Employment a significant factor in staying emotionally well

Self-employed workers are more likely to meet their emotional and physical needs than those who work full or part-time hours, according to new research by The Mental Health Toolkit and Suffolk Mind.

Our ongoing Emotional Needs Audit, run in partnership with Suffolk Mind, asks respondents to rate how well they are meeting their needs from -3 to +3. It has so far received more than 25,000 responses.

Our CEO Jon Neal said: “We all have emotional and physical needs to meet to stay healthy and well, and our research reveals work can play a significant role in that.

“Our survey shows people who are working full or part-time are less likely to be meeting their physical and emotional needs, particularly Sleep and Movement.

“People who are self-employed report they are meeting more of their needs overall on average, however they are less likely to be meeting their needs for Security and Community.

“This may be as a result of being responsible for generating their own work and many working as sole traders.”

What does the research show?

The research revealed unemployed people were meeting fewer needs than those who are employed, giving an overall average response of 0.26. Their least well met needs being Sleep, Security and Community.

The research, exclusive to Suffolk, found full-time workers give an overall response of 0.73, with part-time workers scoring 0.79. Self-employed respondents rated the highest overall at 0.88. This makes them more likely to be at the ‘wellbeing’ end of the mental health continuum.

It comes as we have had a busy week taking The Mental Health Toolkit training to businesses across Suffolk for Mental Health Awareness Week.

Jon added: “It’s not just about employers caring for their employees’ wellbeing – it’s proven to be good for the bottom line of every organisation too.

“It might sound a challenge to maintain a good environment for mental health, but help is available to equip both you and your staff with the tools we all need to identify the signs of mental ill health and how to support them.

“The Mental Health Toolkit gives businesses training to help staff meet their physical and emotional needs, supporting them to find a healthy work/life balance.”

Find out more

The Mental Health Toolkit is a programme of training and workshops for employers that seek to foster a supportive culture empowering support and wellbeing.