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The number of individuals on social networks, particularly Instagram and Giphy, searching about Mental Health At Work Interventions continues to grow exponentially. A penny for your thoughts on Mental Health At Work Interventions? The twin goals of increasing employee engagement and creating a mentally healthy workplace are interdependent. Whether work is causing the health issue or aggravating it, employers have a legal responsibility to help their employees. Work-related mental health issues must to be assessed to measure the levels of risk to staff. Where a risk is identified, steps must be taken to remove it or reduce it as far as reasonably practicable. The shift from the industrial economy, driven by physical labour in often brutal conditions, to the digital economy, fuelled by mental labour in sanitised offices, means work has never felt safer. But this facade of safety barely hides what the modern workplace has become: a toxic cesspit of relentless, deadly stress, where a majority of the world’s population spends a third of their adult life. Often people do not recognise (or want to recognise or want anyone else to recognise) that they are struggling with their mental health and other people will notice it first. If you see that someone you know – a friend, colleague, family member or employee – is showing the signs of a mental health difficulty, please don’t ignore it. Our end goal is to build an inclusive workplace where everyone feels safe and valued. This means we have to rid ourselves of the stigma attached to mental health and draw attention to its impact on overall health. Mental wellbeing at work is not isolated from wellbeing at home and vice versa. Being healthy and happy in one can significantly improve wellbeing in the other. Over the past 25 years the Government and policy makers have increased the priority given to improving awareness and treatment of mental health. More specifically, there was a subtle shift in the direction of government policies towards community engagement, in the 2009 ‘New Horizons-Towards a shared vision for mental health action programme’. Make sure communication methods are seamless. Establish an ‘open-door policy’ to let your employees know you’re always available should they need to talk. Schedule regular one-to-ones to catch up with employees, check in on them and give them regular opportunities to talk about things on their mind. We will all be touched by mental ill health at some stage in our lives and some of us live with a mental health condition. Leaders and managers must build their levels of confidence around mental health issues to better include people with mental ill health in our teams, and to enable appropriate support of employees during illness and recovery. When mental illness isn't addressed, it's got costs for both the person and their workplace. Work stress, including mental stress, increases absenteeism, reduces productivity, and drives up indemnities and healthcare costs. Don't forget to send out proper internal communications around workplace wellbeing support in your organisation. # Mental Health Is Something We All Have We don’t need to make all our line managers mental health experts, but they’ve got to demonstrate and understand that empathetic connection with their team and their people, to see where they need help. The cost of poor mental health to Government is between £24 billion and £27 billion. This includes costs in providing benefits, falls in tax revenue and costs to the NHS. Feeling emotionally drained or stressed at work is directly correlated to distractions in the work environment, lost productivity, and uncertainty about the future. But failing to manage this stress properly can result in total burnout or lead to serious mental health issues like depression and anxiety. And that’s only half the equation. These mental health issues can cause physical problems, like high blood pressure and chronic diseases. productivity levels but when pressure exceeds people’s ability to cope – and particularly when there is no respite – it can become a negative rather than a positive force – in other words, it can lead to unmanageable stress. Workplace stress is incredibly common, so it’s super-important that you nip it in the bud before it gets serious. Subjects such as how to manage an employee with anxiety can be tackled by getting the appropriate support in place. The pace of work and life is very fast. When pressure is felt as growth not stress, then the outcomes are good- improved job satisfaction, contribution, engagement, creativity, and innovation. When pressure gets too much, outcomes are not so positive – for the employee, their family or other team members. If we spend our time worrying about emails we need to send, a project that needs finessing, or the results our boss is expecting, these blessings can become a source of stress. And that means our quality time with the people who matter is impacted, not only by our stress, but our distractedness. Think about the resilience, tenacity and mental toughness required to manage ongoing mental health issues, manage your finances, relationships, succeed at work, and to deal with the challenges we face every day. Living with a mental illness takes serious self-awareness, courage, and insight, not to mention the vulnerability and openness required to address and work through issues that arise from it. Think about how we talk about mental health today, the variety of terminology we have to name our emotions, feelings, thoughts, behaviors, and actions. We haven’t always had these terms of expression. What we use now is an evolution of and reference to the original terminology created in a clinical setting, that was eventually adapted into larger societal usage. One in five people will experience ‘mild to moderate’ mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression. A smaller percentage will experience episodes of more severe mental health conditions; for example, psychosis or thoughts of suicide. Similarly to any change that happens within organizations, discussions around workplace wellbeing ideas need planning and implementing properly. # Treating People As Individuals While attitudes towards employee health and wellbeing have improved significantly in recent years, there is still a lack of understanding and support for mental health issues in the modern workplace. So much so, that a recent study by Business in the Community (BITC) found that 15% of employees who chose to divulge a mental health issue faced dismissal, disciplinary action or demotion. There are many effective actions that organizations can take to promote mental health in the workplace; such actions may also benefit productivity. Work is good for mental health and well-being and aids recovery, even for people with the most severe mental health conditions. For a long time, talking about mental health was a taboo subject, and it still can be for some people. Talk about stress management, self-care and mental health in emails, meetings etc. If your employees trust that you won’t think they are “crazy” then they are more likely to speak up and receive treatment. Some organizations have on-staff mental health professionals to support team members. Army barracks in the U.K. have their own resident psychologists, and the U.S. Department of Defense employs more psychologists than any other employer in the country. Ideally, all organizations would have sufficient support from mental health professionals, but the current widespread shortage of mental health providers could cause a bottleneck. Discussing ideas such as employers duty of care mental health is good for the staff and the organisation as a whole. Mental health is an integral part of how we feel about our jobs, how well we perform and how well we interact with colleagues, customers and clients. All employers can and should provide employees with good working conditions and ensure they have a healthy work life balance and opportunities for development. Poor mental health and stress can negatively affect employee job performance, engagement and communication — not to mention business results. Mental health disorders are very common and rising. This causes human suffering and depletes the economic vitality of communities and nations. Employers offer work place wellness programs to improve the health and well-being of their employees, increase their productivity, reduce their risk of costly chronic diseases, and improve control of chronic conditions. In 2012, half of all employers with at least 50 employees offered programs, and nearly half of employers without a program said they intend to introduce one. Communication that emphasizes that leadership cares about concepts such as managing employees with mental health issues should be welcomed in the working environment. # Offer Access To Apps For millions of us a good deal of our waking hours are spent at work, with the rest of the time often divided between travelling to work and worrying about work. Some of us even manage to fit some time to sleep into our hectic schedules. It’s no wonder, then, that mental health in the workplace is becoming an increasingly pressing issue. Being burned out means feeling empty and mentally exhausted, devoid of motivation, and beyond caring. People experiencing burnout often don’t see any hope of positive change in their situations. If excessive stress feels like you’re drowning in responsibilities, burnout is a sense of being all dried up. And while you’re usually aware of being under a lot of stress, you don’t always notice burnout when it happens. Research confirms that a culture of fear and silence around mental health is costly to employers. Starting a conversation about mental health doesn't have to be difficult. You can find supplementary facts regarding Mental Health At Work Interventions on this World Health Organisation web page. Related Articles: |
