Safety Goggles, PPE

May Safety Month – Together For Mental Health

Stress Awareness Month is an opportunity for employers to check in and support their staff’s mental health.

Even in the workplace, mental health consists of a person’s social, psychological, and emotional well-being. Mental health can greatly impact the quality of life, and poor mental health can create lasting detrimental effects if not addressed.

Statistics published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), covering the 2021/22 period, show of the 1.8 million workers suffering from a work-related illness, 914,000 were stress, depression or anxiety. Over half of the working days are lost due to work-related stress, depression, or anxiety (17 million).

There are six main areas that can lead to work-related stress if they are not managed properly. These are demands, control, support, relationships, role, and change.

Stress affects people differently – what stresses one person may not affect another. Factors like skills and experience, age or disability may all affect whether a worker can cope.

Follow these 5 steps to help your employees’s mental health

  • Reach out and have conversations;
  • Recognize the signs and causes of stress;
  • Respond to any risks you’ve identified;
  • Reflect on actions you’ve agreed and taken; and
  • Make it routine.

Our safety staff picked a great video to help you make conversation with your employees on this subject:

Safety Video – Charlie Answers the Tough Questions (23-minutes)

In this safety video, you will find some of the most provocative questions that Charlie answers, often changing people’s behaviors, from being thoughtless, irresponsible, and routine to “safety first & always”.

CHARLIE ANSWERS THE TOUGH QUESTIONS (23 MIN.)