Are workplaces taking mental health seriously enough?
Workplace mental health is improving
In today’s workplaces, there is a lot of emphasis on mental health. We are now seeing Mental Health First Aiders, Employee Assistance Programmes and various other policies and initiatives which put employee mental health front and centre. This is a really good thing and a big step forward. The optics are better than they have ever been. But is it just lip service?
Many employers had a steep learning curve on workplace mental health during covid, and as workplaces settle post-pandemic, there is arguably greater awareness of employees’ mental health, more open dialogue and greater emotional literacy. Again, all a good thing.
Breaking the stigma
But whilst there is greater visibility of the support on offer, the stigma is still there for so many. The shame of being ‘that person’ who is ‘letting the side down’ because of their mental health, and distrust of confidentiality, prevents many people accessing workplace support. Some people still feel that admitting they are struggling may hinder their career progression. And some feel too much guilt that their colleagues will have pick up the slack, so they don’t take time off to get back on track. I’ve also heard of people not stepping forward for support because someone on their team has already been signed off, and they feel too guilty about doing the same.
Making adjustments
So, who is left to pick up the pieces when a member of staff needs some time off? Who is accountable for reasonable adjustments to be made? What are the responsibilities of the individual, their line manager, their leaders?
Often, line managers are expected to become therapists, social workers and triage specialists with little to no training and no check-in point to assess their own capacity for someone else’s mental health. The toll this takes is huge and needs to be addressed.
Signposting a member of staff to an Employee Assistance Programme is great, but what happens when the EAP support runs out. Or that particular employee has another difficult period? What happens if their mental ill-health is being masked as poor performance? Often, work is a contributing factor for poor mental health – so who takes accountability then?
We need to ensure that employers are equipped to really and truly support their employees, with sustainable measures. Not just signposting and training. Proper support with real, tangible outputs. No lip service.
Employers don’t want to see mental ill health ripping through their employees like dominoes, nor can the economy afford for this to happen. So, let’s actually commit to some serious support.
What could better workplace mental health support look like?
HR – ensure that there are robust training programmes in place to support teams’ mental health. This needs to take into account an assessment of the manager’s suitability to support their staff. Seek feedback from your teams to make sure your policies and initiatives work for them. Be mindful of what sustainable and inclusive support looks like.
Leaders – create a supportive and safe culture so that your staff to feel comfortable speaking up about their mental health.
Managers – think about what contingency plans are in place to ensure that workload is redistributed fairly if someone is off sick, so you’re not just adding more stress and anxiety onto more people. Also think about what reasonable adjustments can be made to accommodate staff’s mental health needs.
Staff – speak up – feed back to your managers on the level of mental health support available and what would make things better. And most importantly, step forward when you need help.
Profits over people
Of course, some of this may be unrealistic and companies need to think about their bottom line, but with increased stress and anxiety for everyone at the moment, we have to do more to support each other, otherwise the bottom line, and worse, could be in a very precarious position.
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