It’s Mental Health Awareness Week, and it’s time to put the spotlight on the offshore industry

One in four adults will be affected by mental health issues during their lifetime. Everyone knows someone who has or is struggling. It is an issue that affects us all. Yet it is still an issue that we are reluctant to tackle.

 It’s Mental Health Awareness Week, so from the 10^th-16^th May there is a national focus on mental health and wellbeing. This year’s focus is on the ‘5 Ways to Wellbeing’ and getting in touch with the natural world. The ‘5 Ways to Wellbeing’ are described as a set of key pillars that are critical to our mental health: social connectedness, physical activity, awareness, learning and giving.

The pandemic has seen increased isolation across all walks of life and as society begins to open up it is becoming increasingly clear of the toll this has taken on us all. A timely focus on mental health and wellbeing, not just this week but every week, will help improve your health, and the health of your family, friends and colleagues.

Traditionally, the offshore industry has been slow to embrace mental health initiatives and reluctant to focus on employee mental health and wellbeing. Although this is starting to change as more employers begin to realise the benefits of promoting better mental health. Some suggest this is because of the traditionally male dominated make-up of the workforce. But since suicide is the single biggest killer of men under the age of 45 in the UK, perhaps it’s time we did more about it.

Studies within the offshore and marine industry have shown that 40% of respondents experienced suicidal thoughts while working on rotation during the pandemic. Almost 30% of the remote and rotational workforce meets the benchmark for clinical depression. The study also showed the impact that the pandemic has had on work and stress levels, with 65% reporting an increased workload and 56% an increase in stress.

These figures make up some of the highest averages regardless of industry and highlight the ongoing problem within offshore. If numbers like those had been reported in the standard health and safety statistics, there would be an international outcry. Perhaps we should all take a proper look at what we can do to help improve those figures.

We can all get involved, and this year Mind are encouraging us all to speak out about mental health. Why not tell those around you why you’ve decided to join the fight for mental health? One of the most important things we can do is to reach out and talk. Encourage those around us to open up by being open ourselves. Why not make an extra effort this week to talk about, and focus on, mental health in your workplace? You might just make a real difference in someone’s life.

It may not seem that talking about mental health during your coffee break or lunch will have much of an impact. But it does, and it will. Showing you care can have a profound impact on the people around you, and encouraging people to be open about the issues they face is clinically proven to be critical to recovery.

So, why not take this Mental Health Week to be the week we decided to really make a difference to our industry, our colleagues and ourselves?