Organisations lacking in mental health management

Only a minority of companies have published objectives for employee mental health management, revealed a study from British charity investment manager CCLA.

The study, which assessed 100 of the world’s largest listed firms, showed a disconnect between their recognition of workers’ mental health as an important business issue and formalised public commitments and disclosure, Reuters reported.

“There may be no shortage of mental health initiatives in the international workplace, but when it comes to integrating mental health into formal management systems and processes, most global companies have much further to go,” said Amy Browne, stewardship lead at CCLA.

“There is clear evidence to show that improving the mental health of an organisation saves money and that the financial ramifications of failing to improve corporate mental health are profound,” she added.

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“If we consider that the 100 companies in the CCLA Corporate Mental Health Benchmark Global 100 employ almost 19 million people worldwide, between them, that translates to US$36 billion lost, each year, to mental ill-health,” Browne said.