What are the benefits of MHFA training for a business?

Mental Health is an issue that cuts across political, economic and class lines. It’s a shocking fact, but 1 in 4 people are likely to be affected by their mental health every year. It’’s an often ignored and very rarely talked about facet of modern life that has all kinds of impacts on businesses and organisations of all types.

How Does Mental Health Affect Businesses?

The impact of mental health on businesses is vast.  Some estimates put the cost to businesses across the UK as high as £34.9 Billion every year. This figure is shocking, but what’s more shocking is that the bulk of these costs are caused by one thing and one thing only: loss of productivity.

Where it’s the 72 million working days that are lost each year due to mental health, or just employees with poor mental health not being able to work as well or as fast as they otherwise could, the facts are that not supporting the the mental health of your employees can cost you as much as £1300  per employee every single year. 

What can businesses do to reduce these costs and help their employees?

One of the most effective ways to reduce these costs is through ensuring that your workplace has proper mental first aid training. With proper MHFA training in place studies have shown that the costs of mental health to a business can reduce by up to 30%.

What is Mental Health First Aid?

Mental Health First Aid is similar to physical first aid. It’s about knowing how to help and assist people in need of help. The only difference is rather than physical issues, Mental First Aid is all about learning:

1. How to spot the signs and symptoms of common mental health concerns
2. How to provide non-judgemental support and reassurance.
3. How to guide an individual to seek professional help and support when it’s needed.

In short: It’s about helping your team notice and provide support to those who need help with their mental health. 

What are the benefits of Mental Health First Aid?

If you’ve got staff members who are trained in mental health first aid, the benefits you can see are astounding. As mentioned before, you can reduce the cost of mental health to your business by up to 30%. But the truth is that the benefits of mental first aid training aren’t seen just by the business, they’re seen by the employees as well.

As an example, with proper MHFA training team members who are struggling with their mental health can be identified much sooner, which means you can help get them the support they need. This doesn’t just affect their work, but their personal lives as well, which means a major benefit of mental health first aid is helping your team members improve every aspect of their lives. 

Mental Health first aid helps lift the stigma around mental health

Mental health  concerns have an odd stigma attached to them. Discussing them in the workplace can feel very alien to a lot of people, but with mental health first aiders in your office you’ll find that the stigma begins to lessen, and that it’ll be easier for your team to have conversations about their mental health, which will improve the atmosphere of your work environment and make the office a more pleasant palace to be in general. 

If you’d like to learn more about how Mental Health First Aid can benefit your business then please get in touch and talk to our consultants who can talk to you about setting up a mental health first aid course for you and your teams.