World Mental Health Day 2024: Workplace wellbeing

The call to action was to support all employers to encourage positive mental health especially exercise promotion in the workplace.

• This is supported by the business case that a 1-point improvement in happiness leads to a 12% improvement in productivity, employers with better wellbeing are 14% more likely to retain staff. Poor mental health is understood to have cost employers £56Bn in 2020-21. Early recognition and treatment of depression in the workplace gives a 5:1 return on investment.

“Your people are your profits” is a further call to action for employers by Dame Carole Black an expert in the field of workplace wellbeing.

Northamptonshire Mind and Minderful have together formed a “Working Minds” partnership and are looking to work with 60 employers across the county.

West Northamptonshire Council’s workplace lead Mike Kemp shared a workplace toolkit available on their website.

Cllr Matt Golby, WNC’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Public Health and Regulatory Services said: "Northamptonshire offers a range of partnership opportunities to enhance workplace wellbeing, particularly through initiatives that promote exercise and active travel. Together, we can share these opportunities and make use of the free resources provided by Action for Happiness to encourage a happier, healthier work environment for all."

Lord Richard Layard gave an inspirational online presentation of the economic advantages of promoting wellbeing both in the workplace, school, and communities. Lord Layard was instrumental in setting up Talking Therapies UK in 2008. He described his hope for a new programme for talking therapies to address the underlying needs for people with addictions. He said “NICE guidance is for people with addictions to get talking therapies, yet currently only 10% of people currently access them”. He also described the benefits of exercise to improve wellbeing and as a treatment for depression.

Dr David Smart Trustee at Delapré Abbey and chair of Action for Happiness Northamptonshire Hub said “Engaging with the Optimistic October challenge from Action for Happiness is an offer for everyone, to improve their happiness. Delapre Wellbeing, with Anchor Institution partners alongside the Active Quarter and Brackmills Industrial Estate partnership is a great place to start putting the ideas we all heard about today into practice”.

If you’re an employer looking for ways to improve wellbeing in the workplace, contact Sarah Hillier on [email protected].