ÃÛÌÒapp

According to the , the aggregate numbers of working days lost among employed people with mental health problems rose from 70 million days in 2006 to 72 million in 2016/17. The reports that this sickness absence costs £8 billion each year, plus another £17-26 billion in presenteeism. A further £8 billion is spent replacing staff who leave work because of mental ill-health.

At ÃÛÌÒapp, we have been working to achieve parity of esteem between physical and mental health for our employees for a number of years, and smash the stigma surrounding mental health. Since 2015, we have trained 80 Mental Health First Aiders across our UK organisation, with more to come. We have worked with our Investors in People Champions to create a small committee of volunteers, who have set upÌýthe ÃÛÌÒapp Well UK Group: an initiative that champions both physical and mental health of employees and was nominated forÌýtheÌýÌýin 2019.Ìý

In early 2016, we ran an anonymous survey amongst employees and managersÌýtoÌýgauge their attitudes towards mental wellbeing, and their knowledge of existing practices around our business to support staff. The results were startling, with only 20% of respondents being aware of any support offered by ÃÛÌÒapp on wellbeing and mental health, and only 16% of management respondents saying they felt confident in how to support people they line-manage that experience mental ill-health.Ìý

This provided us with our foundation on which to build an action plan. By working withÌý, a small team of enthusiastic volunteersÌýwith support of senior leaders,Ìýbuilt a comprehensive planÌýand signed theÌýÌýin July 2016.Ìý

Through the plan, we focused on three main areas:Ìý

1. To raise awareness of support the companyÌýalreadyÌýoffered.Ìý
2. To secure funding to train the first group of Mental Health First Aiders.Ìý
3. To provide specific training for line managers inÌýrecognisingÌýthe signs of mentalÌýillness, andÌýgiving them ideas and tools on how to address them and support their staff.ÌýÌý

We then re-ran our staff survey the following year toÌýcheck progress and calculate our return on investment.Ìý The results again were startling:Ìý

• We saw aÌý369% increaseÌýin people feeling that our culture is one in which people are encouraged to talk openly about their mental health.ÌýÌý
• Awareness of support that ÃÛÌÒapp offers for staff in this area (Employee AssistanceÌýProgramme, Occupational Health, MHFAs, Mindfulness, etc.) increased byÌý230%.Ìý
• WeÌýsawÌýaÌý181% rise in positive opinionÌýabout how ÃÛÌÒapp supports employees with poor mental health.Ìý
• WeÌýsawÌýaÌý94% increase in confidence amongst managersÌýin supporting people they line manage with their mental wellbeing at work, andÌý163% increase in guidance for managersÌýon the support available for staff.Ìý

We still have a lot to doÌýand the work in this area continues, but we’re proud of what we’ve achieved since 2015.ÌýWe’re ‘walking the walk’ andÌýourÌýregular awareness days, events, newsletters,ÌýblogsÌýand vlogs have allÌýhelped toÌýchange our culture in this area andÌýbringÌýour ÃÛÌÒapp values of Bravery, Decency and Imagination to life. We are now extending this work to our customers and partners through our #HealthyHappySchoolsÌýCampaign.ÌýÌý

The importance of a small group of enthusiastic and committedÌýChampions, backed byÌýÌýand HRÌýhas been crucial inÌýgetting to where we are today,Ìýand we couldn’t have done it without them. Time to Change have also been brilliant to workÌýwith andÌýoffer free support to anyÌýorganisationÌýwishing to sign the Employer Pledge andÌýmake the commitment to changing the way we all think and act about mental health in the workplace.Ìý