The subject of Employee Mental Health Programs Approaches can be complicated. Lets try to make it easier to understand.
Despite the evolution that’s occurred throughout the years, there is still misunderstanding, mishandling and miscategorization of the behavior of people when it comes to mental health and mental illness. This is apparent in society in general, and prolific in the workplace. And, these misunderstandings are the foundation of many roadblocks that make people nervous to talk about their mental health or mental illness at work. It’s something that businesses have had to learn over time, to understand how the whole person impacts that equation; most importantly, how the workforce, over time through opening up, has expressed a desire to discuss those factors and feel released from the pressure to keep their life separate for the sake of “professionalism”. That work/life partition, also known as “compartmentalization”, is, for many people, slowly becoming a practice of the past. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and Investors in People have developed a stress management 'competency indicator' framework of tools to allow managers to assess whether they currently have the behaviours identified as effective for preventing and reducing stress at work. Along with creating healthy organisational practices, workplaces are perfectly positioned to provide health messages and opportunities to people. Usually the things that create good mental wellbeing are low or no cost. The University of Exeter in the UK conducted research to show that bringing plants into the office, increased employee wellbeing by up to 47%. Ensure the workplace is clean, comfortable, and has everything your employees need to do their job in a stress free environment. Consider turning unused spaces into chill out or break out rooms. Offer free yoga, meditation and wellbeing classes over lunchtimes. Mental health is one of the greatest causes of sickness absence in the UK. While the overall rate of sickness absence has fallen by 15%-20% since 2009, absence due to mental health reasons in this period has actually risen by around 5%. People with a mental health condition are also three times more likely to have a long term period of sickness.
Now more than ever, employers should prioritize proactive and preventive workplace mental health training for leaders, managers, and individual contributors When their hard work, dedication and teamwork are appreciated, your employees’ feel more fulfilled and satisfied in their jobs. In addition, employee recognition positively affects productivity and creates a culture of appreciation. Overall, employee recognition has a power to inspire your employees and make them realize what a crucial part of your company they are. Your employees will not feel comfortable discussing mental health problems overnight, or immediately after the introduction of a health and wellbeing initiative, so you must work proactively to support your staff. 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’. Organisations can make sure their employee benefits package provides support for employers duty of care mental health today.
Embrace The Positives
People who experience mental health problems are the experts in their lives and their needs. You learn a lot about yourself and your needs when you have a breakdown. When it’s appropriate, ask, and never assume. When leaders are open about their mental health, it creates an environment where others can be open too. Likewise, workload and unmanageable deadlines have a significant impact on employee stress, so it’s crucial to help instil boundaries, respect them, and be in constant communication about your teams’ capacity. The ultimate human cost is loss of life through suicide. We know that rates of poor mental health and suicide are higher for employees in certain industries though clearly there are a number of factors which contribute to such trends. For example, suicide rates among men working in construction and decorating are more than 35% more likely to take their own lives, and female nurses are 24% more likely to commit suicide than the national average for women. Nine out of 10 employers have expanded mental health benefits in the last year, but upward of three-quarters of the workforce believes their mental health is not well supported. Telehealth and digital solutions are on the rise, but out of more than 20,000 mental health apps in the marketplace, only 6 percent of app companies that claim to have an evidence-based framework have actually published said evidence. There’s a huge stigma around talking about mental health in many UK workplaces. Employees remain too reluctant to talk to their managers about any mental health issues they may be having. Break this stigma by promoting discussion about mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. An opinion on workplace wellbeing support is undoubtebly to be had in every workplace in the country.
