Call to put Mental Health injuries on par with physical injuries

A leading corporate psychologist is spearheading a campaign calling for mental health injuries caused by work-related incidents to be treated with the same import as physical ones.

Tina Catling, a Principal Practitioner for the Association for British Psychology, is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Royal Society of the Arts.

She is lobbying for mental health injuries to fall under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases, and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR).

Tina Catling said: “This would put mental health injuries on par with physical injuries, which would create more psychological safety in the workplace. It would not only save companies thousands in absences and productivity; it would save lives.”

As founder and director of the Leeds-based communications culture and innovation consultancy ThinkOTB, Tina coaches global leaders on building psychologically safe teams to unlock innovation and creativity, and has co-written two best-selling books.

A recent study by AXA UK shows that poor mind health in the workplace cost the UK economy £102Bn in 2023. Workplace bullying, stress and harassment is commonplace in the UK, which can create low staff engagement, which in turn can create physical injuries.

Employee engagement is proven to raise performance and productivity. Reports by Engage for Success state staff who are not engaged at work are 62% more likely to have a physical injury at work.

Tina said: “This cause is very close to my heart. I work to create healthy, positive cultures in my own business and in those we advise and work with. I coach many senior people who are struggling.”

She added: “We need to ask ourselves a fundamental question – why do we separate mental health from physical health? Our heads are connected to our bodies. Yet, if someone sustains a mental health injury due to work, there is no legal obligation for employers to investigate and report it.

“Recognising and recording mental health injuries would lead to better protection for employees and encourage employers to take proactive measures, such as implementing psychological safety risk assessments and addressing workplace factors contributing to stress-related harm.”

Tina said: “If we required RIDDOR reporting for mental health injuries, we’d see an immediate shift. Employers would look closer at issues such as microaggressions, unconscious bias, bullying and the general psychological safety of their employees. There is an ISO for Psychological health and safety at work it is ISO45003 from 2021, but companies are not incentivised to apply for it.

“Creating the correct organisational protocols for psychological injury is a crucial step in creating inclusive, psychologically safe cultures that value both mental and physical well-being equally. A first step that every organisation can take is to ensure that individuals can report mental health injuries in the accident book.”

Tina added: “As a practicing corporate psychologist, I know that psychiatric injuries are happening at work and they are going unreported. They are not investigated and dealt with in the same ways as physical injuries and that is wrong.”

The campaign is part of a growing call for workplace change: United Minds (from Unite the Union) is campaigning on the same issue.

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