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"We at the CBI are convinced that the mental health of a company's employees can have an important impact on business performance in the same way as does a poor industrial relations climate or inadequate training. That is why the CBI continues to add its voice to the campaign to raise the profile of mental health as a workplace issue."
Howard Davies
Director General, CBI, 199324
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The CBI has been active in drawing attention to problems related to absenteeism. Its regular surveys on absenteeism, conducted since 1987, are the most authoritative in the UK. Their results receive considerable media attention and are widely used by companies to benchmark their performance. The surveys provide information on the cost and causes of absence, company policies on controlling absence, and labour turnover by region, sector, and size of company. 27 In a CBI survey of over 800 companies, 98% of respondents said they thought that the mental health of employees should be a company concern, and 81% considered that the mental health of staff should be part of company policy. However, despite their concerns, fewer than 1 in 10 of these companies had an official mental health policy.28
THE EMPLOYERS FORUM ON DISABILITY
The Employers Forum on Disability, is a national, apolitical, non-profit, member-funded organisation, which focuses on disability in the UK. Since its establishment in 1986, the Forum has grown to over 340 member organisations employing approximately 20% of the national workforce. The Forum is committed to making it easier for organisations to recruit and retain disabled employees and to serve customers with disabilities.29
Publications produced by the Forum contain information on people with mental health problems. They are: "Disability Communication Guide"; "Welcoming Disabled Customers"; "Open for Business', "DDA Best Practice Guide", "Briefing Guides", "Customer Action File", and "The Bigger Picture Video".30 |
Key activities of the Employers Forum on Disability
*The Broadcasters' Disability Network aimed at developing a wider and more diverse workforce in TV and radio, which will in turn make for richer programme content, combat discrimination, support individual rights, andensure equality of access for audiences and workers.
*The New Deal Network, which is developing and co-ordinating activities relating to the New Deal, a key part of the government's Welfare to Work strategy. It gives New Deal jobseekers the opportunity to develop their experience and skills and in order to find employment.
*The Agenda on Employment, which provides a framework for employers committed to developing best practices for the employment of disabled people.
*The Agenda on Customers, which covers all aspects of customer care for people with disabilities and includes the design of products and services for customers with disabilities, the physical environment, and communication with customers. |
