The CCLA has released its Corporate Mental Health Benchmark – UK 100, which evaluates and rates 100 of the UK’s major businesses on how they address and manage workplace mental health.
The aim of the benchmark is to encourage employers to establish conditions that allow workers to thrive, as well as to emphasise the economic link between thriving workers and healthy, long-term businesses.
It was shown that, while most firms now openly identify mental health as a serious business concern, many still have a long way to go in terms of formalising their mental health management and reporting.
According to the findings, three-quarters of organisations or 76 per cent have developed several workplace initiatives targeted at promoting awareness of mental health in the workplace, and 91 per cent of companies provide employees with access to mental health services. Much of this has been in response to the pandemic’s increased need and psychological suffering.
Despite the fact that 93 per cent of the 100 organisations recognise workplace mental health as a critical business issue, only 34 per cent publish official objectives and targets, indicating that many have yet to put their policy commitments into action. Only 11 per cent of respondents provide any pertinent critical performance indicators.
While 44 per cent of organisations have a defined position on creating a culture of openness on mental health, public CEO support is generally weak, according to the survey. Only 35 per cent of benchmark business CEOs have publicly stated a commitment to improving mental health in the workplace, making it difficult for investors to determine the extent to which company leaders are championing mental health.
The benchmark evaluates companies’ public disclosures on workplace mental health using 27 distinct assessment criteria that are aligned with international standards and frameworks on psychological safety at work. Based on their scoring against these criteria, the benchmark ranks companies across five tiers according to the maturity of their approach to managing and reporting on workplace mental health. A majority of companies are ranked across tiers three, four and five, with just three companies: Centrica PLC, Lloyds Banking Group PLC and Serco Group PLC assessed as leading the way on workplace mental health management and disclosure.
Mind chief executive officer Paul Farmer CBE says: “Mental health affects every employer. In 2020/21, we surveyed over 40,000 staff working across 114 organisations taking part in Mind’s Workplace Wellbeing Index. Two in five (41 per cent) told us their mental health had worsened during the pandemic. Under the Equality Act 2010, employers have a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled staff, which can include employees with mental health problems. Investing in staff wellbeing also makes business sense, as employers who promote good mental health at work are more likely to report higher productivity and morale, as well as reduced sickness absence.
“We are pleased to be supporting CCLA’s new benchmark creating a structured, scalable way to help the UK’s largest companies build on the progress they’ve already made when it comes to identifying and tackling the work-related causes of poor mental health within their organisations.”
The Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) chief executive officer David Atkin says: “As we continue to live with Covid-19, workplace mental health is no longer a hidden topic for businesses – they need to ensure that the lessons from the pandemic are not forgotten and that they continue to prioritise support for employees.
“Investors can play an important role in encouraging the companies they invest in to adopt workplace mental health strategies and engage with them to help drive best practices. Accountability is also key, and reliable tools such as the CCLA Corporate Mental Health Benchmark will help investors understand the relative performance of companies and engage accordingly.”
Corporate Mental Health Benchmark Expert Panel co-chair and CCLA chief operating officer Elizabeth Sheldon says: “It is only in thinking and acting systemically that we can hope to meet the major sustainability challenges of our time. We consider corporate mental health to be one such challenge; healthy companies require healthy workers.
“The CCLA Corporate Mental Health Benchmark is designed to act as a catalyst for change in our industry. Our theory is that being able to understand and compare corporate practice on mental health will inform and accelerate the progress that is needed to enable companies, investors – and above all people – to thrive.”
