Why wellbeing is important

Promoting mental wellbeing is positive for everyone.

Why bother with mental wellbeing?

Mental health is a positive attribute and something we all have.

It is more than whether we experience mental health problems, and is not about whether or not we have a diagnosed mental illness.

Mental wellbeing describes the way we think and feel about ourselves and others, our confidence, and our ability to control things in our life.

Like physical health, we need to protect our mental wellbeing. In promoting our mental wellbeing - for example, promoting physical activity, and providing opportunities for relaxation and social activities - we can increase our resilience to cope with life's difficulties and ability to enjoy life.

There are many ways to do this, but it is important to remember that they cannot prevent or treat serious mental illness, which requires expert help.

In these cases, people should be encouraged to seek help as early as possible.

An important contribution to mental health is having employment or some form of meaningful activity.

Want to find out what organisations similar to yours have done?

Why bother with mental wellbeing at work?

When we are mentally healthy we are more likely to fulfil our potential, function well and cope with and enjoy work and family and social relationships, and to make healthy choices about our lives.

In order to foster mental wellbeing in employees the workplace can make a positive contribution in creating the right environment and management structures and being positive about the employment of people who have experienced mental health problems.

Find out more about the benefits of mental wellbeing for employers

Find out more about the benefits of mental wellbeing for employees

Check out the free Workplace Wellbeing Tool to improve the health and well-being of your employees.

What is stress?

The Health and Safety Executive defines stress as “the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed on them”.

Pressure is part of life and helps keep us motivated and creates a sense of satisfaction when we succeed.

But excessive pressure can lead to stress. If stress is excessive or goes on for some time, it can lead to mental and physical ill health. Stress can be caused by factors at work or at home, with factors at home being the more frequent cases.

How people cope with pressure will be affected by a variety of factors, including the amount of support available from friends, family and the workplace, as well as personal coping mechanisms.

What are mental health problems?

It can be difficult to know when ‘stress' turns into a mental health problem, or when existing mental health problems are made worse by stress at work.

It is estimated that, at any one time, one in four adults in the UK is experiencing some kind of mental health problem.

Find out more about the most common mental health problems. There are a variety of treatments available and most people will recover fully in time.

The vast majority of people who have experienced a mental health problem continue to work, or return to work, successfully.