This paper examined research that studied depressive symptoms amongst employees who returned to work after sick leave in the previous two years. 253 employees who had been on sick leave with depression and anxiety, back pain, heart disease or cancer completed a questionnaire regarding sickness absence and post return to work outcomes.  Interviews were conducted with HR managers and Occupational Health professionals regarding the return to work process and post-return occupational rehabilitation management.  The results showed that employees with cancer and heart disease were more likely to experience return to work processes in comparison to those with depression, less than one third of those returning to work with depression and anxiety were invited to stress management training.  Employees were more anxious about disclosing their depression to their employer than cancer and results showed employees with depression found it hardest to adjust back to work.  One of the key conclusions is that managers need better training on return-to-work competency skills.

In the 2015 CIPD Absence Management Survey, stress and mental ill health were listed as two of the top three reasons for long-term absence for non-manual workers. Subsequently the CIPD commissioned YouGov to survey more than 2,000 employees in June 2016 to report their experiences and attitudes about mental health in the workplace.  A similar survey was conducted in 2011 which means comparisons can be drawn to see what has changed over the past 5 years. The report details the findings and conclusions from the survey. Key findings include, 31% have experienced mental health problems while in employment and 44% of employees would feel confident disclosing unmanageable stress or mental health problems, this has only increased by 3% since 2011.  In addition, the most commonly used accommodations by employers supporting employees with mental ill health are: phased return to work, availability of flexible working, availability of occupational health services, availability of counselling services and an employee assistance programme. It is critical that training for line managers in how to manage the mental health of employees is increased within organisations.

Target the Impact of Depression in the Workplace is guided by a Business Leadership Forum comprised of senior business and medical executives from major European employers and international organisations that work on health, labour and employment issues.  They aim to provide practical recommendations and tools to businesses to enable them to support employees with depression, manage depression in the workplace and promote good workplace mental health. 

The report covers a variety of aspects of depression in the workplace including the impact of depression in the workplace, how depression impacts on an individual's ability to work, the benefits of addressing depression in the workplace and approaches that can be taken to manage depression in the workplace. There is a clear need for this report as a third of managers in Europe say they lack the resources and support needed to tackle depression at work.  The report also provides case studies of organisations, such as BT, Ogilvy & Mather and Unilever, in how they manage depression within their workplace.

This report reviews academic literature around mentally healthy workplaces and discusses actions workplaces can take to support the mental health and wellbeing of employees.  The review is aimed at a non-academic business audience.  The three sections of the report cover: firstly, the definition of mental health, how it is influenced by the workplace and what constitutes a mentally health workplace; secondly, evidence-based workplace interventions and thirdly, it concludes with practical recommendations, based on the evidence, for employers wanting to build a more mentally healthy workplace.  The report recommends that interventions are implemented at the individual, team and organisational level in addition to concluding, whilst acknowledging in extant literature there is a paucity of high quality studies, that there are six key domains that employers need to focus on to increase the mental health and wellbeing of their employees.

In 2009 EU-OSHA collected a number of case studies on mental health at work, this report reviews the case studies and discusses good practice.  The report is aimed at practitioners, employers and policy makers, enabling them to use the case studies when designing their own programmes to target mental health in the workplace. The report explains definitions and causes and consequences of mental health and ill health in the workplace and mental health initiatives before discussing the method and findings of the case studies and conclusions and recommendations that can be drawn from these.

This paper is an update of the 2005 BOHRF review that examined evidence for effective interventions to help people with common mental health problems remain in or return to work. Common mental health problems were defined as "those that are especially prevalent in the general population and best described by the categories of depression or anxiety, which often occur together."  It is necessary to note that these interventions did not occur in the workplace but occurred in a variety of settings and were administered by a number of practitioners. The research suggests evidence-based interventions carried out in or by workplaces to tackle mental health problems among employees are limited. Some other key findings from the report were that employees don't need to be completely free of symptoms to successfully stay in or return to work and that line managers play a critical role in helping employees with common mental health problems to stay in work or to return to work and that they need training to equip them with the skill to do this successfully.

The OECD wrote this report in acknowledgment that mental ill-health is an increasingly common problem, that there are issues with gaining or maintaining employment when suffering with mental ill health and that policy plays a key role in addressing these issues. The report was written to identify knowledge gaps and examine evidence relating to barriers and facilitators of incorporating those with mental ill health into work.  This report covers methodological issues, the relationship between mental health and work, health with regards to mental ill-health, benefit systems and mental health and adolescence.  The paper then summarises the main findings whilst also concluding what action policy makers can take in response.

This study explored the role of depression when returning to work after sickness absence.  Research suggests people with anxiety and depression often return to work with depressive symptoms and that those with physical illnesses may also suffer with mild to moderate symptoms of depression. Qualitative and quantitative research methods were used over one year with four participating organisations.  Results showed 75% of employees with depression who returned to work and 45% of employees with physical illness reported mild to moderate symptoms of depression however more than 60% of those with a physical illness hadn't been diagnosed with depression even though they had stated their symptoms. The study concluded that a greater integrated multidisciplinary approach to pre and post return to work management needs to be taken that includes better understanding and communication between the employee and the numerous stakeholders. When employees return to work, monitoring, communication and support need to be increased especially in the first six months of returning to work.  In addition, a key area to focus on is improving the employer's understanding of depression as a primary and secondary illness.

