January 26, 2012
Last week I posted a blog expressing my disappointment about the way mental health is still viewed by some employers, and explaining that in light of increasing demands the importance of workplace support in this area is greater than ever. So I was heartened to hear that a government funded workplace mental health pilot has now become a national initiative and will be available for the next three years to support individuals with mental health conditions to retain employment. The new service was launched in December 2011 and is being delivered by Remploy. It is fully funded through Access to Work (a Jobcentre Plus scheme) and therefore comes at no cost to the individual or employer – welcome news in the climate of ongoing cut backs and austerity measures.
The emergence of services like this, alongside the continually increasing recognition of mental well-being as a business critical issue hopefully means we’ll soon see an improvement in the number of people with mental health conditions who report feeling well supported at work.
To find out more about this welcome new service, you can contact the team at Remploy on 0845 146 0520, email vocationalrehabilitation@remploy.co.uk or visit their website for more details.
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Posted by Cary Cooper
January 16, 2012
The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), has today released a report containing research which, they claim, shows that the leading indicator of happiness is wealth. The conclusion that the IEA, the free market think-tank, draws is that the government should forget their investment in, and promotion of, ‘general wellbeing’ and concentrate on boosting growing the UK economy.
At the heart of the argument is a disagreement with the so-called ‘Easterlin’ school of thought which holds that after a certain point our wealth no longer drives our happiness. Amongst other things, the new report contends that 20% more wealth has the same affect whether you earn $500 a year or $50,000 a year.
As a psychologist it’s not my place to enter into an argument about the economics that sit behind the assertions made by the two sides in this debate. I’m sure that it’s possible to use the data to construct arguments to support both positions. However, what concerns me about the new research is the implication that focusing on happiness, well-being and mental health is a waste of time…and that we should just get back to making money!
Research of this kind is based on pulling together macroscopic financial data from many countries and connecting it with very general ‘life satisfaction’ scores. It has its place, but it doesn’t necessarily tell the story about what is happening on the ground. Money is important to all of us – of course – but it is only one of the many things that influence how we feel and how happy we are with our lives. The data in any given year may nudge us in one direction or the other, but how can we forget recent examples of footballers grappling with depression and mental illness? Or the many stories of lottery winners who fail to find happiness? Or our own experiences of what really makes us happy on a day-to-day basis? How much evidence do we need before we accept that money alone is never enough to bring true happiness? For the vast majority of people it’s about finding the right blend of relationships, health, social support, achievement, community, family, love, work, money and a whole host of other things. In short, it’s about living a balanced life.
I don’t think this new finding should in any way put off David Cameron and the government in their attempts to measure and develop the happiness of the nation. The current effort is partly about encouraging those who have enough money, or are within touching distance of that ‘saturation point’, to consider more deeply what they want; to think about whether they need more money or whether it would benefit them and their community if they knew how to live a happy life, whatever their financial status.
Yes, in our economy wealthy people at the top need to continue to create wealth so there is a trickle-down effect – but if we leave it at that we are setting a dangerous precedent for the aspiring middle classes who will assume (as many do now) that the goal is to get rich, rather than to live a good life and contribute to the happiness of others. The current government’s efforts are as much a response to massive increases in mental ill-health, as they are to the sense that we are focusing on the wrong things. In this sense, I agree with the assertion that we can no longer afford to focus on growth at all costs and to the detriment of our health.
I do think, though, that the government is in for a tough fight in the face of challenges such as those issued by the IEA report. On the one hand the coalition is promoting happiness as an ultimate goal that will bring us a sustainable economy and better lives – ones that don’t rely unrealistically on credit and spending on things we don’t need. Yet, right now we are trapped inside an economy that is based on, and demands, growth. Every headline bemoans the lack of it and over Christmas we were again encouraged to get out there and spend to help the ailing high street. All that talk of ‘make do and mend’ that we heard a few years back has faded and we’ve been encouraged to revert to our former spending patterns. So the government has a dilemma: does it want us to genuinely change the goal of the whole enterprise to be about achieving happiness or does it want us to focus on growth? If the only way to get happy is growth then we are, as the new research would have it, back to square one!
