Dr Mandy Rutter, under the direction of the EI’s Health Technical Committee (HTC), has developed profoundly important guidance, The Mental Health Framework (published 1 December 2024) which stands well alongside other important EI health and safety related guidance. Project coordination and technical editing was carried out by Jamie Walker and Laszlo Komaromi at the EI.

The report points out that since the COVID-19 pandemic, poor employee mental health has emerged as one of the biggest people challenges facing organisations. There is growing awareness that mental health issues impact many parts of the population and should not be given the outdated label of ‘mental illness’.

Employees, and particularly the younger generation, ‘have higher levels of mental health literacy than ever before’, says the report. According to Business in the Community research (and an accompanying tool kit for employers), work-related poor mental health is not spread evenly throughout organisations, as there is a disconnect between what senior leaders believe, the support they provide, and the reality of employees’ experience.

Those at CEO and Board level are more likely than those with no managerial responsibility to think that their organisation supports its staff (51% against 38%) in this respect, and the proportion of employees who believe their organisation does well in supporting those with poor mental health fell from 45% to 41% over the past two years.

The EI Mental Health Framework aims to equip organisations – particularly in the energy sector, but also relevant to other industry sectors – with the tools and strategies needed to address and improve mental health support within the workplace.

It helps organisations to understand the importance of mental health, to evaluate current capabilities and implement effective strategies for continuous improvement, with practical advice and useful references that can be adapted for different work environments and organisational structures – as a reference for managers in their daily roles, integrated with HR (human resources) policy.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, poor employee mental health has emerged as one of the biggest people challenges facing organisations.

What is mental health?
It’s about how you feel. Frankly, everyone has mental health issues of some kind or another from time to time. Although there is often a stigma around talking about it.

We can easily mention having a headache or stomach-ache to colleagues. But it’s also common to feel wary of expressing feeling depressed, grief or stress in the workplace. Especially in the traditionally ‘macho’ environment of the energy sector. That’s holding us back, states the EI Framework, adding that ‘increasing self-awareness and emotional intelligence would help us thrive and build reliance’.

Many of us are struggling to cope with issues like divorce/separation, bereavement, grief, burn-out, the threat of redundancy, sadness, exhaustion, anxiety, depression, mistakes and accidents, and sometimes more challenging issues around ‘poor’ mental health.

Typically, mental health doesn’t have an on-off switch, where you feel positive one moment and depressed the next, but is more like a continuum when stressful events occur.

Nevertheless, we can move back to positive mental health when we reach out, ask for help, take time out, and make healthy choices that support us.

Why is mental health important?
At an organisational level, good mental health enables employees to contribute positively to the workplace and generate a safe, resilient culture.

The statistics speak for themselves.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 15% of working age adults have a mental health disorder. ‘These adults spend about one third of their day at work, and hence employers have extensive opportunities to either help or hinder the mental health of a significant proportion of their workforce,’ explains the Framework report.

What’s more, the UKG Workforce Institute found that many managers have as great an influence on employees’ mental health as their partners do, and a ‘greater influence’ than their doctors and therapists. Furthermore, 60% of employees reported that their job has the greatest influence on their mental health, ‘above everything in their life’.

So, on the bright side, mentally healthy workplaces not only feel good, and contribute to the performance and productivity of the workforce, but are claimed to enable employees to develop healthy relationships and lifestyles outside of work.

Good mental health is also imperative from a safety perspective, to avoid accidents or mistakes. However, if an employee is anxious, overwhelmed or distracted by personal concerns, their decision making is compromised, as well as the safety of others.

The Framework also notes: ‘At a personal level, good mental health helps employees enjoy their work, develop an appropriately ambitious trajectory for their career, and navigate personal and professional challenges with resilience.’

The cost-benefits of good mental health in the workplace
Furthermore, improving mental health can have a positive return on investment (RoI) for the organisation.

According to a 2022 Deloitte analysis, supported by other research, there is a significant financial business case for employer investment in employee mental health. Deloitte estimates an average RoI of £5.30 for every £1 of investment in employee mental health programmes. Public Health England estimates an RoI of £2 for every £1 spent on investment in workplace stress management.

The EI Framework also refers to London School of Economics and Political Science research on the economic case for investing in the prevention of mental health conditions in the UK.

Gathering and analysing employee feedback
Gathering insight into employee perceptions of mental health support and current gaps in an organisation is vital. Carrying out a gap analysis of the current state of mental health in a company and what it would like to see, is a good place to start.

The Framework suggests that ‘quantitative insight’ can be gained by staff surveys related to mental health, covering the impact of mental health on ability to work; the impact of work on employees’ mental wellbeing; the level of support from the organisation for wellbeing; the level of support by managers and colleagues; analysis of sickness absence and employee turnover data; and productivity and performance data since the COVID-19 pandemic, where levels of anxiety, depression and burn-out may have increased.

‘Qualitative insight’ will also give a richer and more detailed understanding of the challenges, opportunities or barriers that exist in terms of the mental health of an organisation. In this respect, employee forums or focus groups, survey questions, disciplinary or complaint data and training feedback, accident data, annual appraisals and exit interviews, may all provide useful data.

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) can provide a work-related stress indicator tool, as well as a guide to running focus groups on mental health.

The EI Mental Health Framework also gives guidance on how to evaluate the current mental health maturity of your organisation and rank its current level – from basic to emerging, mature and advanced – to identify the next steps on the continuous improvement journey.

Leading from the top
Securing senior level buy-in is essential to developing a positive mental health strategy in an organisation. It is critical to secure commitment from a sponsor at the highest level of the organisation, working closely with a programme manager or responsible department developing the right mental health programme roll-out for an organisation, according to the EI Framework.

There is also need for a clear ‘mental health vision’ with a defined goal for the organisation, that is better than the current status quo. It needs to be a catalyst for action, taking into account many competing views. As the Framework explains: ‘Without a vision you risk creating a scattered approach… in which resources go to the most vocal employees, instead of being allocated equitably and strategically based on need.’

From an objective perspective, the Framework recognises that: ‘While sharing care for mental health is a priority, it is important to join the dots with organisational purpose, culture and strategy, to ensure care for your people does not feel like an afterthought to your business strategy but an integral part of it.’

Shell, for example, has published a mental health vision statement which says: ‘We perform at our best, at work and in our personal lives, when we are cared for and focus on our mental, social and physical wellbeing... [We aim] to build a culture that promotes good mental health, protects against mental ill health and provides timely access to quality support and care.’

There is also a need to understand how specific personal and work-related factors, such as neurodiversity, attention deficit hyperactivity (ADHD), dyslexia and dyspraxia, for example, might impact the mental wellbeing of employees, due to the differences in brain function that can impact sociability, learning, attention and mood differently.

However, the positive impact that cognitive diversity brings to organisational performance should be recognised, as neurodiverse employees add specific skills and diversity to teams. ‘They often have high levels of creativity, lateral thinking abilities and consistency in task completion,’ the Framework notes.

Ultimately, management policies, principles and practice statements should communicate good practice in supporting employees with their mental health.

Copies of the EI Mental Health Framework can be ordered from EI Technical Publications.

• Further reading: ‘Our sector needs diversity, not discrimination’. ‘Half of survey respondents have experienced or witnessed LGBTQIA+ discrimination in the UK energy workplace.’ Louise Bailey, OVO Belonging Lead explains how Pride in Energy is looking to make a difference.
• Find more about people, skills, training, and workforce diversity and inclusion, important topics covered by a number of sessions at International Energy Week 2024.