Almost two million small business owners in the UK may be facing mental health issues after the effect that Covid lockdowns had on their business.
Close to 2 million small business owners in the UK may have seen their mental health decline in the wake of Covid.
That is an astonishing number of people but, from the work we have been doing at Wellbeing Therapy Solutions over the past 18 months, I am hardly surprised.
That figure has been reached following a report put together by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) who conducted a survey of 1,000 business owners. It found that a third (34%) said their mental health had declined as a result of the pandemic.
If those percentages are applied to the Government figures which state there are 5.5 million small business owners in the UK, there would be 1.8M of those who have seen their mental health suffer during the Covid19 outbreak.
Looking back at what we had to endure as a country, it’s no surprise that people suffered when trying to run a business.
Lockdowns
Lockdowns and uncertainties were commonplace and that was far from an ideal foundation to conduct business from.
The FSB report also highlighted a ‘late payment culture’ which became prevalent and hung around for far too long afterwards.
Speaking with friends as the restrictions of the pandemic died down, many in full-time employment were grateful of the apparent security blanket of furlough or a guaranteed wage while working for a big company or in the public sector.
But it was a different case for owners of small businesses who had no idea what was coming next and no idea when their next pay day was coming from as much of industry and the economy ground to a halt.
Mental health conditions
Then, when things picked up again, subsequent lockdowns made day-to-day operations extremely hard to manage and plan for.
One in four in the FSB survey reported that they still, to this day, have a mental health condition such as anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress and very few have said they managed to take advantage of workplace health support offered by the Government.
They were also managing members of staff who were off with Covid19. While that may have been an easier hit to take for companies with hundreds of employees, you can imagine the effect it may have had on businesses with only a handful of employees.
Figures suggest that 400,000 small businesses are still under threat because of the hit they took during the pandemic.
Business owners
Yet while business owners have clearly had it tough during the past two years, those that have managed to get through that spell and remain in business will have built up plenty of resilience as individuals and as company owners.
They may also have been forced to innovate and find ways to develop their business or move it in directions they were not expecting. These could have made the business more agile and less likely to fall victim to any future unexpected scenarios, heaven forbid.
Wellbeing Therapy Solutions have a range of services to help both individuals, groups and workplaces if they would like to learn more about mental health and techniques to build up resilience against the many challenges life can throw at us.
OT Lindsey Mitchell offers help to people with autism who are also experiencing mental health difficulties and struggling to define their ‘normal’
Autism is a developmental condition that affects thousands of people but is often misunderstood by many thousands more.
It is a condition that also provides challenges for people that have it on a daily basis and one of their biggest challenges can be deciding what are ‘normal’ feelings.
Being able to judge this is extremely important if they are struggling with their mental health.
So, during Mental Health Awareness Week, I thought it would be useful to promote some good resources that can offer support to autistic people (and non-autistic too) about how better to understand their personal mental health situation.
Autism
Autism is a developmental condition that affects how you see the world and how you interact with other people. Autistic people can experience changes in their mental health like anyone else.
Recent research by the National Autistic Society highlighted that 80% of young people with autism had experienced mental health problems with many young people feeling that these problems stemmed from the pressure to ‘act normal’ in a neurotypical (non-autistic) world.
Many of the young people found it hard to tell whether changes in their thoughts, feelings and behaviours, might be a sign of a mental health problem. This stemmed from a constant struggle to know just what is ‘normal’ for them and a resulting challenge trying to work out if, and when, they needed to seek professional help.
Toolkit
Ambitious About Autism (follow on Twitter at @ambitiousaboutautism) volunteers have developed a toolkit for young autistic (and non-autistic) people that aims to address just this issue.
This free resource helps young people describe what ‘normal’ is for them, such as how often they sleep and how much time they spend on their hobbies.
Not only does this help them to identify if, and how, their ‘normal’ might change – so they can work out when they might need to get extra help – it can also be used to help them explain this to other people such as family members or healthcare professionals.
Loneliness is the theme for this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week and the Wellbeing Therapy solutions team will be offering lots of support
The theme of this week’s Mental Health Awareness Week (May 9-15) is ‘loneliness’ so MD Kate Jackson offers some tips on how to combat a feeling that gets to many of us over time.
Loneliness is something that can affect us all, across our whole life span and at any stage of our lives.
Whether you live somewhere that is really busy or a more rural place, whether you live on your own or you live with other people, you can still feel isolated and lonely sometimes. Many of us have done.
It’s not about blaming yourself for that, it’s about finding out what might be going on and looking for ways to make you feel better.
Loneliness
Loneliness can be triggered by all sorts of things. Life events, changing situations or maybe nothing significant at all.
We can all experience feeling lonely in lots of different ways which means there are lots of different ways in which we can overcome that feeling.
It’s important to remember that loneliness, or indeed any difficult feeling, can pass and they can be temporary feelings.
But it can be really hard for people to admit that they are lonely. Some people feel embarrassed or guilty about it while others are more open to talking about it.
Mental Health Awareness Week
It’s something for us all to be aware of and to be aware of how much it can impact people when they don’t even know it is going on.
