Maria Wishart, ERC Research Fellow based at Warwick, presented data from waves 1 and 2 of the ERC’s Workplace Mental Health survey at a Productivity Institute seminar.

1. Dr Maria Wishart
Maria.Wishart@wbs.ac.uk
@maria_wishart
Workplace mental health and
productivity: evidence from the
Midlands

2. Workplace mental health:
background
• 61% of employees have experienced mental health issues where work
was a contributing factor (BITC, 2018)
• 300,000 UK employees lose their jobs annually due to MH issues
(Stevenson & Farmer, 2017)
• Mental health issue impacts:
– Absenteeism (the time workers spend off work due to ill-health)
– Presenteeism (workers being at work but not performing as expected because of ill-
health, or working beyond contracted hours)
– Staff turnover (the need to replace workers who leave employment due to ill-health)
• Costs of mental health issues to UK business estimated at £42bn to
£44.7bn (Deloitte, 2020)
• Employers have a limited grasp of the prevalence of mental health
conditions in the workforce (Seymour, 2010)

3. Workplace mental health
• How do workplace mental health issues impact on Midlands
firms? How do employers experience and manage them?
• How things have changed as the COVID-19 pandemic has
unfolded?
• What are the implications for the management of workplace
mental health issues and for a future research agenda?

4. Workplace mental health: 3 data
sources, before & during Covid-19
1. Survey of 1,899 private sector firms in the Midlands and 20
in-depth interviews, Jan-March 2020
2. Follow-up in-depth interviews, July 2020
3. Survey of 1,551 private sector firms in the Midlands and 30
in-depth interviews, Jan-April 2021

5. Workplace mental health issues:
pre-COVID-19
• Presenteeism reported by 33% of firms
• Mental health related absence reported by 30% of firms
– 37% of firms said that at least some of the absence was long-term
– 39% reported repeated mental health-related absence
• 55% of firms with MH sickness absence said it impacted on the business
• Factors outside of work reported as the predominant cause of MH issues
• Activities to support mental health offered by 44% of firms
• Sickness related to mental health is associated with productivity which is
lower by 18.3%, and in firms reporting an impact, with productivity which
is lower by 24.5%
Source: ERC (2020) A baseline study for the Mental Health and Productivity Pilot project

6. Workplace mental health issues:
pre-COVID-19
• Firms mainly attributed mental health related sickness to
external factors
Source: ERC (2020) A baseline study for the Mental Health and Productivity Pilot project
40.2%
80.8%
38.4%
44.8%
7.9%
50.5%
15.0%
11.4%
11.1%
0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0% 100.0% 120.0%
Physical health issues
Out of work issues
In-work issues
Some None Don’t know

7. Workplace mental health issues:
pre-COVID-19
• 55% of firms reporting mental health absence said there was
an impact to the business
Source: ERC (2020) A baseline study for the Mental Health and Productivity Pilot project
1%
7%
8%
11%
13%
21%
27%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
Lower turnover/profit
Lower morale
Increased costs
Productivity/efficien
Lower service/quality
Recruit/find cover
More work for others

8. Workplace mental health issues:
pre-COVID-19
• Mental health sickness absence impacts differ from general
sickness absence impacts
Source: ERC (2020) A baseline study for the Mental Health and Productivity Pilot project
1%
3%
4%
17%
19%
29%
21%
1%
7%
8%
11%
13%
21%
27%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
Lower turnover/profit
Lower morale
Increased costs
Productivity/efficien
Lower service/quality
Recruit/find cover
More work for others
MH sickness General sickness

9. Workplace mental health issues:
pre-COVID-19
• 44% of firms said they offered activities to support good
mental health
Source: ERC (2020) A baseline study for the Mental Health and Productivity Pilot project
22%
25%
34%
36%
48%
93%
80%
94%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Mental health plan
MH & wellbeing budget
Employee mental health champions
MH lead at board level
Line manager MH training
Make appropriate workplace adjustments
Regular MH & wellbeing conversation
Encourage open conversations

10. Workplace mental health issues:
pre-COVID-19
• Line managers are the main point of contact, but can lack
confidence and experience in dealing with mental health issues
‘I think sometimes people are worried about saying the wrong thing or knowing
what they can say and being… you know, am I prying too much into your
personal life? Those kinds of things. So it’s just kind of going… giving… make
sure line managers, who feel less confident, know about how to have those
conversations’ (Practice Manager, Veterinary)
‘I think being a line manager is quite difficult at times […] people don't really
know how to tackle, you know, difficult situations, difficult employees, I think,
you know, they've…they've said, you know, we didn't really know what we were
doing, so we didn't do it’ (HR Manager, Construction)
Source: ERC (2020) Talking about workplace mental health: How do employers in the Midlands understand and
experience mental health issues?