In reality, this points to an awkward transition period where we need old levels of growth to support the nation’s economy (which will, in turn, support our old habits!) while we try to make a shift to a new way of living and working based on different values. Maybe we need some signposts for how this will be achieved – this could be about moderating our growth targets slightly in favour of changing the way we do business – taking the hit now for the long-term strategic benefits this will bring. It will be a massive challenge, but no one ever said this would be easy and we now need to decide whether we’re up for it or not!
1 Comment | economy, Happiness, prime minister, Uncategorized | Tagged: David Cameron, economy, government, happiness, IEA, Institute of economic affairs, mental health, wealth, Well-being | Permalink
Posted by Cary Cooper
October 10, 2011
World Mental Health Day
Today is World Mental Health Day and the wealth of coverage around this is very encouraging. The inclusive nature of a global event means we can really get as many people as possible thinking about the subject – from individuals, to organisations, governments and NGOs. The success of this is demonstrated in a small way by the popularity of #worldmentalhealthday on Twitter!
The official theme this year is ‘Investing in mental health’, but I think there are actually three key strands that seem to stand out in discussion:
The first is directly linked to the official theme, and is concerned with ensuring there are adequate resources for treatment and care of mental health patients around the world. This will mean very different things in different contexts, for some countries it will be basic provision of trained mental health professionals, while for organisations it might mean reviewing the business case for support in this area.
The second is to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues. Although it’s something that will affect many of us at some point in life, lots of people are still unwilling to speak out and ask for help. The Ministry of Defence’s ‘Don’t bottle it up’ campaign is a great example of action in this area.
Finally there are some important considerations for individuals around taking a pro-active, preventative approach to mental health. We look after many other aspects of our health without even thinking about it; brushing our teeth, eating well and taking exercise are all preventative activities which ward off physical health problems. But there are very few people who do the same for their minds! I suspect this is due in part to a lack of understanding of what can be done in this area. Mindapples is one scheme that is raising awareness of this using its ‘5 a day for the mind’ model, while at Robertson Cooper we’ve made our i-resilience tool free, to try and encourage people to develop their personal resilience.
In keeping with the spirit of the day, please comment below if you have any other free resources or stories to share!
1 Comment | Guest Blog Spots, health, Personal Resilience, Well-being | Tagged: #worldmentalhealthday, Ben Moss, Don't bottle it up, i-resilience, mental health, Mindapples, Ministry of Defence, preventative, pro-active, Robertson Cooper, twitter, World Mental Health day | Permalink
Posted by Cary Cooper
July 13, 2011
There’s no doubt we’re getting better at supporting mental health at work in the UK, but the figures are still shocking: The Centre for Mental Health report that 91 million days are lost each year due to mental health problems and the total cost to employers is a staggering £26 billion a year. With one worker in six experiencing depression, anxiety or problems relating to stress at any one time, mental illness has now become the largest category of occupational ill-health. (Source: The Centre for Mental Health)
With many organisations still governed by serious financial constraints and austerity measures, reducing the costs of staff sickness absence and driving up productivity remain firmly on the agenda. We also know that work is good for both physical and mental health and well-being, and whilst people with mental health problems have the highest levels of unemployment among any disabled group, they also have the highest ‘want to work’ rate (source: rethink). The challenge is huge.
So it’s always great to see new initiatives emerging to help tackle the problem and support mental health at work – I was particularly encouraged to hear that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is piloting a new in-work mental health support service targeted at employees and employers.
As well as providing crucial support to help more organisations develop and sustain mentally healthy workplaces; the DWP is also firmly reinforcing the message that mental health is just as important as physical health in terms of overall well-being and productivity at work.
