World Mental Health Day: Taking positive action on mental health in the workplace in summary:
- World Mental Health Day is the ideal time for people professionals to evaluate how they can contribute to supporting positive working environments.
- HR teams can do this by encouraging senior leaders to set the standard for positive mental wellbeing, and supporting line managers in understanding how best to organise work and resources in their teams.
- In addition, line managers should be given better training in how to support employee mental health.
World Mental Health Day this year is on the 10th October this year… and the topic of mental health in the workplace has never been more relevant.
Despite great strides by many organisations to tackle poor mental health in the workplace, it’s still a huge issue. In fact, research by Deloitte this year discovered that the cost to employers of poor employee mental health is estimated to around £51 BILLION per year. That’s a staggering figure!
Unfortunately, that figure is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to mind-boggling stats around the issue of mental health at work. For example:
- Only 32% of organisations train their line managers to support staff with poor mental health (CIPD)
- 51% of managers said they considered a worker who was mentally unwell to be a ‘liability’ (TalkOut)
- Managers are more likely to have a diagnosed mental health problem than any other group of employees (Ipsos MORI/Teladco Health)
- 62% of managers said they have had to put the company ahead of employee wellbeing (Business in the Community)
- 49% of professionals believe they have unequal access to career progression opportunities because of their mental health (Hays)
- Over 20% of employees believe the key to positive workplace cultures are improved mental wellbeing initiatives (Cezanne)
Clearly, the topic of mental health isn’t just a flash in the pan trend. It’s something every business – both large and small – must take seriously… and fortunately, it seems that’s exactly what they’re doing.
Taking positive action on mental health in the workplace
The MAD World Summit taking place on the 17th October, and the aforementioned World Mental Health Day are both designed to bring together some of the latest thinking and best practice around tackling mental health at work. But it’s important to note that work isn’t the only factor in mental health. It’s a highly complex issue, influenced by many factors in people’s personal lives as well.
Figures from the World Health Organisation show that one in four people likely to experience a mental health issue at some time in their lives. And, with stress and poor mental health a leading cause of sickness absence in the UK, it’s clear that what happens during the usual 9-5 is playing a major part.
Now, there are many well-meaning organisational mental wellbeing initiatives out there – with lunchtime yoga sessions, meditation rooms, mindfulness sessions and healthy lifestyle programmes all now common sights in in the workplace.
The problem, however, is that they’re sticking plaster approaches, which are failing to get to the heart of the issue – which is the way we treat and manage people at work.
For example:
- If businesses insist on constantly expecting employees to achieve ridiculously high amounts of output, while at the same time cutting the support and resources they need to do the job, people will burn out physically and mentally.
- When business leaders set unrealistic targets or impose ‘fake’ deadlines to ‘push people out of their comfort zone,’ stress levels will rise, along with the sickness absences that follow.
- And, if businesses fail recognise that people have lives outside work, and often need flexibility to juggle conflicting demands and responsibilities, talented people will continue to crumble.
In other words, people need to stop being treated like machines, and more like human beings – kind of simple when you think about it!
Changes you can help make to support positive workplace mental health
As an HR professional, there’s a few key things you can do to bring about positive change around mental health. These include:
Senior leaders need to walk the organisational talk
If your organization wants to encourage an open and supportive culture where people feel comfortable discussing issues like stress, anxiety, and depression, leaders must stop putting on a mask, show compassion, and admit their own vulnerabilities.
So, highlight this fact to your own company’s senior leaders, and look to support them in their efforts of leading by example.
HR needs to support managers in understanding how best to organise work and resources in their teams.
Your company’s managers need to know what a manageable workload looks like. They also need to understand how more flexible working patterns can support productivity and customer service, and to be aware of how technological solutions can streamline work and cut down on unnecessary time-consuming processes.
Sometimes, small measures, like letting people adjust their working hours so they don’t have the stress of travelling in the rush hour, can make a real difference. So, start a dialogue with them to learn how you can support them in managing their resources more effectively
Line managers need training in how to support employee mental health.
Your line managers likely aren’t mental health experts. They need to know how to spot the red flags that show someone is under pressure and needs help. They need the confidence to enter into open, transparent dialogue with their people, and the skills to manage conversations appropriately. And, know when an issue has gone beyond something they can personally deal with.
Luckily, there are a wealth of support and resources out there to help with the latter – Mental Health First Aid England offers mental health champion courses as well as a range of online resources for line managers.
Mind also has a whole range of training courses, as well as a joint guide with the CIPD on managing mental health at work. The Business Disability Forum also has an informative guide to help managers have sensitive conversations at work.
World Mental Health Day has done a great job in raising awareness of the pressing need to tackle mental health at work. The challenge for organisations now is to take a step back and think about whether they are really getting to the root of the issue, and how they can maintain the momentum.
Erika Lucas
Writer and Communications Consultant
Erika Lucas is a writer and communications consultant with a special interest in HR, leadership, management and personal development. Her career has spanned journalism and PR, with previous roles in regional press, BBC Radio, PR consultancy, charities and business schools.
