Michelle: Mark, a quick stat for you. In the UK, work-related stress, depression, or anxiety accounts for 54% of all working days lost to ill-health. Mark: Whoa. Over half? That’s not just a few people having a bad week. That’s a systemic breakdown. It’s like the engine of the economy is running on fumes and anxiety. Michelle: Exactly. It's a massive, hidden cost that we all just seem to accept as "the price of doing business." And that's the problem Gill Hasson and Donna Butler tackle in their book, Mental Health and Wellbeing in the Workplace. It was highly commended at the Business Book Awards, and for good reason. Mark: Okay, so what makes them the right people to write it? I feel like every company's HR department has a dusty binder with "Wellbeing" on the cover that no one ever reads. Michelle: That’s what makes this book different. It's a perfect blend of perspectives. Gill Hasson is an expert in taking these big psychological ideas and making them practical and actionable for the workplace. But Donna Butler brings something else—she’s a psychotherapist who actually built an in-house mental health service from the ground up within the UK's National Health Service. Mark: Oh, wow. So she’s been in the trenches. Michelle: Deep in them. She’s seen this from both the high-level strategic view and the deeply personal, frontline perspective of someone in crisis. The book isn't just theory; it's born from real-world practice. And their core argument starts with a surprising claim: work is actually good for our mental health. Mark: Hold on. Good for you? Tell that to someone on their third pointless Zoom meeting of the day, whose main source of nutrition is the crumbs at the bottom of their keyboard. Michelle: I know, it sounds completely counterintuitive. But they argue that work provides purpose, structure, and social connection. There’s a huge catch, though. It’s only good for you if you’re in what they call a ‘good job.’ Mark: And I’m guessing ‘good job’ doesn’t just mean a high salary and a ping-pong table in the breakroom. Michelle: Not at all. It’s about the fundamental conditions of the work itself. And that puts the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the employer.

Michelle: The UK’s Health and Safety Executive, or HSE, actually defines what makes a job ‘good’ for your mental health. They have six management standards: Demands, Control, Support, Relationships, Role, and Change. Basically, are the demands of your job manageable? Do you have some control over how you work? Do you feel supported by your organization and manager? Are your work relationships positive? Is your role clear? And is change managed well? Mark: That list sounds like a fantasy for a lot of people. Especially the ‘control’ and ‘support’ parts. It feels like in many places, the default is high demands and low control, which is a perfect recipe for burnout. Michelle: It is. And the book argues that fixing this isn't about offering yoga classes or wellness apps as a band-aid. It’s about fixing the system itself. The most powerful example they give is the story of a primary school. Mark: A school? Not a high-flying tech startup? Michelle: A regular primary school, Brimsdown Primary in North London. In 2016, a new headteacher, Daniella Lang, took over. The school was in a tough spot. It had just received two "requires improvement" ratings from Ofsted, the schools inspectorate. Staff morale was at rock bottom. They were dealing with redundancies, a new curriculum had been forced on them, and everyone was just… defeated. Mark: That sounds incredibly stressful. Teaching is already a high-pressure job without all that extra weight. Michelle: Exactly. So Daniella Lang comes in, and what does she do? She doesn't give a big rah-rah speech about resilience or tell everyone to just try harder. Her first move was to create a staff wellbeing team and run a survey to find out what was actually making people miserable. Mark: I’m almost afraid to ask what they found. Michelle: The feedback was brutal. Staff felt unsupported, unheard, and completely overwhelmed. Their workloads were impossible. So the leadership team started making changes. And they were surprisingly small, practical things. Michelle: For instance, a major source of daily frustration was the single, constantly breaking photocopier. It created bottlenecks and stress every single morning. So, they bought a second one. Mark: A photocopier. You’re telling me a photocopier was a key part of a mental health revolution? That’s both hilarious and deeply relatable. Michelle: It’s about removing the daily grit in the machine! They also hired an intern to help with administrative tasks, freeing up teachers to actually teach. They rewrote the behavior policy to be clearer and more consistent, so teachers weren't fighting losing battles in the classroom. The leadership team adopted a strict open-door policy. It wasn't just a slogan; they were genuinely available. Mark: So they weren't trying to fix the people. They were fixing the things that were breaking the people. Michelle: Precisely. And the results were staggering. Within two years, the school’s Ofsted grade jumped from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘good,’ with three outstanding elements. They were in the top 20% nationally for progress in reading and maths. But more importantly, the staff reported being genuinely happier. The culture shifted from one of blame and stress to a supportive, family-like atmosphere. Mark: That’s an incredible story. But it really seems to hinge on having a leader like Daniella Lang, someone who just gets it. What happens when your boss is the source of the problem? You can’t exactly buy them a new photocopier and hope they change. Michelle: You’re right. And that’s the reality for so many. The book is very clear-eyed about this. Dame Carol Black, a major figure in UK workplace health, tells this anecdote about GPs writing sick notes. An employee comes in, completely stressed out because they're being bullied by their manager. But the doctor can't write 'bullied by manager' on the certificate. They have to write a medical diagnosis, like 'stress' or 'anxiety.' Mark: So the real problem gets masked. The company sees a sick note for 'stress' and thinks the employee has a problem, not that the manager is the problem. The system protects itself. Michelle: Exactly. And that leads us right to the book's second, equally important half. When the system isn't perfect, or is even actively hostile, what can you, the individual employee, do? It’s all about reclaiming your own agency.