Larger employers can and should improve the disclosure process to encourage openness during recruitment and throughout, ensuring employees are aware of why the information is needed and make sure the right support is in place to facilitate a good employer response following disclosure. There are national awareness campaigns that your company could use to promote awareness of mental health issues and hold seminars or talks about mental health during these times. Mental Health Awareness Week is in May and World Mental Health Day is in October. During these times you could invite a speaker in to talk about mental health and encourage sharing of stories from people within your business. Arranging coworkers' participation and assistance improves office cohesion and social connections. Changing the décor, rearranging the space, brightening up a break room—anything that enhances the atmosphere promotes mental health at work. And, if you are unable to make large-scale adjustments, you can at least clean up your immediate surroundings. Mental health should be reflected in all relevant workplace policies and a plan for delivering better mental health should be in place, with clear actions that can be achieved and reported back on every six months / year. An engaged employee wakes up in the morning thinking about the work they are going to do that day — and that work is interesting and challenging to them. They know they have the skills and talents to be successful. They enjoy the work as much — or more — than the paycheck. And they know that when they accomplish something, the people around them are going to notice and appreciate it. Ultimately, regardless of the stresses or demands on any given day or week, they enjoy doing what they do best to make a difference in the world. Communication that emphasizes that leadership cares about concepts such as managing employees with mental health issues should be welcomed in the working environment.
Positive Work Relationships
Mental health is something we all have. When we enjoy good mental health, we have a sense of purpose and direction, the energy to do the things we want to do, and the ability to deal with the challenges that happen in our lives. If you want your employer to understand your needs, disclosing your mental health problem may prompt your employer to treat you in a more constructive and supportive way. From a legal point of view, an employer only has to make adjustments for needs that they know about. Make a deliberate, focused strategy for each day. Determine the best method for your objectives. Disorganization, procrastination, and a lack of purpose all harm mental health. Initialize your attention and monitor it as your work. In some parts of the world, the concept of mental health as we know it today either doesn’t exist, or if it does, has its own specific lens through which it has developed. The developments around mental illness, diagnosis and treatment largely took place in Westernized countries – including, but not limited to, the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. And, these countries still pave the way today. Employees should take responsibility for improving their own mental health literacy by accessing available information, learning about options of support and actively participating in strategies that promote both mental and physical wellbeing in accordance with individual needs and preferences. Similarly to any change that happens within organizations, discussions around Wellbeing for HR need planning and implementing properly.
Every employer depends on having healthy and productive employees – valued and supported staff are far more likely to deliver the best outcomes for your business. If you want to attract and retain committed employees, prioritising the mental health of your staff needs to be core business in your organisation. When an employee is thriving in their career, their “live for the weekend” mindset fades or disappears altogether. The drop in mood from Sunday to Monday is essentially cut in half. These employees are more productive, creative and innovative because they find their work intrinsically rewarding. Addressing workplace mental wellbeing can help strengthen the positive, protective factors of employment, reduce risk factors for mental ill health and improve general health. It can also help promote the employment of people who have experienced mental health problems, and support them once they are at work. Organisations should ensure processes for job design, selection, recruitment, training, development and appraisal promote mental wellbeing and reduce the potential for stigma and discrimination. Employees should have the necessary skills and support to meet the demands of a job that is worthwhile and offers opportunities for development and progression. Employees should be fully supported throughout organisational change and situations of uncertainty. Workplace stress contributes to poor physical and mental outcomes. The damage stress causes to both physical and mental health is well-documented. A 2015 meta-analysis of 228 studies, conducted by researchers from Stanford University and the Harvard Business School, found that common workplace stressors increase individuals’ risk of self-rated poor health, self-rated mental illnesses, physician-reported illnesses and even mortality. For employers not investing in wellbeing initiatives, workplace wellbeing ideas can be a difficult notion to comprehend.
Support Staff Who Are Experiencing Mental Health Problems
Important aspects of mental health and wellbeing includes providing information and raising awareness, management skills to deal with issues around mental health and stress effectively, providing a supportive work environment, offering assistance, advice and support to anyone experiencing a mental health problem or returning to work after a period of absence due to mental health problems. Many people don’t realize that the brain recognizes rejections and failures the same way it recognizes physical pain. While most people know to take care of themselves when physically ill, they don’t always think to give themselves the same level of care when they’ve taken a hit to their self-esteem. Leaders need to do everything they can to empower employees in managing their well-being and creating healthier work environments. We all need to accelerate actionable and meaningful change, now. Stumble upon extra particulars on the topic of Employee Mental Health Programs Approaches at this World Health Organisation article.
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