FEATURE
THE RIGHT HEAD SPACE
One of the positives to emerge from the global pandemic has been greater acceptance of people talking more openly about their mental health. However, while it’s been more widely recognised that it’s ok to not be ok – the issue still remains that far too many people are affected by mental health problems.
Prior to Covid-19, approximately one in four people in the UK experienced a mental health problem each year and since then, it has deteriorated further. For those people who work in certain sectors – including male dominated environments such as the engineering, manufacturing and construction sectors – the cases are more prevalent, and employers are increasingly addressing this.
At Air Products, we strive to be the world’s safest industrial gas company. That means considering not just the safety of our operations, but the more holistic safety and wellbeing of the people who work for us. In turn, the investment we put into wellbeing means that we’re creating a good place to work, reducing staff turnover and improving morale. Our employees are our greatest asset, so it’s important that we care about how they feel. With 70 million work days lost each year in the UK due to mental health problems – costing employers approximately £2.4bn per year – the financial cost is an additional factor to consider too.
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There are some really simple things that we can all start doing now to help our colleagues (and ourselves) to stay mentally healthy at work, and with it achieve a significant improvement in happiness, productivity and safety. Dr Bruce Alexander, Corporate Medical Director at Air Products, explains more.
More than a fifth of engineers in the UK have had time off due to their mental health, which is why earlier this year it was a core theme of our annual Safety Week, an internal event focused on a variety of safety related topics, from preventing musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) to providing managers with guidance on how to support mental health in the workplace.
A good starting point is to help employers and employees alike to recognise the signs and symptoms of poor mental health. This can include headaches, stomach upsets or sudden weight loss or gain, as well as irritability, tearfulness and feeling overwhelmed.
Similarly, it’s also important to understand the triggers that can cause or contribute to poor mental health – some may be more obvious than others. Here are a few examples:
STRESS Stress is perhaps one of the more familiar factors
that can affect mental health, whether it’s a reaction to an experience at home, work or both. There are many ways employers can help relieve, manage or prevent stress by improving conditions at work, from easing workload pressures to providing mental health training. Creating an open, honest and compassionate environment is an important step in helping
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