Mental Health UK at Accountex London

A big thank you to DivCom for inviting Mental Health UK to this year’s Accountex Conference. It was great to speak with everyone at the stand and thank you to everyone who joined Claire Neal for the talk on managing stress and preventing burnout. It was great to see so many organisations committed to extending mental health support. Our conversations taught us a lot about the challenges the industry faces in managing the mental health of its staff. We wanted to share some of these findings, and what organisations can do to support their staff’s mental health.

Stress and Poor Mental Health

Accountancy staff have been increasing their workload following the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis. The increase in workload, coupled with little support or room for error in accountancy roles, is contributing to higher-persistent stress levels, resulting in poor mental health and burnout. The latest research from the Chartered Accountants Benevolent Association (CABA) supports this, noting four-in-five (79%) of accounting staff surveyed felt that stress and poor mental health are a problem within the industry. Some stress can be seen as a good thing as it’s a good motivator to help us focus and complete tasks. However, when there are high levels of persistent stress, staff are unable to find time to recover between tasks, and this is having a negative effect on their mental health. To help staff perform at their best, organisations may look to create peer support groups, allowing staff to share their experiences openly and without judgement, to help identify clear routes to support. Alongside this, awareness training can be beneficial in helping staff and managers spot the signs of stress and poor mental health that can lead to more open and supportive conversations.

Support increasing workloads

Accountancy roles are challenging, the workload is complex, and leaves no room for error. CABA’s research indicated that 63% of staff surveyed felt that these issues are contributing significantly to the rise in stress levels. Following the changes in ways of working, accountants are finding themselves busier than ever, working harder and longer hours to support clients. Accounting staff are noting that they are also needing to support their client’s mental health. With all of these changes, new support must be made available. One way that organisations can do this is to embed mental health champions within their workforce. Mental health champions are members of staff who are trained in the support their organisation can provide, the external resources to signpost to and are passionate about mental health. Champions hold supportive conversations to help staff feel seen and valued, identify their challenges with compassion and empathy, and showcase the support available to them.

Utilise Internal Support

Are all your internal support mechanisms being utilised? CABA’s research noted that 63% of staff surveyed, hadn’t accessed these resources, likely because their workload is persistently too high, or that they hadn’t realised what support is available to them. Through internal communications, organisations can signpost their employee assistance programme (EAP), mental health support via their private healthcare plan, or subscriptions to wellness apps such as Calm or Headspace.

It’s important that the industry recognises these challenges and provide more mental health support. In doing so we will see less absence and loss of productivity, and more mentally healthy workplaces where staff feel supported to bring their full selves to work.

If you would like to find out more about how Mental Health UK can support your workplace mental health strategy, please do get in contact: [email protected]

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