Promoting positive mental health in the workplace
Mental Health Awareness Week, the UK’s national week to raise awareness of mental health, mental health problems and inspire action to promote the message of good mental health for all. Given the Covid 19 pandemic, the nation is even more vulnerable to mental health problems with job security worries, money worries, health worries and concerns about family and friends affecting more people than ever.
Despite the gradually shifting perception of mental health problems, there is still a general fear in the workplace about admitting mental health problems given the stigma attached.
According to Time to Change:
56% of UK adults said they wouldn’t hire someone with depression even if they were the best candidate for the job;
Less than half of employees say they would be open about stress;
Only 11% would discuss mental health problem with their manager;
One quarter considered leaving their job due to stress; and
35% people think they are less likely to get promoted if they had depression.
This year, the Mental Health Week theme is about kindness; protecting our mental health and the mental health of our employees will be crucial as we continue to navigate our way through the coronavirus pandemic. The impact of the pandemic will be far reaching and long lasting and we need to do what we can to protect and support our people. Kindness and positive mental health are deeply connected.
So, as an employer, what can you do to support your employees and how can you promote positive mental health in your business?
Well firstly, have an understanding how mental health problems can affect people on a day to day basis and how that might impact on work. Look for signs of mental health problems which can lead to mistakes being made and work performance dropping. You may see your employee becoming more tense, more irritable, upset and they may withdraw themselves from activities that would normally have been involved in.
If you see these signs, try to have an open and honest conversation in a private space about what is happening and how you can support and help improve their mental health and work performance. Positive communication and understanding from a manager will encourage an employee suffering with mental health problems to be more open about their situation which in turn can support a quicker recovery.
Signposting your employees to organisations and groups who specialise in supporting and treating mental health problems will demonstrate your company’s commitment, approach and support: Elefriends, Samaritans, Rethink Mental Illness Advice Line and Saneline are all organisations who can help.
Reduce the stigma by taking a proactive approach to positive mental health initiatives, share resources and educate your teams. Time to Change has produced a fantastic resource pack for employers to support initiatives during Mental Health Week and beyond.
Our team at Danton have a full understanding of how mental health problems can affect work performance and we’re on hand to support you, whether that be supporting on implementing initiatives or on supporting specific individuals. Get in touch with us today info@dantonhr.com.