11. Workplace mental health issues:
pre-COVID-19
• Proportion of firms saying that initiatives had improved
outcomes
Source: ERC (2020) A baseline study for the Mental Health and Productivity Pilot project
60%
59%
51%
30%
49%
47%
53%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Improved mental health management
Improved job satisfaction
Reduced stress/mental ill health absence
Helped with staff recruitment
Improved customer service
Improved staff retention
Improved business performance

12. Workplace mental health issues:
pre-COVID-19
• More likely to seek advice from HR consultant or internet
than specialist
Source: ERC (2020) A baseline study for the Mental Health and Productivity Pilot project
2%
5%
6%
8%
12%
12%
12%
18%
21%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
Help not required
Trainer/college
MH at work website
Other business/network
Not thought about it
Same organisation
Mind or other MH organisation
Internet
HR Consultancy

13. Workplace mental health issues:
pre-COVID-19
• Low awareness and adoption of external initiatives
Source: ERC (2020) A baseline study for the Mental Health and Productivity Pilot project
5%
15%
18%
31%
31%
1%
2%
3%
7%
11%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%
Stevenson Farmer report
Thrive
Time to change pledge
H&S executive executive stress mgt standards
Mental health first aider
Used Heard of not used

14. Workplace mental health issues:
pre-COVID-19
1. Mental health problems can be viewed less sympathetically than physical
health ones
‘… ‘workplace stress’ … was used as an excuse often to avoid things like formal action,
difficult tasks at work’ (Head of HR, Services)
2. Mental health issues can be presented as more difficult to manage than
general health issues.
‘…it can be really time-consuming because you’ve got to arrange meetings, you’ve got
to take advice on how you approach an issue ... it is a fine line between being very
sympathetic and also acting on behalf of the business. (HR Manager, Manufacturing)
3. Stigma around mental health issues persists
‘… still a lot of people wouldn’t admit to having a mental health issue […] They
actually would think it’s a sign of weakness […] that they’re failing at some part and in
their life, that they can’t cope’ (Managing Director, Property)
Source: ERC (2020) Talking about workplace mental health: How do employers in the Midlands understand and
experience mental health issues?

15. Impact of the Covid-19 crisis on
mental health
• Compared to pre-pandemic levels, by June 2020 depression in adults in
the UK had doubled (ONS, 2020)
• The proportion of adults reporting psychological distress increased from
around 20 per cent in 2019 to nearly 30 per cent in England in April 2020
(UK Government, 2021)
• Up to ten million people in the UK – 20 per cent of the population - will
require either new or additional mental health support as a direct
consequence of the crisis (The Centre for Mental Health, 2020)

16. Workplace mental health issues
during Covid-19
1. Different triggers for workplace mental health issues
‘I didn’t want to be furloughed at all, and I felt like … I wasn’t valued and I was extremely upset
and felt very vulnerable’ (HR Manager, Manufacturing)
2. Mental health issues in different people or groups
‘… the younger ones … felt that they were missing that social hub of being at work and being with
people [whereas] the older ones … were all loving the fact that they weren't going into [the city]
every day, they hadn’t got that commute’ (MD, Property Development)
3. Identifying behaviour changes more difficult
‘[a colleague] has been struggling. But [his boss] is totally oblivious to all this because he only
has team calls and, he doesn’t see what’s happening on a day to day basis’ (HR Manager,
Manufacturing)
4. Increased reluctance to admit mental health issues
‘I haven't seen any increase in mental health problems during this time. […] I'm sure there was an
impact, I didn't see that impact though […] I noticed that, people are tense about their jobs,
they're doing a lot more job protecting’ (Health & Safety Manager, Transport)
Source: ERC (2020) Workplace mental health and Covid-19: experiences of firms in the Midlands

17. Workplace mental health issues
during COVID-19
• Presenteeism is down (reported by 17% of firms vs 33%)
• Fewer firms reporting mental health related absence (25% of firms vs
30%), however:
– 53% say it accounts for a greater proportion of their sickness absence
– More long-term mental health related absence (43% vs 37%)
– Less repeated mental health-related absence (32% vs 39%)
• COVID-19 related issues the second most cited cause of MH sickness
absence
• Fewer firms reported an impact of MH sickness absence (41% vs 55%)
• Activities to support mental health offered by 52% of firms, up from 44%
Source: ERC (2021) Workplace Mental Health in Midlands Firms 2021

18. Workplace mental health issues:
during COVID-19
• Covid-19 cited as a cause of at least some mental health
related absence by half of respondent firms
Source: ERC (2021) Workplace Mental Health in Midlands Firms 2021
51.8%
42.5%
78.2%
37.6%
40.4%
48.2%
13.5%
56.3%
7.8%
9.3%
8.3%
6.1%
0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0% 100.0% 120.0%
Covid-19 related issues
Physical health issues
Out of work issues
In-work issues
Some None Don’t know

