“This isn’t about ticking boxes. It’s about making sure the right people in the right places have the support they need to make a positive impact on the physical and mental health of the staff they manage.
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“As it stands, it’s a toss of a coin as to whether the person that is responsible for your health and wellbeing at work has the right training to offer you support if you need it.
“We hope the government takes this message on board and recommends an ambitious level of minimum support for all employees after the review,” he added.
