Mental health at work commitment

The Mental Health at Work commitment offers organisations a way to publicly declare that mental health is a priority. The commitment is made up of six standards, based on the Thriving at Work standards and developed with the knowledge and expertise of mental health charities, leading employers and trade organisations.

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“It has never been more important for organisations to prioritise the mental wellbeing of their employees. The Mental Health at Work Commitment provides organisations with an opportunity to commit to this priority and take the necessary and important steps to effectively support their employees.”

Peter Cheese, chief executive officer at the CIPD

Explore the six standards

To help you work with the commitment below we’ve listed all of the relevant CIPD content to support your work to meet the standards:

Prioritise mental health in the workplace by developing and delivering a systematic programme of activity

Standard 1 involves:

Devising, implementing and communicating a mental health at work plan
Showing senior level ownership and accountability with a clear reporting governance structure
Regularly monitor employee mental health and wellbeing
Gather employee feedback and make improvements based on feedback

CIPD resources

Mental health in the workplace

Explores mental health issues in the workplace focusing on supporting employees’ mental health.

Stress in the workplace

Outlines how to identify the signs of stress, address stress at work, and distinguish between stress and pressure

Workforce reporting

Explores defining, measuring and reporting human capital, and the value of external workforce reporting

People analytics

Explores what people analytics is, different types of HR data, and the importance of people analytics strategy and process

Supporting mental health at work

Provides information, practical advice and templates to help managers facilitate conversations about stress and mental ill health with employees

People data and scientific evidence

A collection of CIPD content on using data and research evidence to drive effective decision-making and performance

Proactively ensure work design and organisational culture drive positive mental health outcomes

Standard 2 involves:

Ensuring employees have good physical workplace conditions
Offering ways for employees to give feedback on how work design, culture and conditions contribute to poor mental health
Reviewing the impact that activities like organisational design and redesign, job design, recruitment, working patterns, email, “always-on” culture, and work-related policies have on employees
Working to ensure employees have good work-life balance and ability to work flexibly and in an agile manner.
Looking to encourage openness throughout employment (including during recruitment) so that appropriate support can be put in place.

CIPD resources

Wellbeing at work

Understand the links between work, health and wellbeing, and the role of stakeholders in adopting an organisational approach to employee wellbeing

Job design

Explore the purpose and evolution job design, the role of effective job design in creating good work, and assessing job quality

Flexible working practices

Explore the benefits of flexible working, the types of arrangements commonly used and gives practical tips on implementing flexible working practices

Health and safety at work

Outlines employers’ health and safety obligations in the UK

Getting the most from remote working

Top tips that will help you and your team get the most out of homeworking

Recruitment: an introduction

This factsheet looks at the main stages of the resourcing and recruitment process, from defining the role to making the appointment

In it for the long haul: supporting employee health and wellbeing

Watch a video and download the slides from our webinar on how you can provide ongoing support for the health and wellbeing of your employees, including those living with long COVID (recorded in December 2020)

Promote an open culture around mental health

Standard 3 involves:

Increasing awareness and challenging stigma to change the way people think and act about mental health
Supporting employees to champion mental health and positively role model good practice in the workplace
Highlighting the support available to employees and encouraging open conversations about mental health

CIPD resources

Mental health in the workplace

Explores mental health issues in the workplace focusing on supporting employees’ mental health

Employee communication

Looks at building an effective internal communication strategy, from tailoring communications and engaging managers to using social media and developing two-way dialogue

Supporting mental health at work

Information, practical advice and templates to help managers facilitate conversations about stress and mental ill health with employees

General guidance on managing and supporting employees who are experiencing domestic abuse, our advice on bereavement and resources on managing drug and alcohol misuse so that employees understand the support available to them.

Offering compassionate bereavement support

Watch a webinar recording and download slides to explore how organisations can best support bereaved employees in a compassionate and individual way (recorded February 2021)

Managing conflict, bullying and harassment at work

Video recording and downloadable slides offering expert advice on how to handle conflict at work and adopt a zero-tolerance approach to unfair treatment (recorded December 2020)

Increase organisational confidence and capability

Standard 4 involves:

Improving mental health literacy of all staff and offering ways for staff to learn how to manage their own mental health
Making sure staff are able to have effective conversations about mental health and providing signposts to support
Training managers to they are able to spot and support mental health issues in the workplace
Ensuring managers have support to manage mental health in all areas of their role, including during staff inductions, one-to-one meetings, team meetings and return-to-work meetings.

CIPD resources

Supporting mental health at work

Guidance containing information, practical advice and templates to help managers facilitate conversations about stress and mental ill health with employees

HR wellbeing: looking after yourself and your HR teams

Watch a video and download the slides from our webinar where experts advised on protecting the health and wellbeing of people professionals (recorded in May 2020)

Mental health in the workplace

Explores mental health issues in the workplace focusing on supporting employees’ mental health

Absence management

Refer to our resources on managing absence and support a return to work to ensure these processes protect mental health

Manager support

Make use of our manager support materials to ensure line mangers are equipped to support the mental health and wellbeing of their teams

Provide mental health tools and support

Standard 5 involves:

Sharing resources and tools available to support mental health (including Mental Health at Work )
Offering tailored in-house mental health support and signposting to clinical help (for example digital support, occupational health, employee assistance programmes, the NHS).
Giving targeted support to tackle key causes of poor mental health, for example financial wellbeing.

CIPD resources

Employee financial wellbeing

Resources to show how financial concerns can affect employee mental and physical health and the impact that this has on business performance

Technology use in employee wellbeing

Guidance on how technology can be used to support employee wellbeing

Occupational health

Outlines the kind of occupational health services an organisation might offer and the role of confidentiality and consent in discussing an employee’s health

Mental health in the workplace

Explores mental health issues in the workplace focusing on supporting employees’ mental health

Supporting mental health at work

Practical advice and templates to help managers facilitate conversations about stress and mental ill health with employees

Employee benefits: an introduction

Explores how to implement various employee benefits as part of a wider reward strategy

Wellbeing at work

Understand the links between work, health and wellbeing, and the role of stakeholders in adopting an organisational approach to employee wellbeing

Increase transparency and accountability through internal and external reporting

Standard 6 involves:

Identifying and tracking key measures to use in internal and external reporting
Measuring activity carried out and its impact using external frameworks such as the Business in the Community Responsible Business Tracker and Mind’s Workplace Wellbeing Index.