How to support mental well-being using 6 core standards

One in four people in the UK will experience a mental health problem at some point in their life and one in six will experience mental health problems at work including anxiety and depression. Research conducted by mental health charity MIND confirmed that a culture of fear and silence still exists around mental health and is extremely costly to employers. Their research highlighted that:

• More than one in five (21%) of employees agreed that they had called in sick to avoid work when asked how workplace stress had affected them.
• 14% agreed that they had resigned and 42% had considered resigning when asked how workplace stress had affected them.
• 30% of staff disagreed with the statement ‘I would feel able to talk openly with my line manager if I was feeling stressed’.
• 56% of employers said they would like to do more to improve staff wellbeing but don't feel they have the right training or guidance.

With workplace stress increasingly becoming more common place it’s imperative that employers create open and supportive workplaces that benefit everyone, employees, employers and the bottom line.

In January 2017 the Prime Minister appointed Dennis Stevenson and Paul Farmer to conduct an independent review into how employers can better support all employees including those with poor mental health or wellbeing to remain in and thrive at work. The report made key recommendations for all employers to adopt six ‘mental health core standards’ that lay the basic foundations for an approach to workplace mental health. These mental health core standards can make a significant difference in the workplace and include:

CORE STANDARD ONE

Ensuring that employers produce, implement and communicate a mental health at work plan that encourages and promotes good mental health of all staff and an open organisational culture. This should include how you will promote the wellbeing of staff, how you will tackle the work related causes of mental health problems, how you will support staff experiencing poor mental health, signposting to relevant sources of information and support both inside and outside of your organisation. In addition offering clear objectives which are shaped around your organisational vision, referring to the Equality Act 2010 and acknowledging that mental health may be classified as a disability and ensuring that staff can easily access it at all times

CORE STANDARD TWO

Developing mental health awareness amongst employees by making information, tools and support accessible and embedding mental health in induction plans and training, ensuring your staff know what support is available. It was also suggested that employers, raise the profile of mental health by inviting a speaker of mental health in as part of a diversity, disability or mental health awareness activity. Furthermore, employers were encouraged to make the most of internal communications by raising awareness through blogs, staff newsletters, magazines and the intranet.

CORE STANDARD THREE

Encourage open conversations about mental health and the support available when employees are struggling, during the recruitment process and at regular intervals throughout employment, with appropriate workplace adjustments offered to employees who require them.

CORE STANDARD FOUR

Provide your employees with good working conditions and ensure that they have a healthy work life balance and opportunities for development.

CORE STANDARD FIVE

Promote effective people management to ensure all employees have a regular conversation about their health and well-being with their line manager, supervisor or organisational leader and train and support line managers in effective management practices.

CORE STANDARD SIX

Routinely monitor employee mental health and wellbeing by understanding available data, talking to employees and understanding risk factors.

It is essential that as an employer you take care of your employees and look after their well-being and recognise the triggers for stress and mental health problems. These can often include a culture that incorporates long hours and no breaks, unrealistic expectations or deadlines, overly pressurised working environments, unmanageable workloads or lack of control over work, inability to use annual leave, poor physical working environments, high risk working or lone working, poor relationships with managers and colleagues, poor internal communication, poor managerial support, job insecurity or poorly managed change, bullying or financial worries.

This can be done through regular one to one’s and catch up’s to understand how your employees are doing, if there are any stresses or problems that can be addressed from an early stage. In addition encouraging staff to speak regularly about how they are doing and ensuring that appraisals cover mental well-being and stress and give employees permission to talk about home as well as work issues. Furthermore, it’s imperative that regular clear lines of communication are maintained with all staff especially those who are working in isolation.

To sum up it appears that mental health has been accepted into the political dialogue which is extremely positive and employers can benefit greatly by focusing on their internal approach to mental health and drawing on increasing levels of external expertise and resources. Those employers that don’t re-shift their thinking are going to be at a disadvantage when it comes to attracting and retaining the employees of the future.

 

Check out our info-graphic on "5 simple steps to boost your mental well-being."