EAPA urges businesses to mark World Mental Health Day by encouraging staff to make use of their EAP

World Mental Health day on October 10 is a date that is growing in the public consciousness, year on year.

Now in its 27^th year, it’s a day when we can all give that extra little bit of focus to our mental health – and with a growing national and international focus on the wellbeing in our heads as well as in our bodies, it’s an excellent time to stop and reflect.

This year’s theme for World Mental Health Day is a very serious one indeed: suicide prevention.

It is with that in mind that as an organisation, EAPA is marking the day on October 10 by urging businesses to do more to promote their EAP to staff – and not just have it in the background as an employee ‘perk’.

We are reminding businesses that they can and should be doing far more to engage with staff and positively encourage them not just use their EAP as a last resort, but to use it when any health problems – including mental ones – start, rather than when they start to become very debilitating.

EAPA’s research shows that the EAP market is worth around £25million in the UK, and that nine in every ten employers offer an EAP to their staff, so it’s clear that take-up amongst employers is not the issue. The problem is that usage of EAP tends to be very low – around 5%.

EAPA would like to encourage businesses with an EAP to take some simple steps to let staff know what support is available to them, should they need it. Here are some examples of steps that employers could take:

• An email to all staff to mark World Mental Health Day that contains a simple message about the importance of mental health and wellbeing and signposting to the EAP and ways to access it
• Virtual posters on workplace sites/social media pages marking World Mental Health Day and advising staff as to how they can access support from their EAP
• Host a series of informal meetings/talks on World Mental Health Day, advising staff of how they can access their EAP

EAPA chair, Eugene Farrell, says: “World Mental Health Day this year is about a very solemn topic indeed: suicide. With deaths by suicide having risen by 11.8% in 2018*, this is something that every single one of us should take extremely seriously, and we feel that our members and all employers have a big part to play in that. A lot of the themes around this year’s World Mental Health Day are about taking time to reach out to those in need. EAPA would like to contribute to that debate by urging businesses to reach out to their staff by letting them know the valuable support that is available to anyone who is struggling with their mental health, via their EAP. As well as actively promoting their EAPs, we also urge employers to look at how the EAP fits into the wider wellbeing strategy so that all elements of support are working together effectively to support employee mental health.”

*Source: The Samaritans

EAPA backs pioneering new mental health campaign: Every Mind Matters

A national mental health campaign aiming to empower people to look after their own mental health will launch on national television this evening with the help of the Dukes and Duchesses of Cambridge and Sussex.

Every Mind Matters has been launched today, October 7, with the help of the young royals who lent their voices to a short film, which also features a line-up of famous names whose lives have been affected in the past by poor mental health. They include Davina McCall, Freddie Flintoff and Glenn Close.

The short film was written by Richard Curtis, directed by Rankin, and will be broadcast simultaneously in ad breaks on ITV, Channel 4 and Sky, reaching millions of viewers in what is believed to be a broadcaster first.

The ground-breaking new platform is being launched by the NHS and Public Health England (PHE) as a new way of empowering people to manage and improve their mental health. This follows a PHE survey of more than 3,000 people showing that in the last twelve months, more than eight in ten have experienced early signs of poor mental health including feeling anxious, stressed, having low mood or trouble sleeping.

Every Mind Matters is a tool which is available for the public and GPs to advise their patients to use. It will allow people to build simple changes in their lives, such as reframing unhelpful thoughts, breathing exercises and increasing physical activity.

Launched after 18 months of planning, Every Mind Matters marks an increasing recognition that taking care of our mental health is as important as maintaining good physical health.

While symptoms such as poor sleep and stress can be a natural response to life’s challenges, they can also become more serious if people don’t take action – and many wait too long.

EAPA has long advocated the importance of looking after mental health and encourages organisations with EAPs in place for their staff to promote usage of EAP services as part of an overall mental health wellbeing strategy.

Eugene Farrell, EAPA chair, said: “Mental Health has become an important issue to employers and EAPA welcomes this much needed public campaign designed to promote and support good mental health.”

Every Mind Matters is also backed by a coalition of mental health charities and champions, including Mind, Mental Health Foundation, MHFA (Mental Health First Aid) England, Samaritans, Heads Together, Centre for Mental Health, Rethink, Time to Change, NSUN (National Survivor User Network) What Works Centre for Wellbeing and Good Thinking. It is also being promoted by the NHS to its one million-plus workforce.

