Launched by Sarah Albon, chief executive of HSE, at the HSE Health and Work Conference earlier this month, Working Minds raises awareness about how to recognise and respond to the signs of stress to protect workers and support good mental health to help people to stay well.

Work-related stress is now the number one cause of employee sickness absence, with major factors causing work-related stress including workload pressures – tight timescales, too much responsibility and a lack of managerial support.

We’re calling for a culture change across British manufacturing where recognising and responding to the signs of work-related stress becomes as routine as managing safety.

Campaign partners
Working with partner organisations including Composites UK, Engineering Contractors Association, Mind, Acas and Mates in Mind, we will provide businesses with relevant information and practical tools.

Operations Manager at Composites UK Dr Sue Halliwell said: “A physically fit and mentally healthy workforce can deliver increased productivity, increased staff retention, and ensure employees are more fully engaged in their work.

“The manufacturing sector has traditionally focused on physical health and safety, but mental health and wellbeing is now rightfully demanding increased attention. Work related stress can be a significant cause of illness leading to absence, staff turnover and other issues such as increased capacity for error; the pandemic has only added to already increasing pressures across all businesses.

“Composites UK is proud to be working with HSE and through the SIMPLC (Safety in manufacturing of plastics and composites) initiative to raise awareness of the importance of good mental health practices at work, ensuring our members have access to the right information and tools to enable them to continue to operate safely and effectively.”

Make it Routine
Working Minds is aimed specifically at supporting small businesses by providing employers and workers with easy to implement advice that directs employers to Make it Routine by Reaching out, Recognising, Responding and Reflecting.

Sharing personal experience is a powerful way of helping others to understand the real-life impacts of these issues. If you have an experience of work-related stress – either personally or managing stress as an employer – we’d love to hear from you. Please email campaigns@hse.gov.uk and a member of the team will be in touch.

Find out more about the Working Minds campaign