This post is written by Scott Aquilina, Assistant Transformation Project Manager, Mental Health First Aider at Tower Hamlets Council, and Voluntary Well-being Manager at Sintillate Talent.

  • The problem: Mental health is often stigmatised within workplaces.

  • Why it matters: It affects us all - with no exceptions.

  • The solution: Honesty, openness and education can bring change.

Everyone has mental health. To most, mental health is a relatively new concept but, this is something that has and will always be key to positive well-being.

With depression thought by the Mental Health Foundation to be the second leading cause of disability in the world, being a major contributor to the burden of suicide and ischemic heart disease, it’s clear it’s a lot more common and significant than we give it credit for. Given it’s expected everyone will experience poor mental health to some degree at one point in their lives, we need to have at least a good basic understanding of what mental health is, how to spot symptoms of poor mental health, how to treat it and prevent further episodes.

We are at the start of a journey to educate people on what mental health is so we can create environments where people aren’t punished for experiencing poor mental health but empathised with and supported so they can experience positive well-being. Ask yourself this: If someone broke their leg would they be expected to walk or run? If someone living with chronic anxiety and depression is experiencing an episode, are they expected to perform as they would at any other time?

Increasing our understanding of what mental health is and how it affects us is key to developing empathy towards experiencing or living with poor mental health.

Everyone has mental health. We all want and deserve to live with positive well-being.

How to help

Work has and is being done across local government authorities running initiatives to ensure there are mental health first aiders throughout organisations and adequate signposting to in-house, local and national resources for people looking for support with their mental health. These are very positive changes but are still greatly underutilised as the value of these isn’t greatly understood. These are done at present more because “we must” rather than “we want”.

June 2021 saw the publication of ISO 45003, the first psychological health and safety standard that is recognised worldwide. This is a huge turning point in the battle against the existing challenges facing mental health showing the importance and severity of it. According to a survey carried out by HSE, stress, depression and anxiety made up 12.8 million of the 28.2 million days lost in the UK in 2020. This represents a huge cost from both a human and an economic perspective.

Businesses across the world will need to become more committed to ensuring they adhere to the standards outlined here and many should want to strive to achieve more because of the many positive impacts associated with it. The company BSI Group give some examples of these as:

  • High levels of discretionary effort
  • Improved recruitment, retention and diversity
  • Enhanced worker engagement
  • Increased innovation
  • Legal compliance
  • Reduced absence from workplace stress, burnout, anxiety and depression

"Ensuring staff are happy and healthy needs to be at the top of our agenda in local government as they are our greatest asset."

The case for local governments

With local governments facing unprecedented levels of cuts to funding and resources this is increasing workloads whilst asking for innovation and improved outcomes for our communities. Thus, stressors and pressures are significantly increased creating environments where staff are more likely to develop or experience poor mental health.

In addition, the social and economic pressures are also increasing the prevalence of poor mental health in our communities. We are asking local government staff to deliver more, with less, for more people with ever-changing and increasing needs. Ensuring staff are happy and healthy needs to be at the top of our agenda in local government as they are our greatest asset. In times like these, we truly benefit from physically and mentally healthy staff who feel valued, heard, and supported so they can continue to go the extra mile to support the communities they care for. We must do more to cultivate environments where staff can flourish and I believe this starts, and ends, with education and de-stigmatisation of mental health.

Remember, we all have mental health. It affects every aspect of our lives whether it be positively or negatively. Let’s commit to addressing stigmas attached to mental health and to cultivating healthier, happier communities with empathy at the heart of our local government services.

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