How to manage your employees mental health at work

Mental health at work is an important topic, and it's one we're discussing more since the pandemic.

Right now, 1 in 6 workers are dealing with mental health problems like anxiety, depression, or stress.

There are many ways you can create an environment where your staff feel safe enough to talk about their mental health concerns—and most of them start with senior staff members.

First, bring awareness into the work environment by communicating that mental health will be supported and not discriminated against. Communicating this message clearly will help open up conversations about mental health among employees.

Relationships between managers and employees will be the key place to get the message across.

Perhaps do some mental health training with senior staff, discussing and creating mental health policies. Having clear, publicised policies in place will demonstrate to employees that support is there.

If you suspect a member of your team may be struggling with their mental health, it is important that you take the lead and raise this with them. People often don’t feel comfortable bringing up their mental health problems.

You may feel uncomfortable talking about it but try to make the conversation more relaxed and not overly formal.

The way managers behave and relate with staff will influence how employees respond when they are experiencing stress or poor mental health. Try to manage this positively.

There may be clues to indicate that people are struggling, for example
• changes in people’s behaviour such as mood or how they interact with colleagues
• changes in their work performance
• struggling to make decisions and lacking organisation
• Being fatigued, appearing anxious and withdrawn

You know the people in your team, and you may notice changes in them. However, it’s important to remember that everyone deals with mental health differently and you should try to avoid making assumptions.

Once the open conversations have begun, how can you support those struggling with their mental health?

Discuss and create clear and positive steps with them. Ask them how their mental health affects their work, what they find most challenging and if there is anything they feel could help them. Align with the policies you have in place and reinforce that you are there to support them. Clear policies on workplace adjustments are crucial to support staff to cope and recover and could also reduce the length of mental health related sickness absence.

Standing by your team when they have mental health struggles is not only about supporting and keeping a valuable staff member but also about your company’s values and a place people would want to continue to work. All employees would like to see that their employer cares and values them and supports both their physical and mental health.