Each year, Ben, the automotive industry charity, conducts a survey to find about the state of health & wellbeing of people who work in the UK's automotive industry and challenges affecting businesses.

1. Automotive
Industry survey
2018/19
Health & wellbeing in the automotive
industry – a business view

2. November 2019Health & wellbeing in the
Automotive industry
2© Ben 2019 ben.org.uk
3%
3%
6% 16%
11%
5%
9%
8%
24%
5%
10%
29%
6%
28%
6%
21%
10%
1000+
500-999
100-499
50-99
11-49
1-10
Number of employees within organisation Region
Automotive businesses - large and small - responded from across the UK

3. November 2019Health & wellbeing in the
Automotive industry
© Ben 2019 ben.org.uk
November 2019Health & wellbeing in the
automotive industry
3
Top 3 issues
for businesses

4. November 2019Health & wellbeing in the
Automotive industry
Stress
The single biggest issue to have affected employees’ health & wellbeing
4© Ben 2019 ben.org.uk
70%
• 70% of business respondents said stress had
most affected their employees' health &
wellbeing over the past 12 months - particularly
those in manufacturing and retail sectors
• This is reflected by what employees say:
o 57% of employees are stressed at work
o 47% are stressed at home
o 35% are stressed both at work and at home
Top tip: Ben can help. Contact us to find out more
about our free BenAtWork ‘coping with stress’
sessions for employees.

5. November 2019Health & wellbeing in the
Automotive industry
25%
23%
Mental health issues
Businesses are just as likely to report employee absence from
mental health as they are physical health
5© Ben 2019 ben.org.uk
• 25% of businesses reported that their
employees had been unable to work because of
mental health issues – most prevalent in larger
organisations
• We see the need for mental health support
reflected in the 1,000s of visits to the mental
health pages on our website and over half of all
calls to our helpline enquiries
Top tip: Read our whitepaper Mental health in the
automotive industry: moving up a gear which provides
practical solutions for employers on how to support the
mental health of their workforce.
Mental health
Physical health

6. November 2019Health & wellbeing in the
Automotive industry
Change
Skills shortages, Brexit & technological changes likely to
impact businesses over the next 5 years
6© Ben 2019 ben.org.uk
• We asked respondents to spontaneously
mention issues most likely to impact automotive
businesses over the next 5 years
• The top 3 issues mentioned were skills shortages
(38%), Brexit (26%), technological changes (23%)
Top tip: Talk to us about how we can work together to
help your people cope with change

7. November 2019Health & wellbeing in the
Automotive industry
© Ben 2019 ben.org.uk
November 2019Health & wellbeing in the
automotive industry
7
Employee views

8. November 2019Health & wellbeing in the
Automotive industry
25% 23%
8% 7%
Unable to work due to mental
health issues
Unable to work due to physical
health issues
Businesses
Employees
Work and health
Employees are less likely to report absence for mental
or physical issues than their employer
8© Ben 2019 ben.org.uk
• This is a similar pattern when comparing
the reporting of specific health &
wellbeing issues:
o Anxiety (38% vs 49%)
o Depression (21% vs 38%)
o Back and joint issues (18% vs 40%)
Top tip: Have regular 1-1s to check-in with employees
and an ‘open-door’ policy. Raise awareness of Ben to
your employees using our toolbox.

9. November 2019Health & wellbeing in the
Automotive industry
Managing mental health
Employees need support to understand and manage their mental health
9© Ben 2019 ben.org.uk
• Only 1 in 4 employees reported that they have
received support to help understand or manage
their mental health
• Our research suggests that if employees have
received support to understand and manage
their mental health, they are less likely to
experience health and wellbeing issues such as
stress at work, anxiety and depression
Top tip: Our Managing Mental Health in the Workplace
training course can help you support your managers, to
recognise and manage mental health issues in the
workplace.
71%
59%
48%
42%
52%
43%
37%
30%
Stress at work Anxiety Depression Low confidence
Not received support
Received support

10. November 2019Health & wellbeing in the
Automotive industry
Role of managers
Managers are not doing enough to meet mental health & wellbeing needs of
employees
10© Ben 2019 ben.org.uk
• If an employee had an issue with their mental
health they would prefer to approach a line
manager (24%) over a colleague (13%) or HR
representative (12%)
• 44% of employees say their line manager does
not regularly check in on how they are feeling.
Those who don’t get regular check ins are more
likely to report stress at work, depression and
bullying
66%
53%
15%
46%
32%
5%
Stress at work Depression Bullying
Manager doesn't check in regularly
Manager checks in regularly
24%
14% 13% 12%
Line manager No-one Colleague HR

11. November 2019Health & wellbeing in the
Automotive industry
Lack of sleep is an issue for automotive employees
Poor sleep was likely to be as a result of other health & wellbeing issues
11© Ben 2019 ben.org.uk
• 64% of respondents were personally
affected by poor sleep in the last 12 months
• Those with poor sleep were more likely to
report they had other health and wellbeing
issues
Top tip: Ben can help – share these tips for
sleeping better with your employees32%
48%
50%
51%
60%
69%
15%
20%
23%
29%
31%
35%
Debt
Depression
Back and joint issues
Not keeping fit and healthy
Anxiety
Stress in the workplace
Poor sleep not reported Poor sleep reported

12. November 2019Health & wellbeing in the
Automotive industry
© Ben 2019 ben.org.uk
November 2019Health & wellbeing in the
automotive industry
12
Actions for businesses

13. November 2019Health & wellbeing in the
Automotive industry
Actions for businesses
Tips for supporting employees and promoting good health & wellbeing
13© Ben 2019 ben.org.uk
2. Understand management styles
Managers have a vital role in managing stress in the
workplace. Use tools like the Line Manager Competency
Indicator Tool by HSE to understand how management
styles can contribute to stress.
3. Create the culture
Encourage wellbeing through supportive leadership
styles and management practices. Have regular 1-1s to
check-in with employees – get to know the person, not
just the role and have an open door policy to let
employees know you are available to talk at any time.
1. Ben4Business
Ben partners exclusively with automotive businesses to
help them improve the health and wellbeing of their
employees:
a) BenTraining - including Managing Mental Health in
the Workplace, Mental Health First Aid and
Wellbeing training
b) BenatWork sessions for employees learning how to
cope with stress in engaging and interactive
sessions
c) Health and wellbeing content via email, online and
via our helpline and support services for individuals

14. July 2019Health & wellbeing
in the automotive industry
ben4business@ben.org.uk
Or find out more at:
www.ben.org.uk/Ben4Business
Let's work together:
01344 298 135