There are plenty of actions we can take to help lift somebody who may be feeling lonely and we are going to talk about lots of those different ways across our social media platforms during Mental Health Awareness Week, which this year runs from May 9 to 15.
We will be giving tips on reaching out to somebody who you think might be feeling lonely but also ideas on how to combat loneliness if you are experiencing it yourself.
A warm welcome to the new team at Wellbeing Therapy Solutions
With the expanded Wellbeing Therapy Solutions team now fully operational at our new premises on the outskirts of Leicester, we have put together a video so you can meet them all and hear a little bit about their background and what they do.
MD Kate Jackson introduces her team of occupational therapists which aims to provide theraputic services in the right timeframe, without a long delay or waiting list.
Marjolein Cleaver is an OT with a background in youth work and different community groups in schools.
“I love working with young people and helping them with their mental health and their sense of identity,” says Marjolein.
Mental Health
Rebecca Woods is an OT who has worked with young people and university students supporting their mental health.
“I have also worked with adults of all ages helping empower people and develop strategies for their wellbeing,” adds Rebecca
Lindsey Mitchell is an OT who has worked with special schools and mainstream schools too.
“I have worked with children who have a diagnosis of autism or who are undiagnosed but show these traits or show issues with their sensory needs,” she says.
Eating disorders
Beth Gardiner is an OT who has worked in the NHS for 15 years.
“I have worked with adults who have eating disorders, anorexia and bulimia, I have worked for a refugee wellbeing service, done a stint in pediatrics as well as forensic mental health,” says Beth.
Clare Pinchess does not feature in the video but is very much a part of the new team.
Kate added: “We wanted to assemble a team who could offer support and therapy to individuals and families who were experiencing difficulties.
“As we all know, it can be difficult for people to access therapeutic services in a timely manner since the Covid-19 pandemic. We provide one-to-one services as well as group work and workshops to help people develop their mental health and wellbeing.”
Happy clients who have just completed a Mental Health First Aid course at Wellbeing Therapy Solutions
Companies and organisations who are making positive moves to support the mental health of their staff and membership are seeing a happier workforce… and more financial benefits too.
One of the few benefits that have emerged out of the UK’s struggle against the Covid-19 pandemic was how many businesses and organisations have made really positive moves to support the mental health of their members and staff.
I have been hugely encouraged by the amount of people who have approached me over the past 18 months and asked me what courses, training and learning methods are available to them. Training that not only offers support to their members and staff but crucially, suggests ways in which those members and staff can help themselves and their colleagues.
With a large surge in mental health difficulties across all age groups since the pandemic took a hold, businesses and organisations are realising that time and money invested into being pro-active, as opposed to just reactive, can really pay dividends.
Mental health support
In those past 18 months, I have engaged with huge multi-nationals, SMEs, groups of schools, churches and many more to offer mental health support which I know will pay dividends for both managers and staff in the future.
So it was interesting to read a report by accounting group Deloitte which explained just how much forward-thinking and pro-active companies could save in the long-run, if they invested time and money in mental health support.
It found that poor mental health costs UK employers up to £45 billion each year.
If you are like me, it’s hard to quantify the effect that such a number actually has. I mean, it’s just a huge amount of money.
But when it’s narrowed down, one line in the report really struck me.
Reduced absence
It says that for every £1 spent by employers on mental health interventions, they get £5 back in reduced absence and staff turnover.
That’s a really stark fact showing how pro-active interventions regarding culture change and education can pay dividends for all concerned.
Rebecca George OBE, Deloitte Vice Chair and UK Public Sector leader at the time of the report said: “As our ways of working evolve, so do expectations of employers about how we should support our people.
“This analysis shows very clearly that it pays for employers to provide mental health support at work and that early intervention is vital, for those experiencing poor mental health and employers alike.”
We all know how difficult it can be for both individual and employer when a member of staff is off work for lengthy periods with bad mental health.
Taking time off work
But the Deloitte findings also showed how much productivity can be lost by people who actually remain at work, while struggling with their mental health. They call this ‘presenteeism’, where someone remains at work when they are far from their most productive.
Mental health charity, Mind, does some amazing work and their chief executive Paul Farmer added: “Smart, forward-thinking employers are investing in staff wellbeing, and those who do tend to save money in the long run.
“This report shows the link between prioritising staff wellbeing and improved loyalty and productivity, and decreased sickness absence and resignations. However, it also shows a rise in ‘presenteeism’ – unwell staff spending unproductive hours at work rather than taking time off.
“As presenteeism costs three times more than sick leave, we need to look at supporting employers to change the culture so their staff feel able to take time off when they are unwell.”
Supporting members and staff
Wellbeing Therapy Solutions is committed to helping a wide range of businesses and organisations by supporting their members and staff.
Our recent work in this sector has enabled us to build up a wealth of topical experience which has enabled us to develop and adapt bespoke programmes to suit any client, big or small.
If you would like to see what your group, organisation or business could be doing for its members and staff, please email kate@wellbeingtherapysolutions.co.uk.
