The canary in the mine?

Mental health issues in the workforce cost UK employers up to £42billion a year which works out to approximately £1,200 to £1,500 per employee per year. Three out of five employees report experiencing mental health issues because of work. Why isn't this the canary in the mine warning that there's something missing in our leadership?

Employers have a duty to their workforce, a legal one and in my view a moral one, to ensure that their employees (and in the case of micro SMEs, themselves) have a working environment that encourages good mental health and reduces stress levels.

You might want to take a look at the Mental Health at work website for some ideas of how you can support your employees. Another way of enabling this is by introducing a Thinking Environment into the workplace. When the leadership embody the TE elements in their practice it not only  reduces their own stress levels , it can also reduce those of their teams. On the face of it, it's a simple, yet unconsciously complex interaction that has profound and demonstrable impact upon the workforce. I've seen how it can immediately reduce stress and anxiety levels and when followed through continues to reduce these over time.
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So, what steps are you taking today to look after your own, and your employee's mental health at work?