To mark mental health awareness week, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) welcomes new partners from the construction and entertainment sectors to join its Working Minds campaign.
Running a business in construction can be stressful with long hours and juggling intense workloads.
Meanwhile, the entertainment and leisure sector is a fast-paced and ever-changing industry, with many people self-employed, freelancing, or on short-term contracts. This can lead to uncertainty and unsociable hours.
Around half of all reported work-related ill health in Great Britain is due to stress, depression or anxiety. Whilst the causes can be due to difficult life events, they can also be caused by work-related issues or a combination of both.
In support of the Working Minds campaign, two new partners join the campaign to help promote support available to the construction and entertainment technology industries; The Scaffolding Association and Professional Lighting and Sound Association (Plasa). This takes the number of partners to a total of 35. They will be provided with the tools needed to promote good mental health in the workplace.
Mental health awareness week (13 – 19 May) is a pertinent time to remind employers and managers of the support that is available to help them to prevent work related stress, support good mental health in the workplace and meet their legal obligations to protect workers. Whether work is causing the health issue or aggravating it, employers have a legal responsibility to help their employees.
Elizabeth Goodwill, HSE Work related stress and mental health policy, said:
“We spend a lot of time at work, and it can have both positive and negative effects on our mental health.
“We all have periods of good and poor health, both physically and mentally. It’s normal for people to have challenging times and, like any other work-related risk to health, risks to mental health should be included in risk assessments at work.
“Having regular conversations about work related stress and mental health helps to reduce stigma and encourages people to talk about their problems earlier. The earlier an issue is recognised, the sooner action can be taken to reduce or remove it.”
Find out more about the practical resources and support available from HSE’s Working Minds campaign including free online learning where employers can access step by step guidance in one place.