QBE European Operations has partnered with mental health charity Mind and organisational safety consultancy Anker & Marsh to develop a mental health self-assessment tool for the company's commercial clients.
Assessing mental health and wellbeing programmes
Using this tool, businesses can assess their mental health and wellbeing programmes and find a better and more holistic risk management strategy. The tool features an easy-to-access platform with a series of targeted questions that enable an organisation to establish how they currently benchmark in terms of the mental health support they provide employees, supplemented with suggested improvement programmes.
QBE’s tool uses a self-assessment which is structured into systematic strategic sections that enables customers to record their progress through the development process. This includes reviewing organisational culture and responsibilities, monitoring of wellbeing, employee engagement, workplace design and organisation, training, tools and networks available and transparency and accountability.
Addressing issues of workplace mental health
The tool looks to address some of the growing risk concerns over the past few years of mental health in the workplace. According to recent QBE research, three in ten workers (29%) are struggling with their mental health. One in five UK employees (21%) say that they have not received good workplace support for their mental wellbeing while a similar proportion (22%) do not believe their employer’s concern about mental wellbeing is genuine.
The research also showed that over a fifth (22%) of employees admit to having made mistakes at work recently because they have continued to work instead of taking time off for the sake of their mental health. Further research from QBE found that when employees continue working instead of taking time off when experiencing mental health issues, it can cost companies an average of £52,000 in lost business or contracts.
“The synergy for both customers and insurers could not be clearer. We believe even a marginal improvement in an organisation's approach towards mental health will help to significantly address some of the issues behind the alarming statistics our research has illustrated. Consequently, we believe that QBE customers who engage fully with the process will see an improvement in their bottom line, their claims profile, and their people," says Steve Field, Underwriting Manager of QBE Europe.
“It is standard practice for organisations to carry out risk assessments to protect the physical safety of employees and third parties. However, while employers have a legal duty to protect employees from stress at work, our research suggests there is a real gap when it comes to ensuring organisations have solutions in place to address all the potential issues arising from the mental health of their workforce," he adds.
“In our experience, most companies have good intentions, but find it very challenging to access the right tools and materials to enable them to develop a proactive strategy. This tool is intended fill in any gaps and ensure organisations have a holistic approach to mental health in the workplace and can examine how their strategies measure up to their peers.”
Work for a company that prioritizes good employee mental health
QBE European Operations is more than a workplace. The company takes great pride in offering solutions to meet the professional and personal needs of its employees. For example, it offers a variety of programs are offered to help employees with their physical, emotional and financial health.
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Disclosure: Where Women Work researches and publishes insightful evidence about how its paid member organizations support women's equality.