This week (15 – 21 May 2023) is Mental Health Awareness Week and is an important reminder to us all to prioritise the mental health and wellbeing of ourselves and others.
The official theme for this year is ‘Anxiety’ which aims to provide a better understand of what anxiety is, how it affects our mental health and what we can do to manage our anxiety and support those around us. Anxiety is a common emotion that everyone experiences at some point in their lives but when it persists over a long period of time, or is overwhelming, it can become a significant mental health problem affecting individuals in both their personal and working lives.
Mental health issues such as depression, anxiety and stress can have a significant impact on performance at work. These conditions can lead to difficulties in concentrating, low motivation levels and decreased productivity, leading to absenteeism or presenteeism.
Anxiety is the leading cause of sickness absence in the UK, costing businesses £35 billion per year, with 15.4 million working days lost due to work-related stress, anxiety and depression.
Presenteeism, which is where an individual is present at work but unable to function to their full ability, can lead to decreased productivity, increased mistakes and accidents, having an overall negative impact on workplace culture.
Employers have a duty of care to protect the mental health of their employees as well as their physical health. If a mental health condition is classed as a disability under the Equality Act 2010, the employer has an additional duty to make reasonable adjustments to support their employees at work or to help them return to work.
Practical tips for employers:
- Look out for signs of stress in staff – such as poor concentration, tearfulness, tiredness, low mood and avoiding social events. If you spot signs of stress, arrange a confidential informal meeting and be approachable, available and sensitive.
- Encourage employees to speak up – promote a culture of communication and demonstrate there is no stigma attached to mental health issues. Ensure employees feel comfortable and confident in informing someone as soon as they start to feel stressed or under pressure. This means the issue can be dealt with early on and reasonable adjustments made which prevents the issue from escalating.
- Encourage your leaders to become role models – leaders play a crucial role in creating healthy workplace cultures in which mental health can be discussed openly, without bias or judgment – if leaders can be open about their experiences or anxiety, and take action to look after their own wellbeing, employees will be encouraged to do the same.
- Support and train managers – ensure managers have the tools, knowledge and confidence to manage and deal sensitively with mental health issues in the workplace. Train managers to identify signs and patterns of behaviour that may suggest an employee is struggling with their mental health.
- Promote employee wellbeing and a healthy work-life balance – ensure a good working environment which encourages employees to take breaks and be realistic with their workload and capabilities. Employees shouldn’t feel guilty about taking their designated lunch breaks, or annual leave entitlement or pushing back on tasks if they are at full capacity.
- Undertake regular health and safety risk assessments – consider at an early stage whether anyone needs reasonable adjustments to help them carry out their role or return to work after a period of absence.
- Communicate available resources – make sure employees know where to go and who to approach if they want to talk to someone. For example, if you have a mental health officer/first aider, ensure employees know how to make contact.
Employees are the most valuable asset in an organisation and need to be looked after. Promoting positive mental health in the workplace not only enables an organisation to create a healthy and inclusive environment where employees can meet their physical, mental, financial and social needs but also helps to reduce absenteeism, presenteeism, staff turnover and the risk of costly and lengthy claims from employees.
If you would like further advice or assistance about ways of promoting mental health in your workplace, supporting your staff or training your managers, please contact our Employment Team on 0345 646 0406 or fill in our online enquiry form and a member of our Team will be in touch.