Mark: Okay, I’m glad we’re going here. Because "reclaiming agency" can sound a bit like corporate-speak for "you're on your own, buddy." How do you do that when you feel powerless? Michelle: The book suggests it starts with small, deliberate acts of self-preservation. It’s not about fighting the whole system at once; it’s about carving out a small space for your own wellbeing. My favorite story on this is about a woman named Laura Archer. Mark: Let me guess, she wasn't taking her lunch breaks. Michelle: You got it. She was working in London, totally swamped, and realized one day she hadn't taken a proper lunch break in weeks. She was just grabbing a sandwich and eating it at her desk while answering emails. Mark: The classic "al desko" dining experience. I think most of us have been there. You feel like you're being so productive, but by 3 PM you're a complete zombie and you hate your job. Michelle: That’s exactly what she felt. Her mood was terrible, her energy was gone, her diet was suffering. So she decided to do something about it. She made a list of 52 things she could do in her lunch hour—one for every week of the year. Things like visiting a small local museum, trying a new walking route, reading a chapter of a book in a park, or even just sitting somewhere without her phone. Mark: I love that. It’s so structured and intentional. What happened? Michelle: The change was immediate and profound. Her mood lifted, she had more energy, she felt more creative. But the real proof came a few months later when she hit another incredibly busy period at work and was forced to stop her lunch break experiments. Mark: And everything fell apart again. Michelle: Completely. She said, "My mood became incredibly overcast and my attitude to my job plummeted. Everything felt grey." She was back to being exhausted, eating junk food, and feeling miserable. It was the absence of the breaks that proved how vital they were. It wasn't a luxury; it was essential maintenance. Mark: That’s such a powerful lesson. The things we cut first when we’re busy—breaks, sleep, exercise—are the very things that would help us get through the busy period. It's a false economy of time. Michelle: A total false economy. And the book is full of these practical tools. It talks about the importance of being assertive and learning to say 'no,' which is a massive challenge for many people. Mark: It feels impossible! Especially in a culture that rewards people who are always "on" and always say "yes." How do you even start? Michelle: The book suggests starting small and being strategic. It’s not about saying a flat "no" to your boss. It’s about reframing it. For example, instead of just saying "I can't do that," you might say, "I can do that, but it means that Project X will be delayed. Which one is the priority right now?" It shifts the conversation from your inability to a strategic choice the manager has to make. Mark: That’s smart. It makes it a shared problem, not just your problem. It gives them back some of the responsibility. What about something more formal? Michelle: This is where they introduce a really interesting tool called a Wellness Action Plan, or a WAP. It's a simple document you can create for yourself, or even share with a trusted manager. Mark: A WAP? It sounds like a fire escape plan for your brain. Michelle: That’s a perfect analogy! It’s a proactive plan. You identify your personal triggers for stress at work. What are the early warning signs that you're starting to struggle? Maybe it's poor sleep, or feeling irritable, or procrastinating more. Then you list what you can do to help yourself when that happens, and what your manager or colleagues can do to support you. Mark: So you might write down, "When I start working through lunch, it's a red flag. A supportive action would be my manager reminding me to take a break." Michelle: Exactly. It takes the guesswork out of it for everyone. It opens up a conversation before you reach a crisis point. A senior nurse quoted in the book said that just knowing her workplace took this stuff seriously enough to have a plan meant she felt she could finally speak up about her early warning signs of anxiety, which stopped the "vicious cycle gaining speed and taking over." Mark: It’s about creating psychological safety, not just for the team, but for yourself. You’re giving yourself permission to not be okay, and giving others a roadmap to help. Michelle: You’ve hit on the core of it. It’s this constant dance between the organization’s responsibility and the individual’s agency.

Michelle: And that really brings the two halves of the book together. It’s a two-way street. Employers have the responsibility to build a safe road—one with clear signs, good lighting, and no giant potholes. But employees still have to learn how to drive their own car safely on that road. Mark: I like that. A great environment with a burnt-out employee is a waste, and a resilient employee in a toxic environment will eventually break. One without the other just doesn't work. Michelle: It’s a symbiotic relationship. You can’t just put the onus on individuals to be more "resilient" when the workplace itself is the source of the trauma. As Dame Carol Black says, you can put in the fresh fruit and the bicycle schemes, but if you haven't trained your managers and engaged your leaders, it's just a "sticking plaster." Mark: A superficial fix for a deep wound. So, if a listener can only do one thing after hearing this, what should it be? Let's do one for a manager, and one for an employee. Michelle: Great idea. For a manager, I’d say: this week, ask each person on your team, "What is the single most frustrating, time-wasting, soul-crushing part of your day?" And then listen, and actually try to fix one of those things. It might be as simple as a broken process or a recurring, useless meeting. Show them you’re willing to remove the grit from the machine. Mark: And for an employee? Michelle: Take a real, 20-minute break away from your desk today. No phone, no email. Go for a walk, sit in a park, listen to music. Do not use the time to be "productive." Just use it to be a human being. See how you feel at the end of the day. Mark: Simple, but not easy. It’s a small act of defiance against the cult of busyness. I love it. We’d love to hear what you all do on your lunch breaks, or the small things your workplace does right that make a big difference. Find us on social media and share your stories. Michelle: This is Aibrary, signing off.