World Mental Health Day 2024

World Mental Health Day is an annual event created to raise awareness of mental health and drive positive change for everyone’s mental health. This year, it is taking place on

Thursday 10 October and the theme is: It is Time to Prioritise Mental Health in the Workplace.

Why is it important?

We know that in 2022/23, there were an estimated 875,000 cases of work-related stress, depression, or anxiety in the UK. In 2022 there were 6,588 deaths registered in the UK where the cause was recorded as suicide. Four in five suicides are by men, with suicide the biggest cause of death for men under 35.

These shocking statistics continue to get worse and affect many occupations throughout UK industry including construction, transport and logistics, fire and security, manufacturing, farming and medical professions.

Mates in Mind research found that the following five areas were contributing relatively frequently to feelings of stress, anxiety or low mood:

• I worry that my workload is too high (42% experiencing this frequently).
• I feel low because of my business partners/colleagues (37%).
• I feel low because of pressure at work (35%).
• I feel anxious about family or relationship problems (33%).
• I feel stressed by financial problems or debt (32%).

Free resources are available from Mares in Mind to support you in starting a conversation with your team and network.