Mind’s Emma Mamo on employer best practice in addressing mental health at work

Over the last 18 months we have seen increased recognition across the board that more needs to be done to support everyone to have good mental health at work, including from the government.

The independent ‘Thriving at Work’ employment review commissioned by the government in 2016, sets out core standards that all employers can adopt to better support the mental health of their staff.

Support from Mind

But despite the best intentions, lots of employers aren’t quite sure where to get started. We work with a range of employers to help them create mentally healthy workplaces, by taking an approach that is both proactive and reactive. This involves promoting staff wellbeing, addressing the work-related causes of poor mental health and supporting staff who have a mental health problem.

Encouraging staff to have a good work-life balance, adopting a flexible working policy, and developing good communication and working relationships through regular one-to-ones are simple, inexpensive measures which send a clear message that you value the wellbeing of your employees.

Even wellbeing interventions that do have a cost attached are likely to save money in the long run through increased staff morale, productivity and retention; and decreased sickness absence.

Importance of culture

Creating a culture of openness and discussion about mental health is also vital to raising awareness and breaking down stigma. Employers should think about sharing mental health information, asking staff and senior leaders to talk out about their personal experiences and running events or informal activities as ways to start normalising conversations about mental health at work.

We recently surveyed 44,000 employees as part of our Workplace Wellbeing Index and found that 82 per cent of respondents with poor mental health said that this was work-related – either due solely to problems at work, or a combination of problems at work and outside of work. One in two (48 per cent) employees said they had experienced poor mental health while working at their current organisation. Despite this high prevalence, only (24 per cent) had told their employer.

Workplace interventions

The day-to-day demands and pressures of work should not be a barrier to good mental health. Employers need to put effective people management processes in places and address workload and capacity issues. Looking at job design, supervision and appraisals, inductions and learning and development are all ways to improve staff motivation and reduce work-related stress.

The staff-manager relationship is crucial to helping staff feel comfortable disclosing a mental health problem. Training line managers to improve their understanding of mental health and having the right support tools in place for staff who disclose a mental health problem will determine how well and how quickly the person will cope and recover. Support can include providing information and signposting, making workplace adjustments or providing an employee assistance programme.

Prioritising the mental health of your staff is an ongoing commitment and changes aren’t going to happen overnight. Making a public commitment to improve is a great first step and there are lots of simple measures which can be introduced to show your employers they are supported and valued.

At Mind we support employers on their journey to better mental health in the workplace. Our Workplace Wellbeing Index can help you find out where you are doing well and where there is room to improve.

For this Mental Health Awareness Week (14 to 20 May) we’re focusing on helping employees and employers create a mentally healthy workplace where everyone feels valued and supported.

This article is written by Emma Mamo, head of workplace wellbeing at Mind