Port Employers’ Survey on Mental Health and Wellbeing

Most employers recognise the vital importance of good mental health in the journey to provide healthy and safe workplaces.  The challenge is to step from that principle into concrete action.  Taking steps to improve the management of mental health in the workplace should enable employers to save 30% or more of the £26 billion each year cost of mental ill-health. 

This report summarises the findings of a study into the actions port employers are already taking.  It allows organisations to benchmark what is being done practically in the sector, inform their own thinking and take action based on their own gap analysis.

It covers the actions taken by employers on:

• Policy & Leadership
• Campaigns/Training
• Individual support
• Manager training
• Identifying Persons at Risk
• Workplace Adjustments
• Monitoring
• Signposting

Respondents have put policies/mechanisms in place to manage mental ill health impacts on their workforce.  Typically, these provide support in depth including: awareness raising, mental health first aid, occupational health, employee assistance programmes, one-to-one professional counselling, on-line resources and signposting to third party support.  The significant majority train their managers and supervisors to recognise mental ill-health signs and are monitoring and reporting mental health data internally.  The findings tie to recognised good practice and can be used by ports to conduct their own gap analysis and formulate or amend their arrangements accordingly.