Former MP Luciana Berger is delivering the keynote closing session at MAD World this Thursday (17th) which, given the new government’s recent pledges around employee wellbeing, couldn’t be a more fitting end to the event.
Berger has rejoined the Labour Party, after a high profile resignation four years ago following antisemitic racism which left her feeling “embarrassed and ashamed”. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has since apologised and handed Berger the brief to do a full mental health strategy review.
We spoke to her ahead of her appearance at MAD World when she said she believes there’s “so much employers can do” to contribute positively to improving the situation in the UK with regards to mental health support and relieving pressure on the NHS.
One of her main arguments is that we, as a society, government and business together, should be focused much more on fostering good mental health and raising awareness to reduce the number of people in crisis, which is where much focus currently is.
She explains why below…
How optimistic are you feeling about the new government’s plans for mental health?
You’d expect me to say this given my affiliations, but absolutely optimistic. The new secretary of state, Wes Streeting MP, has been very clear about the new government’s move towards prevention.
The government has already announced, in the King’s Speech, that we are going to have a new Mental Health Act introduced over the course of the next 12-18 months. This update is long overdue and badly needed; I was involved in the first conversations about updating this Act back in 2015.
A new Act will do much to improve the experience of people with serious mental illness, an issue that has been largely ignored in the past. The new government will also provide more mental health support in all of our schools, which is critical, and it will create hubs in our communities, particularly for young people, which will support mental health. I think these are real, practical, tangible actions which will all make a massive difference.
Why do you think it’s so important we focus on prevention?
One reason is that there’s been an increase in, particularly,in the number of young people who are out of work, and economically inactive, due to mental health. And as a country, over the past 14 years we have been thinking about this too late. We need to do everything possible to affect positive opportunities and outcomes much sooner.
You’ve been involved with the mental health review? Can you tell me about that please?
It has been a privilege to meet and listen to so many people about how we can do more to keep mentally well.
The review hasn’t yet been published yet so I will talk about it in general terms.
What do you plan to talk to the MAD World audience about in your keynote closing session?
We had this interview discussion on World Mental Health Day (10th October) and the review looked at what more can, and should be done, in our workplaces, which is relevant to WMHD’s theme this year, which is mental health in the workplace.
What more do you think can be done?
We should be focusing more on education and fostering good mental health, rather than helping people when they are very, very sick and in a crisis, which we do disproportionately at the moment. That just doesn’t make any sense; purely from a financial and economic perspective, it’s more expensive to treat people when in crisis.
But for the social and moral consequences – individuals are more likely to suffer unnecessarily.
First and foremost, we should be helping people much earlier on. We’ve got a system at the moment which is completely the wrong way around and it should be everybody’s business to fix it.
So what could employers do? Do you think they have a role when it comes to the growing child mental health crisis?
The first thing that employers can do is raise awareness and support the mental health of their employees. There’s so much they can do.
Something we’re still contending with is the challenge of discrimination when it comes to mental health compared to how we accept physical health challenges.
Yes, stigma has massively reduced but we have seen indications that we’re going slightly backwards on this, so the job is not yet done when it comes to talking about mental health, tackling it and bringing it out of the shadows.
Presumably former work and pensions secretary Mel Stride’s comments that mental health culture has “gone too far” were not helpful on this front?
I’m on record challenging his remarks.
We haven’t gone too far at all and, certainly, the research proves that we’ve actually gone backwards in terms of societal acceptance.
Why do you think that is?
Because the investment in societal-wide campaigns stopped. For example funding of the, ‘It’s time to change’ campaign was stopped a number of years ago and I think we’ve got complacent and there’s more to be done across each age group.
You’re active on social media and talk about things like having public conversations with social media influencers like Anna Whitehouse, known as Mother Pukka. I guess that is an effective way to help get messages out, which employers could also do?
Yes, having different voices and people that are prepared to speak out about, either their experience or loved ones, is helpful. We need to encourage people to come forward and get support early on and make sure the services are there.
But we also need to give people the confidence and the belief that they can come forward and they will be helped and they will be listened to.
Have you seen any good examples recently of employers supporting the mental health of their people?
There’s a fantastic example that I came across at the Retail Trust recently, helping tens of thousands of people that work in the retail sector recognising that, quite often, there’s an intersection between mental health problems and financial challenges. This is not a niche issue, especially given the cost of living crisis. There are millions of people in our country that have at least one piece of credit, if not more, in arrears.