What makes this service even better is that it’s funded by Access to Work and is free to the organisation. This innovative pilot is being delivered by Remploy in partnership with ProAbility. If you want to access the support on offer, or find out more, contact the team on 0845 146 0520 or email: proability@remploy.co.uk
1 Comment | health, Stress, Well-being | Tagged: Access to Work, anxiety, Department for Work and Pensions, Depression, DWP, mental health, physical health, ProAbility, Remploy, Sickness Absence, Stress, The Centre for Mental Health, UK | Permalink
Posted by Cary Cooper
May 17, 2011
MIND, the mental health charity, has this week revealed that four out of every ten people in the UK feel ‘stressed’ or ‘very stressed’ at work. With jobs becoming increasingly insecure and downsizing so prevalent, many people are frightened of admitting to their employers, or line managers, that they struggle to cope with excessive work-related pressure. They are essentially afraid that if they are labelled as ‘weak’ they will be made redundant at worst or sidelined at the very best. The result is that ‘stress’ is now truly a ‘four letter word’ in the workplace!
When the economy was growing and the supply of jobs was reasonably healthy there was a greater openness from individuals. With widespread investment in stress management and stress counselling they were much more comfortable admitting that they couldn’t cope or were having problems with aspects of their work. In these more challenging times this mentality is almost completely gone. There is now a tendency to keep job-fit or job stress issues quiet because retaining any job, as opposed to being in the right job, has become the goal.
This is a real problem for HR professionals, because they are only able to deal with structural and personnel problems at work when they hear about them. If employees don’t reveal what is troubling them, or the pressures they are facing, things will only get worse. By the time these issues surface it may be too late to deal with them, as the employee may have become ill from the stress, left the organisation or their performance will have deteriorated to the point that they are no longer seen as an asset to the employer. HR needs to be supported by a culture that values openness and takes these concerns seriously. As President Ronald Reagan once said:
“I’ve always believed that a lot of the troubles in the world would disappear if we were talking to each other instead of about each other”.
Maintaining a healthy and engaged workforce with good, open lines of communication in the workplace is the key to ensuring that we don’t slip back to the bad old days of the ‘80s and early ’90s when stress was swept under the carpet or dismissed as irrelevant in a climate that emphasised making money at all costs. In this day and age, we’re better than that!
1 Comment | health, pressure, Stress | Tagged: communication, economy, HR, job stress, job-fit, mental health, MIND, performance, President Ronald Reagan, stress counselling, stress management, work-related pressure | Permalink
Posted by Cary Cooper
April 19, 2011
Two pieces of research grabbed my attention recently – from different continents yet drawing very similar conclusions. Broadly, the findings showed that those respondents who were ‘actively disengaged’ at work or had ‘poor quality’ jobs, reported lower levels of well-being than those who were unemployed.
Gallup’s research found that American workers who were ‘actively disengaged’ (emotionally disconnected from their work) evaluated their lives more poorly than those who were unemployed. The disengaged also reported that they were less likely than the unemployed to feel well-rested, treated with respect, to smile or laugh a lot, have learned something interesting, or experienced enjoyment the day before the survey.
The other piece of research was from the Centre for Mental Health Research at the Australian National University in Canberra. The researchers found that overall, unemployed respondents had poorer mental health than those who were employed (as we would expect). However, the mental health of those who were unemployed was about the same or better to those in the poorest quality jobs.
These findings are really important, especially with lots of activity in recent years about the health benefits of getting people back to work (such Dame Carol Black’s review, ‘Working for a healthier tomorrow’). However it’s not a brand new concept – Waddell and Burton (2006) were commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions to conduct a review of the scientific evidence to answer the question “is work good for your health and well-being?” Among their many findings, they concluded that “work is generally good for your health and well-being, provided you have ‘a good job’.”
Which invites the question, what exactly is ‘a good job’? The Australian research measured job quality through levels of control, demands and complexity, levels of job insecurity, and fairness of pay. From their review, Waddell and Burton provide a tentative list of characteristics of what distinguishes ‘good’ from ‘bad’ work:
• safety;
• fair pay;
• social gradients in health;
• job security;
• personal fulfilment and development; investing in human capital;
• accommodating, supportive & non-discriminatory;
• control/autonomy;
• job satisfaction;
• good communications.
