It’s a sensitive subject and one that can leave business owners, and staff, feeling vulnerable and unsure how to handle things.
Statistics show that around 15% of working adults are now living with a mental health condition* and that 1 in 4 adults will experience a mental health problem each year. While anxiety, depression and stress are the most common, mental health essentially is an umbrella term that includes our emotional, psychological and social wellbeing and affects how we think, feel and act. “It helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others and make choices,” explains Cathy O’Donoghue, Director at HR Champions Ltd. “Just as we have physical health, we have mental health and with that comes both good days and bad days. A person with poor mental health will have consistently more bad days than good and sometimes struggle to perform the most basic tasks in life and in in work.”
That’s why a mentally healthy workplace is so important today with reports showing that of the UK’s top companies, around 96% of them offer some form of mental health support. Proven to boost employee morale, reduce turnover and strengthen the business’ reputation, regardless of how big or small your business is, it’s important to consider how you handle mental health in the workplace.
Always check in with your team
Te first thing you can do is to have regular 121s with your staff to see how they are feeling, address any concerns they might be having and give them an opportunity and a safe space to bring up issues that might be causing their mental health to suffer. This will also help you to understand the root cause, as while it might be impacting their work and causing them to underperform or call in sick, it may well be personal issues outside of work that is the trigger.
“We are not mental health experts so we have to follow a process and if a person is saying that they have poor mental health, then we need to find out what they are struggling with. It could be that they have too much work and are overwhelmed, it could be poor relationships in the workplace and they feel they are being bullied or harassed or it could be something outside of work that is impacting their ability to concentrate inside of work – for example, something medical such as menopause or a family illness which is impacting their day to day life,” continues Cathy. “Other causes are varied but common foundations are stress, traumatic experiences such as bereavement, physical and mental abuse, relationship breakdowns, and stressful events.”
Once you have had this conversation, you can then decide the best course of action to take, whether that’s taking time off, making adjustments at work, referring them to an Occupation Health professional or their GP, or even introducing them to self-help techniques such as mindfulness, regular exercise and the importance of sleep. “All of these could help the individual feel better and hopefully improve their wellbeing and performance,” says Cathy.
How to have those tricky conversations
It might feel frustrating, especially if your business is suffering or other staff members are being impacted but it’s important to make your staff member feel comfortable enough to be open with you and that you will listen without judgement. Cathy suggests working through these steps:
- Let them tell you how they are feeling and listen with your full attention.
- Give them time and have patience as they may be struggling to put how they feel into words.
- Don’t finish their sentences or jump in with what you think they should do.
- Maintain eye contact, keep an open body position and be aware of your tone of voice.
- Ask open questions.
- Repeat back what they have told you to demonstrate that you have been listening and that you have understood.
How to deal with other staff members
Obviously if someone has a visible condition at work everyone can make allowances to make their work life easier but when it's a mental health concern it can make other team members feel uncomfortable, or even cause them to harbour resent towards those receiving special treatment.
“We should be mindful about how any reasonable adjustments we make for one person will affect others in the team. This is where those 121s with your staff and check ins about how they are doing are crucial. If you detect an undercurrent of resentment talk to team members before it becomes a bigger issue but remember that any conversations you have with individuals about their mental health is strictly private and confidential,” says Cathy. Of course, if that person chooses to share that information with their colleagues about how they’re feeling or what is going on then it’s fine, but you cannot share this information without their consent.
Make sure any senior members of your team are aware of your mental health strategies too. Equip them with the skills to identify any challenges, create an open dialogue around mental wellbeing and encourage them to act as a bridge between staff and management which can help to form a culture of care. By understanding ways that you can create an environment where employees feel supported, you’ll not only be able to show all staff how valuable they are to your business, it will also help boost organisational and overall success.
*World Health Organisation 2022 Survey
Words by Becci Vallis, Vitality Editor