World Mental Health Day: Take action to protect your team

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is calling on employers to take meaningful action this World Mental Health Day (10 October) to reduce work-related stress and improve wellbeing across UK workplaces.

According to HSE data, around half of all self-reported work-related ill health cases in Great Britain (2023–24) were linked to stress, depression or anxiety, leading to increased absence, reduced productivity, and higher staff turnover.

In support of World Mental Health Day, the Working Minds campaign is encouraging construction and concrete sector employers to go beyond awareness and adopt practical measures to protect staff mental health.

Simple steps include:

• reviewing workloads and ensuring deadlines are achievable
• improving communication and feedback processes
• using the Talking Toolkit to start open conversations
• completing a stress risk assessment using free templates
• encouraging managers to take HSE’s free online training module

The campaign also offers interactive tools to help teams understand and manage stress, including a mini-game that challenges users to avoid red “stress risks” while collecting green “wellbeing resources.”

To access all resources, visit the Working Minds campaign website: hse.gov.uk/workingminds.