Many employers encourage an ethos that supports staff, by encouraging colleagues to look out for each other and by allowing work patterns to be flexible enough to account for individual needs. If employers are unsure of how to approach mental health and avoid the subject completely, employees may feel afraid of opening up to them about their struggles. And, if employees aren’t talking about their mental health, employers won’t learn how to approach it. Go figure. When we create workplace cultures where people can be themselves, it is easier for people to speak about mental health concerns without fear, and easier for them to reach out for help when they need it. Even so, the decision to disclose distress at work is not one people take lightly. It is vital that workplaces become environments where people feel safe to be themselves. You don’t need to be a trained therapist to help someone with mental health issues; you just need to be a supportive empathic human who makes an effort to understand what someone is going through. Whether it’s an economic crisis, political unrest, natural disasters or other big current events, there’s always something that’s emotionally, financially, socially, or physically impacting people and potentially causing tremendous stress. There is much evidence to show that having a healthy workforce leads to happier, more engaged and more loyal staff. Your organisations reputation will also get a boost when it begins to be recognised as a mentally healthy, supportive workforce.
By measuring psychological safety regularly, and by implementing active processes and habits to hardwire it into the machinery of the company, we can not only preserve the company culture, but more importantly, keep it healthy too. Traditionally, when articulating the business case for managing people’s health, employers focused on quantifying the negative impact of ill health such as the cost of sickness absence. Recent thinking reflects a more positive business case. Good mental health means being generally able to think, feel and react in the ways that you need and want to live your life. But if you go through a period of poor mental health, you might find the ways you’re frequently thinking, feeling or reacting become difficult, or even impossible, to cope with. This can feel just as bad as a physical illness, or even worse. Discussions or meetings about performance should concentrate on the individual’s work and how it is being impacted, but asking simple, open questions about how the employee is and whether anything is affecting their performance can encourage people to talk about any health issues. It is also useful to explore any other potential workplace issues, such as negative relationships with colleagues, which may be impacting on the employee’s well-being and, in turn, their performance. Don't forget to send out proper internal communications around managing employees with mental health issues in your organisation.
Model Healthy Behaviors
It’s simple to host a virtual wellness event or offer employees a well-being stipend. What’s less straightforward is asking your team what they need, genuinely listening, and responding accordingly. In a world that feels like it’s changing by the hour, it’s critical to get a sense of how your employees’ well-being is changing, too. Healthy workplaces deliver greater productivity, improve workforce participation and increase social inclusion. It’s important to get this right because the consequences of ill health on individuals, their families, communities and the economy are profound. Personality disorder is a type of mental health problem where your attitudes, beliefs and behaviours cause you long-standing problems in your life. If you have this diagnosis, it doesn’t mean that you’re fundamentally different from other people – but you may regularly experience difficulties with how you think about yourself and others, and find it very difficult to change these unwanted patterns. In any one year, over one in four people in the general population and one in six workers is likely to be suffering from a mental health condition. With over 31 million people in work in the UK, this is equivalent to over five million workers who could be suffering from a mental health condition each year. Good managers don’t try and do too much and do not try to be therapists. They are conscious of the signs of poor mental health, clear on the support available and ‘check in’ with individuals at appropriate times. They encourage safe disclosure and employee led ideas for adjustments. Managers who show empathy, compassion, fairness and consistency have been found to be respected, and have kept more valued talent at work. This includes undertaking basic manager duties such as 1-to-1s, appraisals and catch-ups. Organisations can make sure their employee benefits package provides support for employers duty of care mental health today.
Larger employers can and should increase transparency and accountability through internal and external reporting, to include a leadership commitment and outline of the organisation’s approach to mental health. Experiences of mental health are so different from person to person, but it affects us all and it’s impacted by many different aspects of our lives, including work. So how can workplaces help? It’s well recognised that excessive or sustained work pressure can lead to stress. Occupational stress poses a risk to businesses and can result in higher sickness absence, lower staff engagement and reduced productivity. Adopting a positive culture that nurtures your people can have a massive effect on job satisfaction, how engaged your people are with their roles and – ultimately – their mental health. But we’re not talking about beanbags and football tables here. The material stuff doesn’t matter. Your company culture is about the way things are done within your business. Individuals who struggle with poor mental health may suffer from distressing symptoms that can impair their ability to participate in everyday activities. For example, major depressive disorder (MDD), can include symptoms of feeling worthless, suicidal ideation, loss of interest in activities, changes in sleep or appetite or difficulty concentrating. These symptoms can negatively affect functionality at work and strain personal and work relationships. Communication that emphasizes that leadership cares about concepts such as workplace wellbeing ideas should be welcomed in the working environment.
Trust And Integrity Are Key Drivers Of Engagement
There’s no question that presenteeism is difficult to define and even more difficult to tackle. What we’re talking about here is not the kind of presenteeism that means people are staying at their desks longer than necessary in an effort to show how hard they are working - although that’s not great either. Many people still feel uncomfortable talking about mental health at work. It’s personal and often a sensitive issue which people may not feel confident in talking openly about. We must be wary of the toxic positivity trend around mental health. Just two years ago, an article in the Guardian reported a Friends of Life survey that said 40% of people from a variety of industries had mental health problems but kept them hidden from employers - half of the respondents thought disclosure would damage their career. Time to Change meanwhile, say 9 out of 10 people with mental health problems experience stigma and discrimination. If it is not already offered, push for your company to offer a wellness program or wellness stiped at your workplace. This encourages employees to prioritize their wellness and incentivizes them to do the things that they need to remain healthy. Similarly to any change that happens within organizations, discussions around how to manage an employee with anxiety need planning and implementing properly.
More people are in work with a mental health condition than ever before, but many individuals with mental health problems are struggling emotionally, off sick, less productive, or leaving employment. 300,000 people with a long term mental health condition leave employment every year, equivalent of the whole population of Newcastle or Belfast. Social wellbeing is woven into all other aspects of your life. Even though there is a strong relationship between income and perceived standard of living, having strong career and social wellbeing substantially raises perceived standard of living across all income categories. Leadership stoicism is a dangerous trend and unhelpful in the effort to create open workplace cultures. It is a strength for leaders to show vulnerability and courage as a role model in discussing mental health. Putting workplace support in place for mental health early to deal with any issues could prevent the problem escalating and having a larger impact on both the individual and the team. You may have a physical job like construction or teaching – you’ll notice if you are off sick because of injury or physical illness how quickly your mood starts to be affected by the change in activity level. If you work in an office it can make a huge difference to get out for a walk or do a class at lunchtime, or to build in exercise before or after work. Thinking about concepts such as workplace wellbeing support is really helpful in a workplace environment.
Psychological Demands
Promoting health and preventing harm to mental health and wellbeing is important because it’s the smart thing to do: promoting mental health and preventing harm makes good business sense for a high performing organisation. Work is a key factor in supporting and protecting mental health. The workplace mental health and wellbeing survey identified that 86% of all respondents believed that their job and being at work was important to protecting and maintaining their mental health. Evidence-based mental health promotion and prevention programs are sound investments. Promotion and prevention programs, for example, can mitigate rates at which individuals develop symptoms and mental health disorders. The economic benefit of mental health promotion also includes lowered use of health care and reduced morbidity and mortality. One can uncover additional intel on the topic of Employee Mental Health Initiatives on this World Health Organisation web page.
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