These factors are broadly the same as those measured by tools such as the HSE Indicator and ASSET survey – tools designed to identify the sources of stress and low well-being. Critically, these are also mostly factors which managers and leaders have some influence over, so it’s vitally important that these issues are monitored and actions taken. Work can and should be beneficial for us, so we need to ensure that it’s ‘good work’!
1 Comment | employee engagement, health, Stress, Well-being | Tagged: ASSET, Australian National University, autonomy, Burton, Canberra, Centre for Mental Health Research, communication, control, Dame Carol Black, Department for Work and Pensions, disengaged, employed, fair pay, Gallup, good work, health, HSE, job satisfaction, job security, mental health, personal fulfilment, research, safety, Stress, unemployed, Waddell | Permalink
Posted by Cary Cooper
February 2, 2011
It is fantastic to hear today’s announcement that the UK government is investing £400m in making talking therapies available on the NHS. This is wonderful news given that one in six people suffer from a common mental disorder such as depression, anxiety or stress. The emotional strain on those affected and their families can be enormous, and the costs to society in terms of treatment, lost productive value, sickness absence and so on, total nearly £100b per annum. So the funding certainly makes sense from both a fiscal and a moral stand point.
However, as well as making the resources available to treat people, we also need to get at the source of this 21st century epidemic. WHO has predicted that by 2030 ‘depression’ would be the number one burden of disease in the world. It’s therefore imperative that as well as treating mental illnesses, we explore the factors that underpin them, so that more preventative measures can be taken in the future.
Some of these sources have already been identified through the government’s Foresight project on Mental Capital and Wellbeing. Factors include debt, the breakup of the family and community, loss-related events in people’s lives, poor housing and other environmental issues, being bullied at work, lack of early identification of symptoms and many more. Whether it is in schools, communities or in the workplace, we need to tackle some of these issues at source if we are to stop the increasing tide of mental ill health in our society. We can make a difference if we are brave enough to find solutions to the reasons people become ill in the first place, and take action before it is too late.
Leave a Comment » | health, Stress | Tagged: anxiety, debt, Depression, epidemic, government, mental health, mental illness, NHS, Sickness Absence, Stress, talking therapies, treatment, UK, WHO | Permalink
Posted by Cary Cooper
April 8, 2010
I’ve just been reading a fun piece of research that links the intensity of smiles in photographs with living longer. Quite a claim, but sure enough the results of the study are in line with the existing research showing the positive relationship between positive emotions, mental health, physical health and longevity. The research also taught me about the different types of smiles we are capable of – for example, the intense, “Duchenne” smile where both cheeks are raised, the corners of the mouth are raised and crow’s feet can be seen around the eyes.
Interesting stuff – and it set me wondering whether a subsequent piece of research could be conducted to explore whether actually practicing the Duchenne smile can improve psychological and physical well-being. If so, can this be ‘taught’ and should it form part of resilience training and stress management programmes? Would delegates take such a move seriously? Either way, after reading the research, I guarantee that the next photo you look at, you’ll be analysing the smiles!
The full research article can be found here:
http://pss.sagepub.com/content/early/2010/02/26/0956797610363775.full
1 Comment | health, Stress, Well-being | Tagged: Duchenne smile, mental health, physical health, positive emotions, research, resilience training, smiles, stress management | Permalink
Posted by Cary Cooper
March 8, 2010
The January issue of The Psychologist magazine took social inclusion as its theme. The term social inclusion refers to action that can be taken to address the problem of social exclusion – a complex process that has a negative impact on people’s quality of life, as well as the equity and cohesion of society as a whole. With one of my recent posts about how the snow made us all more community-spirited in mind, it meant that when I picked up my issue of the Psychologist this collection of articles from different disciplines of psychology resonated.
For those of you who don’t know much about this area, here’s some background. Some of the key resources that enable people to actively engage with society include money, education, work, physical health and mental health. So it’s not surprising that one of the primary causes of social exclusion is unemployment!
