Research Report

Workplace Mental Health in Midlands firms 2022: Baseline Report

ERC Research Report

Author

ERC

Associated Themes
  • Mental Health
  • Productivity and performance

We report on a third wave of data exploring workplace mental health, collected from 1,904 Midlands firms between January and May 2022, and compare it to data from two earlier waves which were collected between January and April 2021 and January and March 2020. In this report, we offer insight into employer experiences of mental health issues as COVID-19 restrictions were eased and working practices started to return to normal. During this period, the proportion of firms reporting presenteeism (employees working when they are ill or working beyond their contracted hours) increased, as did reported long-term and repeated sickness absence. This followed a decline in presenteeism and mental health-related absence at the height of the pandemic. We identify some positive trends in the adoption of key initiatives to mitigate the effects of workplace mental health issues, including the provision of a budget for mental health activities. However, we also note that there is still a strong reliance on untrained line managers to deliver the practices that firms rely on to manage workplace mental health issues.


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