19. Workplace mental health issues
during COVID-19
Source: ERC (2020) A baseline study for the Mental Health and Productivity Pilot project and ERC (2021) Workplace
Mental Health in Midlands Firms 2021
• 52% of firms said they offered activities to support good
mental health: focus still on unbudgeted practices
27%
25%
38%
43%
46%
91%
82%
96%
22%
25%
34%
36%
48%
93%
80%
94%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Mental health plan
MH & wellbeing budget
Employee mental health champions
MH lead at board level
Line manager MH training
Make appropriate workplace adjustments
Regular MH & wellbeing conversation
Encourage open conversations
2020 2021

20. Workplace mental health issues
during COVID-19
Source: ERC (2021) Workplace Mental Health in Midlands Firms 2021
• Firm-level factors positively associated with the adoption of mental
health practices:
• Having a higher proportion of disabled, ethnic minority and
female employees and workers
• Having a higher percentage of graduates in the firm
• Being a multi-plant or larger firm
• Firm-level factors negatively associated with the adoption of mental
health practices:
• Having a regional, rather than international, focus
• Being a family firm (pre-COVID-19)

21. Workplace mental health issues:
pre-COVID-19
• Preferred sources of advice remain the same
Source: ERC (2020) A baseline study for the Mental Health and Productivity Pilot project and ERC (2021) Workplace
Mental Health in Midlands Firms 2021
2%
3%
2%
9%
8%
18%
12%
15%
25%
2%
5%
6%
8%
12%
12%
12%
18%
21%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
Help not required
Trainer/college
MH at work website
Other business/network
Not thought about it
Same organisation
Mind or other MH organisation
Internet
HR Consultancy
2020 2021

22. Conclusions
• MH issues are widespread & have serious consequences, at individual
and firm-level
• Employers often unaware of the extent & impacts, & over-reliant on
untrained line managers to address MH issues
• Stigma attached to MH issues remains
• COVID-19 impacted significantly
– Presenteeism is down – but is this a temporary effect?
– The picture with regard to mental health absenteeism is complex
– Qualitative insights suggest new triggers & groups affected
• Employers may need support to identify future mental health impacts
• Room for improvement in firm-level responses to mental health issues,
including adoption of practices and engagement with initiatives

23. Implications for practice
Given the link strong and significant association between workplace mental
health issues and productivity:
1. Raising awareness of the costs and productivity implications of mental
health issues
2. Key role of management and supervisory practices, particularly via line
managers, in addressing mental health issues
– Training agenda
– A more disciplined approach to mental health issues
3. Signposting employers towards existing resources
– Sector/professional bodies may have a role to play
4. Acknowledgement that COVID-19 has had a profound impact
– Recognition that triggers, and those affected, may have changed and that practices
may need to evolve to recognise this

24. Workplace mental health issues: A
future research agenda
• Additional waves of the Midlands MH and Wellbeing survey: valuable
longitudinal data set
• MH and Wellbeing survey in other geographic locations: important
comparative data
• More focus on the link between firm-level characteristics & factors and the
likelihood to adopt MH practices
• In-depth analysis of experiences of workplace mental health issues at
individuals, line-manager and team levels
• Investigation of causal links between adoption of practices, wellbeing
outcomes and the firm-level outcomes
• Mental health as Human Capital?
– Inherently multi-level nature of human capital permits individual and firm-level analysis
– Impact of individual factors at firm-level
– Integration of different literatures

25. For further details please visit :
www.enterpriseresearch.ac.uk
@ERC_Uk

26. Workplace mental health issues:
ERC publications
ERC (2020) A baseline study for the Mental Health and Productivity Pilot project Available at:
https://www.enterpriseresearch.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Employee-Wellbeing-Mental-
Health-and-Productivity-in-Midlands-Firms-May-2020.pdf
ERC (2020) Talking about workplace mental health: How do employers in the Midlands understand
and experience mental health issues? Available at: https://www.enterpriseresearch.ac.uk/wp-
content/uploads/2020/11/ERC-Insight-Talking-about-workplace-mental-health.pdf
ERC (2020) Workplace mental health and Covid-19: experiences of firms in the Midlands Available
at: https://www.enterpriseresearch.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ERC-ResReport-
Workplace-mental-health-and-Covid-19-experiences-of-firms-in-the-Midlands.pdf
ERC (2021) Workplace mental health and wellbeing in Midlands firms before and during the COVID-
19 pandemic Available at: https://www.enterpriseresearch.ac.uk/publications/workplace-mental-
health-and-wellbeing-in-midlands-firms-before-and-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/
ERC (2021) Workplace mental health in Midlands firms 2021: Baseline report Available at:
https://www.enterpriseresearch.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/ERC-Report-Workplace-
Mental-Health-in-Midlands-Firms-2021.pdf