Some of the nation’s biggest companies from the high street, entertainment, sport and finance have pledged to adopt Every Mind Matters for their employees, customers and fans. These include Santander, Greggs and the England and Wales Cricket Board, who will be empowering their staff and the public to take their mental health into their own hands and encouraging them to create their own action plan.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “Our health – both mental and physical – is an asset that needs to be nurtured. We’re all aware of the benefits of looking after our physical health and the steps we can take to keep ourselves healthy, but many of us are not as knowledgeable or proactive as we could be when it comes to our mental health.

“Every Mind Matters will benefit us all with an accessible tool to help manage our wellbeing at the click of a button. It will offer vital support to those living with a mental health condition and give each of us valuable and personalised tips on how to better cope with life’s daily struggles, while contributing to tackling the stigma that can still surround mental health.”

To discover simple steps for a healthier mind, you can create your bespoke action plan at: www.everymindmatters.co.uk 

News that 120,000 NHS mental health patients are being kept on “hidden” waiting lists for their second appointment is worrying – EAP providers have a duty to provide top-notch support wherever they can

Waiting times for second GP appointments for UK patients seeking help with their mental health are missing national targets in the tens of thousands, an alarming story in The Independent has revealed.

The article tells how figures have revealed that 122,000 patients had to wait more than eight weeks to see a GP again after their first appointment in 2018/9.

The nationally set waiting time is six weeks.

The patients in question were part of the Improving Access to Pscyhological Therapies (IAPT) scheme, which has been credited for cutting waiting times for first appointments.

But the new research reveals that while the first appointment for these patients might not take too long, they are being forced to wait far longer for their second. In the worst performing areas, it was taking up to 15 weeks for people to see a doctor again after their first visit.

These waits were described as a “hidden sucker punch” for vulnerable people who have made the brave step of asking for help in the first place, leaving them feeling at a low ebb.

EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell says the new figures are “concerning” for those asking for help with their mental health problems.

But, he says, they also mean that employers duty of care the for mental health of employee has to be met, and timely access to support via an  EAP offers them fast and caring support at a time when they really need it.

“These figures show that when it comes to mental health, the NHS is doing its absolute best, but it is very far from able to provide an ideal service,” he says. “That’s where employers continue to have a real duty to step in and ensure that for their staff at least, they have access to an EAP which will not keep them waiting between appointments and will offer them the best of advice and support.

“Our NHS is one of the pillars of Great Britain, it really is, and our doctors and nurses and physiotherapists and all staff working for this fabulous institution are working so hard day in, day out, to make it that way. But it is not a limitless resource. Sometimes, cracks begin to show. That’s where employers can help boost our country by offering superb EAP services to take some of that strain away.”

Stressed about Brexit? It’s up to employers to create an environment in which their staff are actively encouraged to use their EAP – not just rely on it as a last resort, says EAPA chair in national publication.

EAPA chair Eugene Farrell recently wrote a thoughtful article for theHRDirector outlining why EAPs are being under-used when it comes to mental health.

EAP is an “important Brexit safety net for employees”, our association chair Eugene Farrell has said.

In an article written for theHRDirector, a monthly publication aimed at HR directors and senior practitioners, Eugene said that despite mental health services being a key part of the EAP offering, they were being under-used and this was especially critical at a time when large parts of the UK workforce were being put under greater stress due to Brexit.

In the article, which you can read here, Eugene pointed to clear evidence that Brexit is indeed causing considerable mental health problems in the UK.

A study by the LSE (London School of Economics) has highlighted a growth in numbers of UK people reporting mental health problems since the 2016 referendum result, while another survey has suggested there has been an increase in prescriptions for antidepressants since the result.

All of which has made it all the more surprising – and worrying – that despite the fact nearly half of the UK workforce is covered by an EAP, offering confidential support services 24/7, access to help seems to be low on take-up when it comes to mental health.

Eugene says: “As I tried to make clear in the article, the difference between an EAP and other forms of counselling is generally that it tries to help people deal with any mental health issues they may be struggling with earlier so they don’t then become bigger problems that are harder to deal with.”

