The Film and TV Charity’s latest report on health and wellbeing in the U.K. screen industry shows improvements are slowly taking place.

The Looking Glass Report 2022, which is based on a survey of 2,000 screen industry professionals last year, was published on Thursday and shows 80% of respondents felt there had been a positive change in culture and behavior throughout the U.K. screen industry.

According to the report, mental wellbeing scores also improved marginally, from 19.3 to 19.7 on the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (for context, the U.K, average is 23.6) while those reporting poor mental health dropped from 29% to 24%. Meanwhile reports of bullying, harassment, and discrimination dropped from 53% in 2021 to 46% in 2022.

However, 60% of respondents said they were considering leaving the industry due to their mental health, although that number was down from 65% the previous year. With the cost of living crisis biting and the long hours culture remaining in place, the Film and TV Charity continued to pose a threat to mental health and wellbeing.

“Although the picture is a complicated one, the latest Looking Glass Survey results show that positive change can be achieved,” said Alex Pumfrey, CEO of the Film and TV Charity. “In the period since 2019 we have seen a concerted effort by many across the industry to improve on a pretty bleak situation and it is heartening to see that some of that effort is starting to pay dividends, with attitudes and overall mental health scores beginning to move in the right direction.”

Philippa Childs, head of broadcasting and crew union Bectu, commented: “Bectu welcomes the publication of this important research and the pleasing progress it reports on attitudes towards mental health and incidences of bullying and harassment. However, with just 11% of respondents reporting that the industry is a mentally healthy place to work, there is clearly lots more work to do. Across too many metrics the industry is simply too far behind national comparators, and it’s clear that long hours and resulting poor work-life balance are critical issues that need addressing.”

“Progress on some important metrics is however encouraging and clear evidence that the industry is stronger collaborating together,” Childs continued. “Our film and TV industry is world-class and is full of inspiring, dedicated people and organisations pushing for lasting change – we urge the sector to tap into this passion to create a better industry for everyone.”

The full Looking Glass report for 2022 can be accessed at filmtvcharity.org.uk.

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