How to Support Employees Mental Health & Well-Being

According to a recent study, four out of ten employees have taken less holiday since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. The study found that 39% of UK workers took less paid time off work during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the year before, with employees from small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) the least likely to take paid time off.

The Office for National Statistics revealed that, in May 2021, depression rates have doubled since the COVID-19 pandemic began and with a rise in remote working, emphasising the growing mental health crisis in the UK. 

A similar study found that 44% of employees had a heavier workload while working from home, and almost a third of those said this is having a direct impact on their mental health, and said that they have felt depressed, anxious, or suffered from exhaustion as a result.

Since the start of the pandemic, staff have been accruing holiday due to lockdown travel restrictions being in place. While restrictions have since eased and travel abroad is opening, many people are still against the idea of travelling abroad because of testing costs and the risk of quarantine rules changing at the last minute.

As a result, many employees are postponing holiday leave again, which could prove problematic for the future with employees suffering burnout and other mental health and well-being issues due to not taking any well-earned and entitled breaks.

Supporting staff mental health with a time and attendance system

The best solution to help companies encourage people to take their holiday leave and help avoid holiday clashes is to invest in a time and attendance system.

A time and attendance system gives employers a complete breakdown of employee holiday entitlement and hours worked in order for them to be supportive of staff members throughout this difficult period. This is ideal collated information for anyone in workforce management with an interest in the welfare of their employees.

At Time & Attendance UK, we offer an advanced web-based software suite that gives employers instant access to employee clocking information for those employing 20 people to 10,000+. Known as WinTA.NET, our software provides total control over the creation of working rules, access control, job costing and system security. It allows employers to know exactly how much holiday their staff have already taken, how much they have remaining and also allows them to see exactly how many hours they have worked on a specific day or over a longer period of time – giving employers the ability to step in and ensure entitled breaks are fulfilled.

Remote workers also benefit from a time and attendance system 

With the huge rise in the number of people working from home since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important that they are not forgotten about.

Thankfully, our web-based Self Service Module is a time and attendance employee software that ensures all employees working from home are able to record their working hours, request new periods of absence, cancel pending absence requests or cancel approved absence requests that have not yet occurred. Requests can also be made to add missed clockings, amend or delete clockings made in error. Additionally, employees working a formal flexitime system can view their current flexi-balance in real time and request adjustments to it.

If you are concerned about the mental health and well-being of your members of staff and want to make a difference, then please do not hesitate to get in touch with a member of our sales team to inquire about our time and attendance system. We are here to help.