Eugene argued in the article that employers need to first of all be aware of exactly what their EAP services offered to staff, and make sure this was widely and properly communicated, rather than positioning EAP as a last resort.

He says: “Brexit stress has clearly added to the nation’s mental health problems and I would really urge employers to ensure their employees are taking advantage of the help they can get through their EAP. We all know that many people struggle to ask for help when they are suffering mentally – it’s really up to employers to create an atmosphere in which asking for help is not just enabled, it’s positively encouraged.”

Diary date: EAPA branch meeting, 17 September, 2019, Linnean Society, Piccadilly

The next EAPA branch meeting will take place next week on September 17 at the Linnean Society in Burlington House, London. The meeting will start at 11am with business including reports from the chair and treasurer plus a progress report on the ROI project.

Then, at 11.30am, we are pleased to announce that we will hear from guest speaker Elizabeth Sillitoe, partnership marketing lead for Public Health England (PHE). Elizabeth will be talking on how to empower people to enable greater individual responsibility for mental health.

PHE launched their Every Mind Matters campaign in October 2018 with the aim of encouraging people to have more self-awareness of their own mental health. The inititative is fully supported by EAPA and both we and PHE are inviting our members to find out more about its objectives.

The campaign is promoting a range of self-care actions with the aim of encouraging people to feel more confident in taking action to look after their mental health. EAPA members are being invited to find out how to take advantage of the opportunities that the campaign makes available. In particular, PHE would like to provide focus as to what EAPS can do to help people with common mental health issues at work. This is the government’s first mental health campaign and PHE will be providing a variety of tools and resources that EAPA members can share with clients to help promote mental wellbeing in the workplace. EAPA members are encouraged to bring one colleague as a guest for the presentation, due to end around 1pm.

Please email info@eapa.org.uk to confirm your attendance

Amazon, LinkedIn, Adidas and Twitter to deliver keynotes at Employee Benefits Live

Technology and e-commerce giant Amazon, global news, social and networking sites Twitter and LinkedIn, and multinational clothing brand Adidas have been announced as the four keynote speakers at Employee Benefits Live 2019.

Europe’s largest dedicated reward and benefits event will take place for the 21st year on 1 and 2 October 2019, at the ExCeL London.

Opening and closing both days of Employee Benefits Live 2019 will be a series of keynote speeches from leading figures at four major organisations: Bruce Daisley, vice president, EMEA at Twitter; Ben Farmer, head of HR, UK corporate at Amazon; Katherine Gilbert, director, compensation and benefits EMEA and Latin America at LinkedIn; and Tony Cooke, vice president, HR region west, at Adidas.

Employee Benefits Live’s keynote speakers will address fundamental issues facing employers and HR professionals today, providing insights into the practicalities and successes of people strategy at major organisations.

Throughout the rest of the two-day exhibition and conference, HR, reward and benefits professionals will be able to explore the latest developments, products and innovations in the industry, as well as gain insights into key trends from an extensive programme of speakers, to be announced later this year.

Employee Benefits Live 2019 will also provide delegates with the opportunity to network and discuss key topics with industry experts and peers.

For more information and to register for free.

Free new EAP support for an entire sector of workers is announced – but it should not simply be a ‘tick box’ exercise, says EAPA chair

Carers have a tough job. One in four social care staff leave the profession every year. The Kings Fund has reported that there are around 110,000 unfilled vacancies at any one time in the home care sector. In 2017, the Health Foundation reported that some 37 per cent of staff had been ill in the previous 12 months due to work stress.

Which is why the announcement in August from care matching service Care Sourcer that it is launching a free health and wellbeing EAP support programme for employees of ALL UK care providers will, we are sure, be very welcome.

With the programme there to support more than 800,000 care workers, it’s a big, bold gesture that recognises the strain put on those whose job it is to look after others … often to the detriment of their own mental and physical health, leading to them taking time of work due to stress, depression, anxiety and sickness.

Care Sourcer says the EAP programme will provide a support network offering expert advice and compassionate guidance 24/7, “covering a range of issues including mental or physical stress, bereavement of clients or residents they have formed close bonds with, money worries, and general low morale”.

Funded for the first 12 months of its operation by Legal & General, Care Sourcer says the new EAP support will improve staff retention.

