As well as raising funds, the annual event raises awareness of a condition very much on the rise. Anxiety, this year’s theme, affects around 1 in 6 UK people – meaning one day, this could well be you or a family member.
For people in the people business, it’s critical to recognise warning signs of staff burning out or worse. Today we’re supporting leaders, hiring managers and HR professionals about ways to manage mental health at work.
Managing mental health at work
Most of us spend considerable time working – and will likely do so until well into our sixties these days! With so much time spent at work, employees need to be happy in their role to maintain good mental health. So, how can our employers help?
Here are our top 5 tips for keeping staff tip-top mentally and happy to work.
Know your obligations
Anxiety and depression don’t care about age, gender or background – they can impact anyone at any time. This means any staff member at some stage might fall prey to a mental health condition, and you need to know what to do if and when that happens.
Most businesses nowadays have a Mental Health and Wellbeing policy. The document can help both employees and employers understand support mechanisms to help anyone suffering from a mental health problem. Most important is ensuring your staff know this document exists and where to find it. It will help them recognise how you can support them specifically with ways to navigate a tricky period.
If you don’t yet have a policy – and you’re unsure how to create one – the Health and Safety Executive website has lots of information to help you.
Check in regularly
With so much flexible working nowadays, including remote-based staff, it’s not surprising teams can lack the stickiness of working in the same environment. While it can feel nice being left to your own devices, for some staff members, it impacts well-being and leaves them feeling detached or completely lost.
Make sure you have a regular check-in diarised with all team members. Whether it’s daily, weekly or monthly, work out a timetable that works for each individual and stick to it. Even if it’s only a 5-minute ‘hello, how are you?’, it’s essential to the well-being of your team to see you are there – and you care. It also provides an opportunity to pick up on minor niggles before they become major issues.
Keep the door wedged open
Talking through our problems is so important, and it’s no different at work.
Do your team members know who to talk to if they are feeling flat or anxious? Most large organisations have a Health and Safety Officer who can help signpost staff towards the right specialist support, whether it’s an internal resource or external. While small businesses may not have a dedicated staff member for well-being, there should still be a means for staff to speak with someone confidentially about any problems.
While some staff won’t feel happy speaking with a manager, always present the option to them. Having an open-door policy encourages staff to approach you proactively when something is on their mind.
Support downtime
Everybody feels ‘stress’ as a result of their work at some stage. Yet occasional stress and ongoing anxiety are very different things.
Unfortunately, regular bouts of stress can quickly build into something more serious. If you know a staff member is feeling under pressure, don’t help facilitate a boil-over. Encourage time away from work if you know they’re struggling; a half-day of downtime is easier to cover than several weeks of long-term stress leave.
If your business has foreknown busy periods, plan correctly so no one person feels the impact. If there is no way to avoid extra demand on your team, put a mechanism in place to reward them immediately after the fact – an additional day’s holiday, for example.
Make work positive
When it comes to mental health issues, prevention is always the best medicine. What can you do to support staff before they are impacted mentally?
First of all, create the right environment for your staff to thrive. A company culture should always be a positive one if you want the best for your people.
Second, be flexible. It’s high up on most people’s must-have list nowadays, and allowing your staff a say about how, when and where they conduct their work is a huge motivator for many.
Finally, hold regular out-of-work events. Picnics, trips to the races, or team dinners – give your teams an opportunity to let their hair down outside of core working hours and have FUN!
As today is Wear it Green Day, One to One is joining in to support The Mental Health Foundation in carrying out vital research and delivering programmes for different communities. 1 in 6 of us is affected by mental health problems every week. Find out more here: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/get-involved/events-and-fundraising/do-your-own-fundraising/wear-it-green-day
Do you need support finding new hires for your business? Permanent or part-time, 121 Recruitment can help you. Call our team today for a chat!