Why an age-friendly workplace must consider mental health and wellbeing

Evidence Manager, Centre for Ageing Better
We know that an employee’s mental wellbeing is influenced by many different factors – for example, gender, race, disability, and financial wellbeing. Our new series explores these issues.
In this blog, Dr Aideen Young from the Centre for Ageing Better shares her thoughts on the specific challenges faced by older workers, and how employers can support their wellbeing.
Mental ill-health is the leading cause of sickness absence in the UK. In a recent survey two in five employees said that they had experienced a work-related mental health issue in the last year while mental ill-health is estimated to cost an average of £1035 per employee per year.
Organisations are starting to wake up to the huge issue of mental health among their employees. My own organisation – The Centre for Ageing Better – has signed up to Time to Change Time to Change Time to Change is a growing movement of people changing how we all think and act about mental health. View organisation, a social movement working to change attitudes to mental health in workplaces. And just recently, we saw the launch of the Mental Health at Work Commitment which comprises a set of actions that organisations can implement to support and improve the mental health of their employees.
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