Our EAPA chair Eugene Farrell says that while the move is certainly a good one, attention should also be paid to the broader wellbeing of care-workers, who are often doing demanding jobs for not very much financial renumeration.

“The care sector has many challenges: staff shortages, pay and benefits, work stress amongst them,” he says. “As demand grows for more social care, then this demand for more workers will increase and pressure too will increase, especially if roles are not filled. Brexit too is going to have a further negative effect upon the sector which relies upon recruiting EU workers. I don’t think I’ve seen an entire sector getting EAP support in this way, and maybe it’s a sign of things to come. Whilst this is really good to see and will have clear benefits to staff, it’s going to be a challenge. Communicating with a diversely spread workforce will be a real challenge and getting workers to understand the role and benefits of having an EAP support is key to attaining a good utilisation level.

“In identifying common themes and issues, how are further support and additional programs going to be done and supported? What is likely to change as a result of having an EAP? It shouldn’t be used as tick box to say: ‘There you go, you have support, now get on with it.’ Organisations need good work and good management in order to survive and thrive. I hope this is also part of the plan.

“The broader wellbeing of workers is also something that needs consideration. Mental health is one part of overall wellbeing. I hope that as part of this undoubtedly welcome initiative, there are plans to assist these essential and valuable workers to attain better health and wellbeing, in its broadest sense.”

More than one in ten calls to 7,000-strong organisation’s EAP provider made outside working hours, study finds

When it comes to how staff access the EAP provided for them by their employer, usage statistics reported by warehouse, distribution and transport organisation Culina Group make interesting reading.

The group employs 7,000 people in the UK and Ireland and reports some fascinating findings after launching an employee benefits platform in 2016, followed in 2019 by an app that allows staff to access benefits via their mobile phones – useful for HGV drivers, for example, who may not get to a computer regularly.

As well as enjoying spending more than £600,000 on retail discounts as a result of the employee benefits package, the company’s research shows how the EAP service is used by staff.

Culina Group offers a 24/7 EAP helpline to support employees, and has found that more than one in ten of calls were made outside traditional working hours.

Breaking down the statistics further, the group reports that just under a third of these calls were to do with mental health, and around another third focused on legal support. A small number of calls were made to discuss finances and just over 10 per cent were about relationships.

EAPA chairman Eugene Farrell says: “These findings from Culina Group provide a really helpful steer to all of us in the EAP industry, that these types of benefits are genuinely valued by staff.

“Culina offers its 7,000 employees a 24/7 EAP helpline and it’s clear that staff have enthusiastically used this as a means of discussing a range of issues in their lives. It’s particularly interesting that the highest proportion of the calls to the EAP service – 31.7 per cent – were to do with mental health.

“It’s great that Culina Group are offering such a fantastic array of benefits to their staff, and it’s clear that the EAP helpline is particularly appreciated.

“Culina’s usage report also shows that more than one in ten calls to the EAP service were made outside of traditional working hours, showing that people are considering issues that they need help with away from the working environment, and are prepared to make that phone call to ask for assistance with a range of personal matters.

“This is what EAP can offer: a rock of support that means that employees need no longer feel alone with battling with problems in their personal lives, whether they are mental health problems or financial issues. They have a resource they can go to for help. Employers then notice the difference in productivity and staff morale, because they have taken these steps to boost the wellbeing of their workforce, both physically and mentally.”

You can see the full detail of the Culina Group’s findings here: https://www.employeebenefits.co.uk/culina-group-spent-600000-benefits/

The true cost and impact of mental ill health

It’s time we all woke up to the true cost and impact of mental ill health, says EAPA chair as new report reveals an estimated cost of £105 billion a year in England

Stark statistics in an insightful new report have estimated that every year in England, the cost of mental ill health reaches £105 billion, with one in four people experiencing mental health issues.

EAPA chair, Eugene Farrell, has welcomed the publication of the first ever Social Impact Report produced by Mental Health First Aid England (MHFA). 

MHFA came to England in 2007 with the aim of improving public mental health. Its first Social Impact Report is intended to celebrate its 12 years of history, with the organisation now planning to produce a report each year. 

A Community Interest Company (CIC), MHFA provides training via its Instructor Training programme licensed by Mental Health First Aid International. 

Once trained, MHFA’s instructor members deliver training across the country. Since 2009, 400,000 people have been trained in mental health  awareness via MHFA. 

