The Film and TV Charity has announced the launch of its latest Looking Glass Survey into mental health in the industry.
The charity aims to assess the mental health and wellbeing of workers in the UK screen industries following a “protracted period of pressure and uncertainty.” Coming five years after the charity first highlighted a mental health crisis affecting 9 in 10, the new survey is designed for everyone working behind the scenes in film and TV, whether freelance or permanent employee.
Holding “a much-needed mirror up to the industry,” the 2024 Looking Glass survey aims to understand how things have changed for better or worse over the last 18 months, providing hard facts to address an area of serious concern in the sector. It will examine the relationship between financial wellbeing and mental health against a backdrop of continued uncertainty.
The survey is open to all who are either currently working in the sector, or who have been within the last twelve month and the charity wants as many as possible to participate, including under-represented groups and people from across all the nations and regions of the UK.
Marcus Ryder, CEO at the Film and TV Charity, said: “It’s more important than ever, wherever you work in the film, TV, and cinema industry, that you take just one more survey and find the time to engage with Looking Glass 2024. Over three prior iterations, our research has become a bellwether when it comes to mental health and wellbeing in the UK screen industries. The data we’ve gathered has enabled us not only to identify and provide the right support for thousands of workers, but also to take the conversation to the very people who can and should be effecting meaningful change where it’s needed.
“The most recent survey in 2022 indicated that many in the industry felt there were positive changes in attitudes and behaviours around mental health, but that was before the cost-of-living crisis, strikes and production downturn had begun their sustained assault on workplace wellbeing. For these reasons, it’s absolutely vital that we hear from everyone in every corner of the industry again now – so that the Film and TV Charity can develop its support, and so we can rewrite the script when it comes to mental health.”
The Looking Glass survey is available to complete here.
