Signing the Time to Change Employer’s Pledge is a good start to creating mentally healthier workplaces, Duke of Cambridge tells business leaders.

As part of an event aimed at changing the conversation around mental health in the workplace the Duke of Cambridge recommended that signing the Time to Change Employer’s Pledge was a good first step that business leaders could take.

The Duke attended today’s briefing in central London as part of the Heads Together campaign which he is spearheading with The Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry to change the conversation on mental health. At the briefing, which was attended by business leaders and hosted by Unilever, one of the Heads Together Founding Partners, His Royal Highness learnt about ways to promote positive mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. He heard from some of the country's top FTSE 100 employers about how mental health and wellbeing is currently promoted and supported within the workplace.

Time to Change is a campaign run by Mind and Rethink Mental Illness which changes public attitudes and perceptions towards mental health. The campaign has built up a large movement over the last five years, including 473 organisations who have signed the Time to Change Employer Pledge. By signing the pledge, employers demonstrate their commitment to changing how we think and act about mental health in the workplace and ensuring that employees who are facing problems feel supported.

The pledge is an aspirational statement which involves employers developing and implementing an action plan that may include changes to policy and practice, staff training, support, and training for line managers. Pledged employers come from many sectors ranging from FTSE 100 companies such as M&S, BT, Lloyds Bank and British Gas, to universities, sports groups and local authorities.

Speaking at the event, His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, said:  

"Work, as we all know, can at times be a source of great fulfilment, growth and fun, but also at times a significant source of stress sometimes, if we are honest, to the point of its being overwhelming.”

He later added:

"May I suggest you sign up to the Time to Change Employer Pledge. The Time to Change Pledge commits you to change how mental health is talked about and acted upon in your workplace, and provides a good foundation on which to build.”

Sue Baker, Director of Time to Change, said: “I hope today’s event triggers urgent action from employers everywhere to join us and put an end to the damaging stigma that continues to surround mental health in the workplace.

“It’s in everyone’s interest to create more mentally healthy workplaces. One in six British workers experience mental illness and people with mental health problems report that the workplace is one of the most common areas of discrimination. Challenging how we all think and act about mental health can make a real difference to employee wellbeing and it also makes good business sense - improving sickness absence rates, staff wellbeing, productivity, and retention.”

Time to Change’s most recent evaluation of the programme found that of those who had signed the pledge in 2015-16:

• 95% said it had a positive impact on their organisation
• Eight in ten agreed that awareness of mental health issues had been raised
• Half reported a rise in staff disclosure of mental health problems.

Al Phillips, Detective Constable in the Essex Police Force, is a Time to Change supporter who has personal experience of managing a mental health problem at work. He said: “It was because my boss took the time to understand my condition and trusted me to manage it that I was able to stay in the job that I love – even through some really stressful times.”

E.ON UK was one of the first companies to sign the Time to Change employer’s Pledge. HR Director Dave Newborough said: “At E.ON we’re proud of our work in promoting positive mental health in the workplace and recognise that we can always improve. As one of the first employers to sign up to the Time to Change employers pledge, we’ve developed and run a number of programmes, campaigns and initiatives and the changes we’ve made are paying off. Employees now feel more comfortable talking about their mental health at work and line managers feel better equipped to support team members and promote good mental wellbeing. 

“To date over 1,500 line managers have undergone mental health awareness training and as a result we’re seeing ‘bigger conversations’ being undertaken. Colleagues are sharing their stories in support of others and we’ve seen a positive impact on both long and short term sickness absence across the organisation.”

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For further information, please contact Julie Evans at [email protected] or 020 8215 2358 or Emma Warren at [email protected] or 0208 8215 2341

Case studies available: Please contact us if you’d like to be put in touch with someone with personal experience of managing their mental health in the workplace or a spokesperson who can speak about the benefits of signing the Time to Change pledge.
 

**For access to a range of free images to accompany mental health news stories please visit: https://www.time-to-change.org.uk/getthepicture. These images have been developed by Time to Change.

Background information on mental health in the workplace

• 1 in 6 British workers are affected by conditions like anxiety, depression and stress every year.
• Mental ill-health is the leading cause of sickness absence in the UK, costing an average of £1,035 per employee per year
• 95% of employees calling in sick with stress gave a different reason 
• FTSE 100 companies that prioritise employee engagement and wellbeing outperform the rest of the FTSE 100 by an average of 10%.

Time to Change
Time to Change is a growing movement of people changing how we all think and act about mental health problems. Our voice is stronger and louder thanks to funding by the Department of Health, Comic Relief and the Big Lottery Fund. Our campaign is run by Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, and thousands more organisations have joined us to make change happen.

For more information go to www.time-to-change.org.uk.