Included in the Social Impact Report are further alarming statistics revealing the true picture – and cost – of mental ill health in England: 

• 15 people a day took their life in 2017 (54,874)
• It’s estimated that many more attempted suicide
• Despite a quarter of the population experiencing a diagnosable mental health condition each year, 70-75 per cent of those with a diagnosable mental illness receive no treatment at all

EAPA chair Eugene Farrell says: “The new Social Impact Report produced by MHFA certainly makes sobering reading – although there is plenty to inspire and offer hope within its pages too. 

“As chair of an organisation which is championing mental health wellbeing in the workplace, I certainly support the excellent work being done by MHFA to provide training for thousands of people so they are equipped to help those who are going through tough times. 

“EAP’s are perfectly placed in the workplace to provide the additional support needed and it’s important that mental health first aiders understand what an EAP is and how to signpost someone for assessment and support. It’s also important that the first aiders themselves are properly supported and managed so that they do not become overwhelmed by their role. 

“I echo what MHFA have said in their report: that we all have mental health, and we need to learn to recognise when others – and we ourselves – are struggling. The stigma that has long existed over depression and other mental health issues needs to be addressed and we need to learn to listen more, without judgement.

“I welcome this new report and I hope that when organisations read it they will wake up and realise that employees’ mental health wellbeing is just as important as their physical health. Proper mental health help, delivered by skilled professionals, is the only way that we can start to drive down these worrying statistics. Once more organisations begin to realise this, we can all work together to save lives.”

You can have a read of the first MHFA Social Impact Report here, or see this YouTube video for more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFRCdgXGlig.

Supporting employees to manage bereavement

The UK EAPA vice-chair Andrew Kinder recently wrote a highly insightful piece for Mad World news surrounding the difficult topic of bereavement, and how to manage it in the workplace.

Here is an edited version, or you can also read the whole thing on the Mad World website, here.

“Bereavement is such a highly emotive topic, that line managers can feel very uncomfortable about what should and shouldn’t be said. It can be easier for them to be cold, to see a bereavement as being irrelevant to the job that needs to be done; or struggle when they’ve had their own recent deaths to deal with and become like a counsellor with their team member.

It’s an example of where an EAP comes into its own. Professional support is important in being able to understand the full picture of what’s happened. The impact of a bereavement covers a spectrum depending on the nature of the relationship, whether there are any other factors to deal with – if the last contact had been negative, if relations had been strained for some time, if there was a suicide – what can sometimes turn into “complicated grief”.

An EAP professional will be able to explore the level of significance in the employee’s life and unpick complexities. It’s a difficult conversation to have, that needs time and sensitivity. The EAP will also provide support on practical matters: funeral arrangements, dealing with belongings, the sale of property, how to look after other members of the family who might now need more help themselves. 

Managers shouldn’t have to act as counsellors themselves, but need to be able to signpost to the EAP and provide the necessary understanding. They should also be aware of cultural differences – some are more demonstrative about grief than the traditional ‘British’ reserve on such matters.

Depending on the degree of impact, people may need time off or some temporary reduction in workload. At the same time, it’s important to remember the value of work in helping staff and that it can be a welcome distraction from worries and negative feelings.

Managers need to ensure there’s always a discussion of individual needs, some empathy, that they are not imposing their thinking or solutions and they don’t expect people to just ‘go back to normal’. In some situations, a bereavement can mean there is no ‘normal’ anymore, they need time to re-make themselves, and their relationships with work.”

EAPA is delighted to be a supporting partner of the Mad World Summit 2019, to promote best practice in mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. Mad World stands for Make a difference. 

The Mad World Summit is a global conference and exhibition dedicated to making a difference to mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. It’s a unique event where early movers and visionary pioneers are working together both to advance the agenda and engage new voices. 

The event will take place on 9 October 2019, the day before World Mental Health Day, at 133 Houndsditch in Central London.  

For details of the fantastic line up of speakers visit www.madworldsummit.com. Register here using the EAPA discount code EAPA for 50% off both the group and single ticket rates.

See the summit’s social media tags:

#MADWorldLDN – for both Twitter and LinkedIn

@mad-world-summit – for LinkedIn

@mad-world-forum – Twitter handle