This blog comes from our Impress Insights newsletter! If you want to be the first to hear the latest analysis and opinions from industry experts, you can sign up here! 

The 10th of October marks World Mental Health Day, a World Health Organization initiative to promote actions to protect mental health in the workplace.

Dévora Kestel, a Director of the Mental Health, Brain Health and Substance Use department at WHO said: “On this World Mental Health Day, the World Health Organization, alongside the World Federation for Mental Health and other partners, is calling for mental health at work to be prioritized. With an estimated 60% of the global population in work, it is crucial that we take urgent and effective actions to protect mental health at work”.

This year, the day lands three months on from the riots in the UK where tensions in many communities were highlighted and worryingly pronounced.

A survey by the London Community Foundation in the wake of the violence found 80% of community organisations reported that their community had increased concerns about safety and mental health since the riots. In the following weeks, employers were encouraged to think about the mental health of their employees and what support they can offer, with people encouraged to come forward and talk about their feelings and fears. But as is so often the case, this was reactive and in the moment.

Not only do we need those conversations to continue 365 days a year, employers need to consider what more can be done to protect mental health and to support everyone with a mental health condition to thrive.

It has been a particularly challenging few years regarding mental health in the work place. For many, the isolation caused by lockdown during the pandemic had a profound effect on their mental health. Research from charity Mind found that a third of adults and young people reported their mental health as having got much worse after the start of the first lockdown in March 2020.

For many, the effects of this period are still being felt, including for some a fear of returning to a workplace outside the home. For others it heightened the value of physical connections. These are issues that employers have to consider when deciding whether, for example, to enforce back to the office working.

When so much of our time is spent in the workplace it is important, whether we work at home or outside, that it is in an environment that supports good mental health. We need to not just talk about good mental health but proactively promote it and not just react to worrying, stressful or traumatic events when they arise.

By Cordella Bart-Stewart
Solicitor and Impress Board Member

About Cordella

Cordella has over 30 years’ experience as a solicitor and established her own general legal practice in North London in 1990. She has a strong interest in equality and human rights issues and has specialised in family and immigration law for over 25 years. She has been a fee paid Judge of the First Tier Tribunal since 2000. Formerly an independent Governor of Staffordshire University, which awarded her an Honorary Doctorate. She is a Chartered Manager and Companion of the Chartered Management Institute. She is a serving Director and founding member of the award winning Black Solicitors Network.

About Impress 

Impress is a champion for news that can be trusted. We are here to make sure news providers can publish with integrity; and the public can engage in an ever-changing media landscape with confidence. We set the highest regulatory standards for news, offer education to help people make informed choices and provide resolution when disputes arise. 

Media enquiries

Louie Chandler: louie@impressorg.com / 02033076778