The COVID-19 pandemic is feared to have had a detrimental impact on Scottish workers’ mental health, with 65% of managers saying their staff’s mental health worsened over the pandemic, according to new research by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).
This compares to only just over half (54%) of managers saying their staff’s mental health worsened over the pandemic in Yorkshire and Humber, and 56% in London.
A survey of 1,274 managers across England and Scotland which looked into the impact of mental health in the pandemic and employer mental health support found that the North West ranked highest overall in terms of the impact of the pandemic on workers mental health and employer support for mental health in the workplace.
The final ranking is as follows:
- 1.North West
- 2. South East
- =3. East Midlands
- =3. West Midlands
- =5. London
- =5. South West
- =7. Yorkshire and the Humber
- =7. Scotland
- 9. North East
- 10. East of England
The research also found that employers across the regions are on the whole fairing well in relation to the provision of mental health support – with the highest satisfaction with services being 8.2 out of 10 in the South East, compared to the lowest being 7.6 in the East of England.
However across the regions over at least a fifth of all managers are apprehensive about using their employers Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).
Commenting on the regional statistics of CMI’s research, Niamh Mulholland, Executive Director of External Affairs said: “Coming back to the workplace is going to be stressful for a lot of people, who may worry about if it’s safe for them to return, what will the office be like and the commute amongst other things.
“As a result, people may need extra support from their employer and although employers are doing well overall, they may need to look at the support they currently have, in case there’s anything additional that their teams may need.
“In Stress Awareness Month, we are partnering with Kooth to ensure that these needs are highlighted and that all managers know that CMI can support them if they are worried or don’t feel able to access their Employee Assistance Programme.
“Simply visit our website managers.org.uk/StressAwareness.”