Legal & General says BITC’s ‘What if your job was good for you?’ report, launched today, highlights why insurers and intermediaries need to help employers address the causes of mental ill health at work, not just plaster over the problems

Today marks the launch of the Business in the Community (BITC) report ‘What if your job was good for you?’, which looks at the rise in mental ill health at work, and how employers need to be focussing on the systemic causes, rather than relying on a series of often reactive and standalone initiatives such as yoga, mindfulness and awareness training sessions.

Speaking at a recent Legal & General broker event, in advance of the report launch, BITC’s Wellbeing Director Louise Aston, commented:

“Continuing to just deal with the symptoms isn’t the answer. And neither is ISO45003 [the newly launched global psychological safety guideline]. We need to get to a situation where there’s parity between the management of physical health and safety, and mental health and safety with an open and accountable culture; one where reprisals and recriminations don’t feature. Because at the moment employees face a situation where speaking up about mental health and safety doesn’t always pay in the same way as it would with physical health and safety.

“We also need to enable employees to co-create their own ‘good jobs’ supported by managers and aligned with organisational practices and policies.”

In response to the report, Vanessa Sallows, Claims and Governance Director for Legal & General Group Protection, said:

“The pandemic has exacerbated already rising levels of mental ill health. The BITC report found that 41% of all UK employees have experienced mental ill health symptoms caused, or worsened, by work in the last year; a figure that would simply be unacceptable if it were physical health and safety. And while mental health and wellbeing in the workplace are being prioritised more than ever, which is a really positive thing, there is still a lot of focus on treating the symptoms when we should be helping to address root causes and, in turn, strengthening resilience.

“It’s for this reason that Legal & General’s rehabilitation team works with clients and their Occupational Health professional – where they have this in place – to help employers with things like conducting stress risk assessments or with return-to-work planning, always with a risk and prevention focus in mind. This can involve a combination of signposting to the most appropriate services in an employer’s benefits armoury as well as looking at actual work design in terms of reasonable adjustments.

“It’s also why we provide other forms of support to HR, such as help with communicating benefits, helping employers to better integrate their benefits and wellbeing support as part of overall culture, via much better targeted and purpose-led communications that we know are increasingly recognised as important to employees.

“It is incumbent on all of us to think out of the box and about outcomes rather than necessarily inputs, which can see even more elements added to products and services that ultimately are already designed to function holistically. We welcome what BITC is suggesting, which could well involve helping people to co-create their own jobs, within the auspices of company policy and practice.

“We wholeheartedly agree with BITC that wellbeing needs to be considered a mainstream business issue that is integrated across every business operation, moving beyond the remit of Health and Safety, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion or HR. New Legal & General research* among SME employers reveals that at least 8 in 10 overall agree that a wellbeing focus can bring big benefits to people and business, in terms of: increase in staff retention and productivity, reduction in absenteeism, attracting talent, improving morale and improving customer experience.

“The framework that BITC has developed goes a long way towards helping employers get the focus they need; setting out the ways of working that enable better work and the organisational values that form the foundations of good work.”

*Legal & General’s research was conducted by Opinium among 1,055 employees (middle managers and below) in businesses with 10-249 employees and 1,011 senior managers in business with 10-249 employees, between 13-20 May 2021.

To access the BITC report, go to https://www.bitc.org.uk/report/what-if-your-job-was-good-for-you/ 

About Lisa Baker, Editor, Wellbeing News 4212 Articles
Editor Lisa Baker is passionate about the benefits of a holistic approach to healing. Lisa is a qualified Vibrational Therapist and has qualifications in Auricular Therapy, Massage, Kinesiology, Crystal Healing, Seichem and is a Reiki Master.