Mental Health Pathway
Helping our Group Income Protection customers get the right mental health support as early as possible.
From preventative support such as training for key staff on how best to improve resilience and mental health at work, to early intervention for an employee who’s struggling with their mental health, our Mental Health Pathway delivers services and support aligned to your specific requirements.
According to Mind, 1 in 6 people experience a mental health problem like anxiety and depression each week.1 While employers want to do the best for their staff, we know that tackling mental health in the workplace, and knowing where to turn for the right support can be difficult and confusing.
- 300,000 people leave their jobs each year because of long-term mental health problems2
- Only half (51%) of employees feel comfortable talking about mental health issues in the workplace3
- 39% of people have experienced poor mental health where work was a contributing factor4
What are the challenges faced by the workplace in supporting Mental Health?
As a HR Director what would you like to be able to offer your staff?
What is the Mental Health Pathway and who is it for?
Unum’s Mental Health Pathway is a set of services you can access to support your workplace or an individual employee.
It provides quick and easy access to comprehensive support for any mental health issue or query, whether that’s developing a mentally healthy and resilient workplace, creating a broader workplace wellbeing plan, or supporting someone who is struggling or off work with a specific mental health issue.
Unum's Group Income Protection customers (or their employees) can access the Pathway at pathway@unum.co.uk
One of our trained health professionals will contact you within 48 hours to discuss your needs.
Key benefits of our Mental Health Pathway include:
Getting started
We offer a bespoke mental health and wellbeing consultation service. We can review your current mental health and wellbeing initiatives, and support you to:
- implement a mental health at work plan
- develop mental health awareness
- encourage conversations about mental health
- improve working conditions and
- monitor employee mental health and wellbeing
Click here for more information on how we can help or email the Pathway at pathway@unum.co.uk to arrange your consultation.
Mental health and wellbeing support for businesses and employees
Quick access to specialist support when mental health or wellbeing concerns are first raised.
Early intervention
If the early window of opportunity for addressing mental health problems is missed, it can trigger a domino effect. A problem can escalate to the point where someone no longer feels able to continue with their normal life, including their ability to work. Early support can address any issues more easily and help prevent longer-term problems.
Easy access
If you’re unsure which services you need or have a mental health-related question, contact us at pathway@unum.co.uk to speak directly to one of our specialist teams.
How will the Pathway benefit employers and employees?
Employers
With stress and mental health problems becoming a growing concern in the workplace, it's important to know how best to support your employees and your business.
The Mental Health Pathway can provide employers with:
1) Holistic and preventative support on any issue related to mental health in the workplace, such as:
- resources to help improve awareness and build employee resilience
- training for key staff on how best to support and improve mental health in the workplace. This is important when you consider that a report by BITC in 2017 showed that less than a quarter (24%) of line managers had received any mental health training4
- a communications plan to help tell employees about the mental health support available to them
A new service being offered through our Pathway is a tailored 90-day mental health at work plan which our specialists can develop through one-to-one consultations with your business. The aim of the plan is to bring all components of a workplace mental health strategy together and help employers with the resources to deliver it effectively. It also focuses on building resilience and encouraging people to look for support before a problem feels too big.
2) Early intervention support where an employee is struggling with their mental health.
Contacting the Pathway as soon as you spot one of your employees struggling at work can help prevent temporary symptoms from becoming bigger or longer-term mental health problems. It can also help maintain employees in their roles, perhaps with adjustments, negating the need for extended absence.
Employees
All employees will experience distress at some point – whether that's a bereavement, relationship breakdown or some other occurrence – for which they will require understanding and the right kind of support to ensure their continued well-being.
But when experiencing a mental health concern like stress, anxiety or mood change, it can be difficult to access effective support.
Employees contacting the pathway as soon as they recognise they are struggling with their mental health can help prevent burnout, stress or anxiety from becoming long-term conditions that cause prolonged time off work.
1 https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/statistics-and-facts-about-mental-health/how-common-are-mental-health-problems
2 Thriving at work - Stevenson / Farmer Oct 2017
3 The Prince’s Responsible Business Network – Time to take ownership – Mental health at work report 2019
4 The Prince’s Responsible Business Network – Time to take ownership – Mental health at work report 2019