10-16 May is Mental Health Awareness Week, providing opportunity for employers to raise their awareness, since the latest research reveals mental health is not a priority in many workplaces. This is despite a significant increase in employee demand for mental health support.

Social listening research conducted by Pulsar on behalf of Koa Health showed that as COVID-19 took hold in the UK, content shared online about people’s declining mental health increased by 400% in the period from the last week of February 2020 to the final week of May 2020.

Mental health is defined as how we think, feel and behave. Mental health problems are often a reaction to a difficult life event, but can also be caused by work-related stress. One in four people in the UK will experience mental ill health at some point during their lives. While mental health problems are common, most are mild and tend to be short-term.

The concerns that people expressed online were mirrored in greater demand for mental health support, with 56% of UK organisations experiencing an increase in demand for such services during the pandemic. As a result, HR managers had to spend on average almost a third (30%) more of their time each month on mental health support for employees than before the pandemic.

In response to increased demand from employees, 72% of UK companies increased the level of mental health support since COVID-19. Further, over the next year, two-thirds (66%) plan to increase the level of mental health support they provide.

However, despite increasing investment and a greater recognition of its importance, mental health and wellbeing is still not firmly embedded into business culture. Over two in five (43%) companies in the UK agree that mental health is not a cultural priority, rising to just over half (51%) of companies with a £100m turnover or higher. Meanwhile, there are further signs of disinvestment in mental health; 6% of companies with a £100m or higher turnover and one in nine (11%) companies with 3,000 employees or more are planning to decrease their level of mental health support in the next year.

Dr Oliver Harrison, CEO of Koa Health, said:

“COVID-19 has challenged workplaces in unimaginable ways. Employers and employees not only had to come to grips with a new way of working almost overnight, but had to adapt for an indefinite period of time. Supporting employees through the COVID-19 crisis is likely to prove the greatest challenge of many organisational leaders’ and HR managers’ careers. While our report found that many have risen to the challenge, it’s alarming that many organisations still do not see mental health as a cultural priority at their organisation, and that they plan to reduce investment in mental health support at such a critical time for UK employees as they consider returning to offices. Having gone through so much change and turmoil in the past 15 months, organisations must listen to their employees and take action to address their mental health concerns.”

As lockdown restrictions lift and UK organisations consider a wider return to the office, the appetite for remote working is expected to remain high, with 46% of HR managers agreeing to expecting the majority of employees to remain predominantly working from home for the next year. Almost half (49%) of HR managers agree that it’s harder to know if an employee’s wellbeing is good when working remotely, while 51% agree that remote working has made it easier for an employee’s mental health to ‘fall through the cracks’.

Some companies have put in place new solutions to support mental health for staff. The research found that UK companies that tailor mental health support to both their company’s and individual’s needs reported a smaller demand in surge for mental health support than those that did not offer this personalisation.

Dr Harrison adds:

“The rest of 2021 will be critical for staff wellbeing, as UK organisations shift back to a new kind of normal, with hybrid working widely expected to take hold for a lot of sectors. Organisations’ response to the aftermath of the pandemic and this shift to a new normal will make or break individuals’ mental health, not to mention company productivity. With economic recovery predicted to be slow amid ongoing uncertainty, ensuring all workforces are as productive as possible will be a high priority for HR managers over the coming year.”