Employee wellbeing and mental health is often an afterthought for businesses, even though many companies have adopted the Mental Health First Aid support system.

As we continue to work in a global pandemic situation and government and local authority advice are subject to short notice change, employers have also seen radical changes to working norms.

World Mental Health Day on Saturday 10th October encouraged us all to 'do one thing' to take our mental health seriously, and for many employers, this is a quick spot check on employee mental wellbeing.

But is it enough? Asks local mental wellbeing expert Craig Fearn, CEO of Business Mental Wellbeing.

Increased uncertainty about the future and constant news updates regarding COVID-19 has had a massive impact on employee wellbeing, especially on mental health. There have also been rapid changes within workplace environments - some organisations sent staff home to work, some embraced the furlough scheme and some allowed staff to take a leave of absence to care for family members or children.

Across the UK, many people have endured major upheavals at work and at home.

Craig Fearn, CEO of Cornwall-based Business Mental Wellbeing Ltd said:

"Living with prolonged stress means many people are experiencing near-constant fight or flight reactions and employers are noticing the impact of stress as they observe more absenteeism and presenteeism, productivity declines and I'm told by many businesses that I work with that examples of workplace stress are more frequent."

The impact of prolonged stress is not only detrimental to the individual but, says Craig, the business impact of an unwell workforce is also severe.

"But what are we going to do about this ticking time bomb? Employee mental health is not going to suddenly improve because I send round an employee survey - even with a squad of MHFAs (mental health first aiders), because too often these volunteers are not trained to deal with some of the severe issues that are being presented to HR or occupational health teams at the moment. No matter how capable

they are and how passionate they are about being in a supporting role."

"It is no longer appropriate for employers to rely on a one-size-fits-all approach. We have never lived through a situation like COVID-19 and while employers are more on board with their responsibilities to

staff mental wellbeing, no one is certain as to what the future holds and this itself is causing more stress," adds Craig.

Craig is calling for businesses to offer much greater support for their employees as they continue to work in unstable or uncomfortable environments.

Conversations about mental wellbeing are not easy to start, but it is essential that businesses encourage them - and if they don't feel able to manage this in-house they should involve the support of a consultant or other experienced professional, he says.

Managing increased stress levels are not only crucial to individual success, but also for businesses as a whole. With World Mental Health Day on 10 October, there is no better time to capitalise on increased awareness and tackle the ticking time bomb of workplace mental health and start having these conversations with our staff.

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