Employers

Stress, depression and anxiety are the cause of more working days lost than any other work-related illness (Health & Safety Statistics Highlights 2003/04). Sick pay reduces profits. Covering absent workers adds more pressure. Loss of valued and talented people costs more than money.

For some, the link between stress and mental ill health may a new one. We all need and, to a degree, we thrive on stress: it gives us energy, it helps with performance, it inspires confidence. But when stress become harmful – perhaps due to too much work, lack of time for social, family and personal activities, inadequate training to do the job, or external factors – this can lead to other mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.

MINDFUL EMPLOYER^® is aimed at increasing awareness of mental health at work and providing ongoing support for employers in the recruitment and retention of staff. A list of employers who have been involved in the initiative is shown on the About Us page.

Key Principles

By Employers, For Employers
MINDFUL EMPLOYER is led by employers and is for employers. It’s about increasing awareness of mental health, helping you deliver your business, providing support networks and information, and making it healthier to talk about mental health.

Good Practices not ‘Great Promises’
MINDFUL EMPLOYER is concerned with helping you in recruiting and retaining valued and talented members of staff. It is completely voluntary and will support you as an employer to work towards putting its principles in to practice in ways which are sensible, achievable and realistic.

Adapted and Adopted
You are the expert on your business. MINDFUL EMPLOYER will support you in adapting its principles within your own policies, structure and culture, adopting them for the longer-term benefit of your staff.

Safe People not Scary Places
52% of people with a psychiatric history have concealed this fact from their employer for fear of losing their job. Mental ill health remains an area of fear and stigma for many. By being a MINDFUL EMPLOYER you will demonstrate that you are willing to enable disclosure of mental ill health to take place without fear of rejection or prejudice.

Benefits for your business

Being a MINDFUL EMPLOYER…

• Shows others and your own staff that you are a good employer
• Expresses your corporate social responsibility
• Reduces recruitment and training costs
• Helps towards complying with legislation (e.g. DDA and HSE)
• Reduces sickness levels
• Enhances customer service
• Improves productivity
• Makes you more attractive to people with mental health issues and others
• Helps you retain staff who have experienced discrimination in the past
• Makes yours a healthier workplace

With the right support, people with mental health issues can and do stay in work. With the right support, you can continue to deliver your business.

How will this be achieved?

It will take time. Changing attitudes and cultural expectations does not happen quickly and the principles of the initiative, further developed in the Charter for Employers who are Positive About Mental Health, are ones which we hope you, as an employer, will work towards and implement within the normal policies and practices of your company.

So what does MINDFUL EMPLOYER actually do? In some respects, describing what the initiative provides is quite difficult... like many life situations, mental ill health is very individual and often requires a very individual response - everyone is different. Through MINDFUL EMPLOYER, support from employers and others will be able to work with you in supporting individual employees and job applicants to provide and access the right level and methods of support. But it’s not only about the person with a mental health issue: the immediate colleagues, the line manager and others in your company may also value support. So it is that MINDFUL EMPLOYER seeks to enable you to provide an individual way forward for each situation you encounter.

Lists can (unintentionally) be quite limiting but here's some examples of what MINDFUL EMPLOYER provides:

• Easily accessible information and resources
• Signposting to supporting agencies
• Links to other employers who may have had similar experiences
• Training in mental health awareness
• Access to job retention services
• Local employer networks
• Examples of good practice
• Practical, hands-on support

There are also plenty of other people you can talk to to gain information, advice, support and funding – see Resources and Links. We also supply leaflets for you to purchase - download the Information Pack and complete the Order Form - a number of employers have bought sufficient copies to give to every employee and we can include your own logo if you wish.

The name MINDFUL EMPLOYER and the logo can only be used by Charter signatories and supporting organisations who have signed the Partnership Agreement.

Your Response

To become involved in MINDFUL EMPLOYER - it doesn't cost anything and is completely voluntary - simply download the Information Pack and complete the 'Our Response' form or Contact Us