Ben is showing support to the industry during Mental Health Awareness Week and announced that its blogs on anxiety and depression are the “most popular” among website visitors.

Mental health issues were the second biggest concern for automotive industry people during 2017, accounting for 31% of all contacts to Ben’s helpline, and a series of new blogs offered by the Ben charity have sought to offer support and advice during Mental Health Awarnesness Week 2018 (May 14 to 20).

The charity said that the "most popular" pieces of online blog content on its website are around anxiety, with over 10,000 views, and depression, with over 5,000 views (April 2017 to April 2018). Anxiety and depression are also regularly in the top five reasons why people seek support from Ben’s helpline.

Ben’s chief executive, Zara Ross, said: “This Mental Health Awareness Week, we want to make sure that the people of the automotive industry know we are here for them when they need us.

“The automotive industry continues to go through a challenging time and this means that, now more than ever, we need to be there for the people who keep it running, day in, day out.

“We are here for employers too and our mental health training in the workplace has proven really popular and effective.

"At Ben, we are well placed to advise automotive employers of the potential issues currently facing their employees so they can offer the relevant support.”

This year’s Mental Health Awareness Week has a focus on stress and questions whether ‘we are coping’, in response Ben has launched a tool to check anxiety and stress levels amongst other resources.

Ben launched its first training service last year, offering support and guidance specifically around mental health and well-being.