So, because a significant portion of employees are calling them because they are in some sort of financial crisis, the employers are providing very practical, tangible support around finances, including financial grants. Mental health doesn’t discriminate but poor mental health disproportionately falls to people that are on lower incomes.
What can employers do to make a difference?
Pay people properly.
Provide employees with access to immediate credit, should they need it in an emergency.
Practical actions like these can make all the difference to people on very low incomes, particularly when they face an unexpected cost.
And what about the NHS – do you think employers have a role to play here in taking the pressure off?
It’s about partnership. Everyone’s got a role to play and it’s everyone’s business.
Again, you can’t just confine it to the NHS to treat people when they’re either physically or mentally unwell.
The overall majority (over 50%) of the illnesses which the NHS now treats are lifestyle related. So, again, it’s everyone’s business, including employers, to play their part in improving the health and wellbeing of the nation.
Including the individual, given it’s often lifestyle reasons and personal choices which leads to sickness?
I think it’s very easy to place the onus and responsibility solely on the shoulders of the individual. I see that happen politically far too often and it washes government’s and employers’ hands of responsibility.
We’ve all got a role to play, it’s certainly not just down to the individual.
Do you think employers are doing enough?
Employers are increasingly doing more because they know it’s the right thing to do, but they also know it can make a difference to their bottom line.
Employers should be looking at the entire life course, and how to support employees at different stages, including the later stages of their working life, as well as people going into retirement. There are big opportunities there in terms of getting older people back into work. The evidence is clear; it’s far better for us all to be in work when it comes to our mental health.
You’re also heavily involved with the Maternal Mental Health Alliance, of which you are Chair. Is there anything happening on that front relevant to employers?
Yes. We’ve just launched ‘The Parent Gap’, a program to help employers support new parents and carers at work with their mental health. We’re doing that in partnership with the postnatal awareness and support charity PANDAS.
It’s an accredited programme to support employers to do more to support their employees.
This is one of those areas which hasn’t had the attention it deserves. Very few employers in the UK will reference maternal mental health or parents’ return to work in their HR policies.
If you could get one message out to employers about wellbeing at MAD World, what would it be?
The research now shows us that the greatest difference we can make is if people have a positive relationship with their managers.
But, quite often, very inexperienced and/or busy people find themselves with managerial responsibility. We also need to make sure that anyone who is given this responsibility has adequate time and support to manage other people well.
Related to this, and a big theme in my review, is deploying appropriate training and programmes; employers should only be buying in services and training that have been appropriately tested and evaluated.
There’s an extraordinary amount of money being spent, both in the private and public sector, on programmes that have no evidence basis or accreditation whatsoever. This is highly problematic. It brings costs to the business which are just about ticking a box and not about being effective. But not only that, there’s the opportunity cost of the time it takes people to do these programmes, time which could be used doing something which makes a difference instead.
The Leaders’ Summit at MAD World is an event driving excellence in workplace culture, employee health and wellbeing.
For the keynote closing session, Former MP Luciana Berger will be in conversation with Mark Malcolmson CBE, Principal and Chief Executive City Lit.
The Summmit on 17th October 2024, will bring together speakers and attendees from across sectors and with a range of job titles for two tracks of leading-edge content that showcase best practice and provide insights and inspiration for all those looking to achieve maximum engagement with initiatives, optimise investment, stay one step ahead and really make a difference.
The stellar lineup of speakers, as well as Luciana Berger, includes: Professor Dame Carol Black GBE FRCP FMed Sci; Peter Cheese, CEO, CIPD, Vanessa Harwood-Whitcher, Chief Executive, The Institute of Occupational Safety & Health (IOSH), Dhavani Bishop, Head of Group Colleague Health & Wellbeing, Tesco, Dr Clare Fernandes, Chief Medical Officer, BBC, Christian van Stolk, Executive Vice President, RAND Europe, Andrew Gibbons, Group Head of Wellbeing, Recognition and Hybrid Working, HSBC, Karen Brookes, Chief People Officer, Sir Robert McAlpine, Jaimy Fairclough, Wellbeing Specialist – People Division, Sainsbury’s, Dr Femi Oduneye, Vice President Health, Shell International B.V. and many more. You can find out more and register to attend here.
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