World Mental Health Day: Young people in a changing world

The annual global awareness-raising day aims to offer everyone working on mental health issues to talk about their work, and what more needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for people worldwide.It comes a few months after the WHO warned huge investment needs to be made if global targets around mental health are to be met, and as officials from 50 countries gather in London for a summit on mental health.

The economic and social impact of mental health

Publication in June of its latest Mental Health Atlas shows while some countries have made progress in mental health policy-making and planning, there is a global shortage of health workers trained in mental health and a lack of investment in community-based mental health facilities.“This latest edition of the Mental Health Atlas provides us with yet more evidence that scale-up of resources for mental health is not happening quickly enough,” said Dr Shekhar Saxena, Director of WHO’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse.“We know what works. Failure to invest in mental health as a matter of urgency will have health, social and economic costs on a scale that we have rarely seen before.”

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Related news and features from Relocate Global:

• What to do if your team member is struggling with their mental health?
• Under pressure? Student wellbeing moves to the top of the agenda
• Expat mental health: taking a preventative approach

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How widespread is mental ill-health in UK workplaces?

Employee wellbeing and mental health is receiving more attention in the UK, although the governemnt has faced criticism for its lack of investment in mental health services for young people, especially those in crisis.From a global mobility perspective, a study last year by international health insurer Axa-Global found more than two thirds (68 per cent) of multinationals say they are concerned about international assignments failing due to mental health problems, with 21 per cent saying they are very concerned. An Aon Employee Benefits survey from this year noted similar figures, with the number of employers reporting employee stress and mental health-related illnesses rising from 55% last year to 68% in 2018.

Younger people and mental health

For younger people – the focus of this year’s World Mental Health Day – findings from the study of 34,000 UK employees paint of a vivid picture of the impact of low wages, job insecurity and poorer social mobility prospects for the first generation to join the labour force after the global financial crisis.This group also has highest levels of presenteeism and financial worries, which correlates with another report showing six in ten workers still feel unable to talk about mental health with their boss. Head to the HR section for more features and insight into employee wellbeing. 

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