Research into unemployment has consistently demonstrated how it can exclude people from mainstream society. On the positive side, there is also evidence that work confers a beneficial impact in terms of recovery time following illness or injury, and that the beneficial impact of work extends to children – such that those who have a parent in work end up having improved life chances. Some of the most recent findings show that work influences the prosperity of communities, enabling greater social cohesion and reduced risk of antisocial behaviour. As such, it is clear that employers have a critical role to play in promoting social inclusion.
In this context, employers have a responsibility to promote a healthy workplace that increases the chances of people remaining in and at work. The Government’s recent Foresight report into Mental Capital, on which I was Lead Scientist, plus the Health and Safety Executive guidelines and Dame Carol Black’s report all emphasise this role for employers. You don’t have to start a crusade for social inclusion – it’s just important that every organisation does its bit to ensure that employees have the best chance of being, and wanting to be, at work. That happens when they feel good about what they are doing and understand why they are doing it.
Of course, not all of us have the power to implement big changes on an organisation-wide basis. However, we all have a role to play – even if it’s something as simple as ensuring that we are doing enough at an individual level to support the people you sit next to. As someone once said, every little helps….
Leave a Comment » | Community | Tagged: cohesion, communities, Dame Carol Black, education, equity, Foresight Report, HSE, illness, injury, Mental Capital, mental health, money, physical health, prosperity, quality of life, recovery, social exclusion, social inclusion, The Psychologist, unemployment, work | Permalink
Posted by Cary Cooper
October 31, 2008
Last week the Foresight project was launched and although the focus is very broad (the future of mental health in Britain, the role of childhood and all stages of adulthood), a lot of space is dedicated to the crucial role that work plays in a life characterised by high levels of well-being.
One key area of focus is the importance of the line manager’s role in preventing mental ill-health and creating a well-being centred climate in the workplace. This is a point that can be missed because there is often an assumption that ‘management’ as an amorphous mass will take care of well-being rather than it being their responsibility to ensure that each individual line manager has the skills and confidence to play this role effectively.
There’s no doubt about the impact that the line manager can have on the well-being and engagement of the employee. The Foresight report quotes Rolfe at al who…
“…highlight the importance of the manager’s role in dealing with mental health problems at work and how the day-to-day management of such problems depended on ‘the skills of the manager and relationship with the employee’ ”
It’s also well known that a person’s line manager is one of the most commonly cited reasons for an employee leaving an organisation: If you think about your own career history, I’m sure you have relevant experiences where you couldn’t continue working for a particular person or in the climate that he/she created.
And the manager’s role is not just about managing existing mental health conditions either – it’s also about developing positive relationships that generate motivation and energy in the workplace….and which, in turn, prevent mental ill health and stress. Line managers are the central operating force in the most positive work climates – they keep the objective of the enterprise (the purpose the organisation and the individual employee’s role) at the forefront of their team’s minds, while providing a balance between challenge and support to help them get there. Challenge to add drive and stimulation; support to ensure that the challenge doesn’t become too much and end up causing unnecessary stress or burn-out.
Given the number of managers in the UK economy, the consequences of not getting this right are huge – de-motivated, disengaged staff who are likely to leave, go off on sick leave or perform poorly; wasted investments in well-being because managers are unable to operationalise the interventions that have been designed and a lack of resilience in workforces when times are tough. The Foresight report is right to point us in this direction and its call to include funding for this kind of training for small and medium-sized companies in the Government’s ‘Train to Gain’ scheme is a good one.
You can download all of the Foresight project outputs for free at:
http://www.foresight.gov.uk/OurWork/ActiveProjects/Mental%20Capital/ProjectOutputs.asp
Leave a Comment » | Leadership, Personal Resilience, Productivity, Stress, Uncategorized, Well-being | Tagged: 'Train to Gain', burn-out, Engagement, Foresight project, mental health, Motivation, resilience, Stress, Well-being | Permalink
Posted by Cary Cooper
