10/10/2024

World Mental Health Day 2024: tackling burnout and supporting mental health in insurance

World Mental Health Day 2024: tackling burnout and supporting mental health in insurance This year’s theme for World Mental Health Day (10 October) focuses on one of the most pressing challenges in today’s workplace: burnout.

It’s time to prioritise mental health in the workplace

In our fast-paced world, employees are increasingly experiencing chronic stress, which gradually leads to burnout. This isn’t just an individual concern—it has far-reaching consequences for entire organisations.

Burnout impacts not only personal wellbeing but also productivity, engagement, and overall success. That’s why we’re calling for a shared responsibility for workplace mental health. From executives to managers, employers to employees, we must educate ourselves and one another to recognise the signs of poor mental health and support each other in creating healthier, more resilient workplaces. Together, we can foster environments where mental wellbeing is a priority for all.
A mentally healthy workplace is a thriving workplace. By addressing workplace burnout this World Mental Health Day, we can cultivate a more productive, engaged, and fulfilled workforce.

The July 2024 IFoA Longevity Bulletin article published by the IFoA Mental Health Working Party, looks at the opportunities of digital tools for mental health, including in the workplace. You can learn more on this topic at the upcoming Longevity & Mortality Actuaries’ Forum webinar on 11 October with a focus on mental health. Register for the webinar.

Get the discussion around mental health going in your workplace. There are lots of great resources on the World Mental Health Day 2024 website.

The IFoA Mental Health Working Party: our next phase of work

The IFoA’s Mental Health Working Party is committed to advancing mental health awareness within the actuarial profession and the insurance industry as a whole. Over the past year, we’ve produced a range of blogs, podcasts, webinars, and papers highlighting the importance of mental health at every stage of the insurance product lifecycle. We’ve also explored digital tools that can support customers’ mental health and conducted a survey on mental health underwriting among UK insurers. View these articles and more.

Now we’re entering the next phase of our work and seeking passionate new members to join us. Our focus will be on four key areas:

  • Engaging with mental health charities: We aim to work with mental health charities to understand how our working party can provide support and advocate for positive change in insurance practices.
  • Travel insurance: We aim to explore specific areas related to mental health within travel insurance, including risk factors, underwriting practices, and the overall customer experience.
  • Disability insurance: We aim to delve into mental health considerations within disability insurance, focusing on underwriting and customer journeys to ensure mental health is appropriately supported.
  • Supporting the mental health of actuaries: Building on our ongoing work, we will continue engaging with the IFoA to promote mental health support for actuaries and student actuaries.

As we enter into the next phase of our work, we are people with a passion for improving mental health in insurance and actuarial sectors to input into our work. Together, we can make meaningful progress in promoting the consideration of mental health insurance and supporting mental well-being in the workplace.

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