This report covers what mental health problems are, how they impact on an individual at work and the cost of mental health problems.  In addition workplace interventions for mental health problems are discussed. Research suggests interventions such as problem solving skills, relaxation, personal support, coping training, early CBT and effective rehabilitation are helpful in the workplace. The report aims to provide a review on literature about mental health and work and interventions that can be used to address mental health problems to therefore help guide employers when addressing this topic within their workplace.

3, 036 respondents participated via a YouGov panel survey and 16, 246 respondents participated in a public open survey to understand the experience of mental health at work from a wide variety of employees. The report details and discusses the survey. Some key findings from the survey are that 77% of employees have experienced symptoms of poor mental health at some point in their lives and 62% of employees attributed their symptoms of poor mental health to work or said that work was a contributing factor.  Also, there appears to be a difference between the experience of employees and the beliefs of senior managers regarding mental health.  60% of board members and senior managers believe their organisation supports people with mental health issues however only 11% discussed a recent mental health problem with their line manager. A key finding relates to line manager training, 76% of line managers think that they are responsible for employee wellbeing but only 22% have received training.  The results are discussed in detail, case studies are provided and consequently calls to action and recommendations are proposed.

The aim of this research was to explore the management of mental health at work.  Interviews were carried out mainly within case study organisations from a number of different workplaces. Within the report, organisational challenges and organisational responses are addressed.  The role and experience of line managers and employees is also discussed with regards to disclosure and stigma and the return to work process. Subsequently learnings and 6 recommendations are proposed.  The recommendations are: providing line managers with the right support and training, taking a more joined-up organisational response to promoting positive mental health, avoiding become an ‘anxious organisation’ by being aware of factors that can result in this, providing advice and guidance – Acas should do this by working with relevant stakeholders, tackling stigma through employer outreach activity and empowering staff. 

It is well recognised that line managers play a key role in promoting positive wellbeing. Some of the key findings from this report are that managers are working long hours which influences their own wellbeing, so it’s vital that managers are able to sustain their own wellbeing so that they can have a positive impact on the wellbeing of other employees.  28% of managers face situations where they often must prioritise the interests of the organisation over the wellbeing of the team. Managers also have very varied jobs with many demands so it’s important they have autonomy to manage employee wellbeing and they must be supported to take a proactive approach to wellbeing.  Training should also be provided so that managers have a basic understanding of mental health and feel they are sufficiently trained to be the first point of contact. The report also includes contributions from industry experts and case studies.  Two key calls to action are also provided, signing the Time To Change organisational pledge and to implement Mental Health First Aid training for line managers. 

This campaign was launched in 2014.  This paper discusses the business case for employee mental wellbeing.   In addition, actions that businesses can take are suggested and case studies of organisations are provided.

http://www.bitc.org.uk/sites/default/files/bitc_mental_health_were_ready_to_talk_2014.pdf

The second link is a paper that details the results of the campaign one year on within a range of organisations who implemented changes.

http://www.bitc.org.uk/sites/default/files/bitc_oneyearon_final.pdf

This is the third Mental Health at Work report from Business in the Community. The report is based on a YouGov panel survey of 4,626 full and part-time employees in the UK. The results show that although progress has been made there is still a lot more that needs to be done. For example 71% of employees say they have the confidence to recognise the signs of poor mental health but 11% of respondents who disclosed a mental health issue subsequently faced disciplinary action, demotion or dismissal. The report includes a focus on specific populations and sectors as well as providing calls to action and recommendations. 

This report is based on analysis of all current FTSE 100 annual reports and help to build the business case for wellbeing. The findings suggest there is a link between investment in employee mental health and corporate earnings. It also shows that the average FTSE 100 company mentioned ‘mental health’  almost twice as much as last year. Although the findings are encouraging they suggest that there is still more to be done.

This guidance was developed based on the results of a survey of more than 400 employees across the UK. Two types of managers were included in the survey: those that have employees reporting directly to them and those without any direct reports. Three key findings are discussed: line managers lack support and training, a reactive approach and still a taboo. The report concludes that organisations need to take a more proactive approach, they need to work to break down the taboos surrounding mental health and they need to support managers by equipping them appropriately. Two case studies are also provided.

This rapid evidence assessment examined evidence and guidance available to inform practices around work adjustments for mental health at work. The review identified 21 peer reviewed studies, 8 practitioner reports and 19 guidance materials providing recommendations on adjustments for mental health. The findings suggest that access to, and implementation of, work adjustments for employees with mental ill-health are varied and inconsistent. Frequently used work adjustments are flexible scheduling/reduced hours, modified training and supervision and modified job duties/descriptions. Five key themes were identified in the evidence review. Recommendations include developing a clear picture of current practices in the UK, enhancing guidance available and building the evidence base.