The current cost-of-living crisis is affecting thousands of UK households which may place additional stress on individuals, especially if they were struggling with money prior to the economic crisis. In particular, monetary stress on workers may lead them to perform poorly at work which in turn impacts overall business performance.

Employers have a responsibility to prioritise the health and safety of their workers, and this includes their wellbeing and mental health. Particularly as the cost-of-living crisis is causing havoc in people’s lives, how can employers watch out for their workers’ mental health during this time?

Mental health and the cost-of-living crisis

Research shows that people’s mental health is declining as a result of cost of living concerns, according to 66% of therapists in one survey. Mental health has worsened due to people cutting down on activities that usually made them happier such as going to the gym or sports clubs, as well as losing sleep because they are too stressed and worried about whether they can pay their bills or not.

These findings indicate the significance of mental health and employers need to start acknowledging this to not only help their workers, but also to encourage retention and boost morale and motivation. So how can employers achieve this?

Targeted support

Despite a general support system being easier to enforce and maintain, offering targeted support may actually be more effective and beneficial for employees considering that not all of your workers will be substantially affected by the cost-of-living crisis. For instance, workers in lower income households may face increased burden and pressure compared to high income workers. Specifically, single parent workers, younger workers, and workers with an existing mental health condition are the groups to especially look out for during this economic turmoil.

Implementation of a financial wellbeing policy

If your company has not already implemented a financial wellbeing policy, now is the time to incorporate one into your company culture. If a financial wellbeing policy was already in place before the cost-of-living crisis, now may also be the time to revise the policy and improve it. A successful financial wellbeing policy could include the following:

  • Financial benefits programme
  • Worker protection such as group life insurance
  • Financial education for workers in the form of webinars/seminars, discussions, online courses
  • Financial advisor who workers can turn to and ask for financial advice and help whenever needed

Wellbeing training

Introducing wellbeing training to both new and existing employees can help them understand their own and others’ wellbeing better, especially when it comes to recognising signs of poor mental health and knowing how to support others in distress. For managers especially, wellbeing training is crucial in helping them recognise poor performance in their team and whether it may relate to mental health. As a result, managers are thus better equipped to respond and deal with poor performance due to mental health.

For example, it may be worth considering offering improved flexibility in terms of starting and finishing times for workers which allows them to manage their work-life balance efficiently, which may have been impacted due to tighter budgets because of the cost-of-living

And there you have it – just a few ways in which employers can support their employees’ mental health during the cost-of-living crisis.