Winter wellbeing strategies to boost business resilience

Anyone who is suffering, or suspects a staff member or colleague is struggling this winter should act early and use the wide range of dedicated agricultural support groups.

Experts from two such groups, Farming Community Network (FCN) head of operations and communications Alex Phillimore, and Farm Safety Foundation (FSF) manager Stephanie Berkeley, offer tips on improving mental resilience to help people stay fit and limit the potential impact of poor mental health on their businesses.

Staying positive can be tougher during the darker months, but in the current political, environmental and trading climate it’s arguably harder than ever this winter.

How widespread is poor mental health?

According to annual research carried out for FSF in autumn 2025, mental wellbeing among farmers and farmworkers in all age brackets has now declined below the UK average.

“A measure called the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale shows wellbeing has dropped to its lowest point in four years. The sharpest decline recorded is among those aged 61 and over,” Stephanie says.

“Over the past 12 months there has been a dramatic and deeply concerning collapse in mental health among some of the most experienced members of our farming community,” she says.

It’s a profound shift and the effect on farm business resilience could be significant.

The important messages to bear in mind are:

• You are not alone – support is readily available
• Mental wellbeing is as real and important as physical health
• Tackle mental health issues early
• It’s not just you – mental health issues are common

Impacts on business resilience and coping strategies

Poor mental health in agriculture significantly affects business resilience by:

• Increasing the risk of accidents
• Reducing productivity and efficiency
• Hindering decision making
• Contributing to more rapid staff turnover.

Increased safety risks

Based on data from the past three years, there is a clear relationship between mental wellbeing and accidents.

Farmers with lower levels of mental wellbeing are more likely to take risks, overlook dangers and skip essential safety steps such as wearing protective equipment and conducting hazard assessments.

“That may be because people with poor mental health suffer low esteem and often stop caring about themselves, believing they no longer matter,” says Stephanie.

It can also be that during times of stress people are less focused. Brain fog is a common symptom of elevated stress levels, while exhaustion through sleep deprivation also severely reduces the capacity to concentrate on a task.

This is dangerous on farms where jobs involve heavy machinery or with livestock. Injury risks are increased when tiredness and poor concentration reduce work rates and cause tasks to build up.

“Inevitably there is pressure to cut corners in a bid to catch up, and that is an extremely risky approach,” Stephanie warns.

The impact of an accident is profound on farm business. If you or a staff member are injured, the loss of work days incurs significant costs and puts pressure on the wider team, she says.

Coping strategies

The most important message is put safety first, do not cut corners on health and safety. Safety procedures must be followed and protocols reinforced across the team. Key is to have a safe working culture led by senior staff that extends throughout the workforce.

Staff should be encouraged to reinforce the safety message so that they look out for each other as well as their own safety, says Stephanie.

Reduced productivity and efficiency

Mental health and stress directly affect our energy levels and this is compounded by associated disturbed sleep patterns. “It means we could feel less like tackling a task and end up putting it off or leaving it altogether,” Alex says.

Timeliness is key to efficient farming and windows of opportunity to treat livestock or crops can be missed so productivity falls.

Putting off tasks also means they stack up and there is less time available to spend on each one. The resulting mountain of work adds further to the mental challenge.

Coping strategies

“When you or staff are feeling overwhelmed by work, be selective and focus on things within your control,” says Alex.

• List tasks – Identify and list the things where you can effect change. Rank them and tackle the most urgent thing first.
• Group tasks – Improve efficiency by scheduling the most important tasks for times when you will have the most energy.
• Set smaller targets – Set smaller, achievable targets to make step-by-step progression – don’t do too much at once.

Impaired decision making

During mental lows, fears and concerns colour our judgment and tend to lead to more reactive, less positive and less well thought-out decisions.

“With a less positive outlook the long-term strategy can be overlooked at the expense of making the business more resilient and sustainable,” says Alex.

Coping strategies

It is difficult to recognise symptoms of your own poor mental health. An issue can develop gradually. It may be someone else that notices a change in your behaviour. If someone points out that your behaviour has changed it’s important not to ignore or dismiss it.

“Take a step back and think about your behaviour and whether it has changed, and check it against a list of potential symptoms,” he says.

Potential symptoms

• A more pessimistic, gloomy or negative approach than usual
• Feeling stressed more quickly
• Surprisingly small things might make you react negatively
• Unusually tired or demotivated
• Lacking the drive to socialise
• More irritable/shorter temper.

Building mental resilience

Whether or not you are suffering now, there are actions to build your mental resilience to help you cope better with the turbulent situation in farming, says Alex.

Coping strategies

• Don’t be hard on yourself – celebrate wins
• Don’t dwell too much on things you cannot control – avoid social media threads that wind you up
• Improve sleep patterns – write down your concerns before you go to bed and try to make a plan for tomorrow
• Develop a non-farming interest
• Talk about issues that concern you – someone else may offer a helpful perspective.

Staffing retention issues

The UK is in a recruitment crisis with the former labour supply from eastern Europe severely restricted since Brexit and the start of the Ukraine conflict.

It is now incredibly difficult and costly to replace staff, so losses associated with mental wellbeing issues can hit businesses hard.

As well as days lost through staff needing to rest and recover, low esteem can disrupt the work environment and affect team spirit. Some team members may have to step up to cover for a colleague.

For some, mental ill health is less easy to understand than a physical injury, so one worker may feel another is not pulling their weight.

This can lead to conflict among teams.

Coping strategies

The starting point is to create a culture in the business that treats mental ill health as a serious condition and normalises it as a conversation topic.

Acknowledge these are challenging times and ensure the team knows it is OK not to be OK.

“We have to bring mental wellbeing out into the open and this must come from the top because when the boss takes the issue seriously the team will do the same,” Alex says.

When a team member is struggling, make sure the team works to support them. To keep the message live, use printed resources with charity contact details and post them on noticeboards, offices and in toilets.

Regular conversations with every staff member are a sound idea because these will help to show up any behavioural changes.

Spotting the signs of poor mental health

“This is difficult. It may not be the quiet, gloomy person in the team that is suffering,” Alex says. “It may be the joker or the bullish one that has an issue.”

A key sign is a change in a person’s character suggesting something is not okay.

Outward signs of poor mental health include:

• Irritability
• Mood swings
• Drop-off in performance
• Forgetfulness
• Appearing distracted
• Poor concentration

When an issue with a member of staff does arise or you suspect that someone may be suffering, don’t avoid the awkward conversation.

“Make yourself available to talk and immediately provide reassurance – be compassionate and show you understand,” advises Alex.