Mental Health Awareness in the Workplace - For Managers

Hello. Welcome to this Data law training session. In the session, we're going to be looking at a managers role in mental health awareness. My name's Seth Barber and I'm from law hounds. I'm retired solicitor, and previously I was a member off the Law society's accredited specialist tunnel in mental health law. In October 2017 Bakehouse published a new guide called Promoting Positive Mental Health in the Workplace, which is available to download from the A cast website. Are referred to this as the A cast guide, and this is written for employers in senior managers. On explains how you should approach changing your workplace to promote positive mental health. In this session, we're going to examine the steps recommended by the Bakehouse Guide on the role that managers should play in increasing awareness and helping to tackle mental health issues. And although it unfortunately remains a taboo topic and so many people keep quality about their problems and dont get help, minds, the U. K s leading charity supporting mental health, point out that one in four people in the UK experience a mental health problem on one in six workers experiences depression, anxiety or unmanageable stress under further one and six experiences. Symptoms of mental health. Such a sleep problems on fatigue on the work Foundation estimates that mental ill health probably now costs the UK economy about £70 billion each year overall, and, as a cast point out through a positive benefits to raising awareness on promoting positive mental health in the workplace, stuff with positive mental health are more likely to work productively. Interact well with colleagues on adapted changes in the workplace. Staff who feel unable to talk to the manager about the mental health may attend work when they're too ill to carry out their duties, which in turn may pose a health and safety risk. And stuff who are supported by their employer are much more likely to be able to stay in work or return to work after a period of absence, ultimately reducing long term absences in the organization. If mental ill health is not treated, the pressure's off, it can cause other secondary symptoms. For example, the strain of coping with depression might cause someone to become dependent on drugs or alcohol. So let's examine the steps which ache House recommends should be taken. Step one understand mental health as a cow's advice. To be able to raise awareness on create a supportive culture, you need to really understand what mental health is and recognize what it actually means. You need to be able to identify the courses of mental health in the workplace on, recognize the stigma associated with mental health and consider how it can be removed from the workplace. As a cow's acknowledge, managers should already have many of the skills required to manage stuff experiencing mental ill health, including effective communications on experience in having difficult conversations. However, to effectively deal with mental health awareness and issues within the workplace, a cast recommends that managers become more emotionally intelligent. Andi improve their self awareness and social awareness, and also that they are able to easily spot the signs of mental ill health and understand the common types of mental ill health. On the differences between them, managers also need to understand the types of support on possible adjustments that might help a team member experiencing mental health. And finally, the manager needs to be able to refer or sign post staff, toe local services or external support. And so, at the very heart of raising awareness and tackling mental health. Is Thea Bility. To really understand why mental health is important on understand what can cause mental health issues on factors at work and in your personal life that will impact. You also need to appreciate that anyone can suffer from mental health issues, which can occur suddenly, for example, as a result of a specific events. Or it can emerge over time. Sometimes conditions can come and go, whilst others can be persistent and amount to a disability as a cow's advice. Positive mental health is rarely an absolute state, and it's also about being able to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental ill health on to appreciate that mental health, like physical health, is a changing state. Step two, as recommended by bakehouse, is about making a commitment to improve mental health at work because mental health awareness and promoting positive mental health take time on require a really firm commitment, which includes being able to assess what needs to be done. Removing any stigma around mental health, developing a plan of action which includes clear goals and objectives. Developing a mental health policy on making sure that everyone knows about the organization's commitments. So what about an action plan? Bakehouse recommends? An action plan should include why the organization is committed to promoting positive mental health on what the objectives are. It should also include how the organization will identify and tackle the causes of mental ill health in its workplace. On include planning a range of activities and key messages to educate staff and managers. Prevent ill health on remove any stigma associated with mental health. For example, getting involved in initiatives such as Mental Health Awareness Week on DWard World Mental Health Day. It should also include making sure there's a support process for staff who may be experiencing mental health. Issues on also include how objectives will be measured on how progress generally is going to be reviewed. On organization. Also needs a mental health policy on a CASS advice that this should include the organization's commitments. It's aimed to provide a workplace where All Star feel able to talk openly about their mental health and not fear discrimination if their condition is a disability or any form of bullying or harassment. A mental health policy should also include a requirement that managers and staff received mental health training on the policy should include recognition. That's an employee's performance or behavior could be affected if they are experiencing mental ill health on that, appropriate support on adjustments should be explored before considering any formal measures, such as disciplinary action. A mental health policy should also include a request that staff seek help at the earliest opportunity in the knowledge that their employer will do its best to support them on the policy should also include details off all support services in place for staff experiencing mental ill health and at the same time, other organizational policies should be reviewed and updated So they're brought in line with the mental health policy. That's policies such as absence and sickness, bullying and harassment, equality, health, the safety performance management, recruitment and induction redundancy on whistle blowing step three. Identify ways to improve the workplace. Managers can help make an improvement by assessing and taking action against causes of mental health in the workplace. On ensuring that support is available in terms of assessing in taking action against work related causes of mental health, Ache House recommend that a good way to start this process is by looking at stuff turnover sickness. Absence on performance data. Examining these can help show any patterns to identify areas which may cause issues. But once you've done this, it's equally important to actively involved staff in a small organization. This could be by way of discussions with individual staff members, whilst in a larger organization, it might be through team meetings or even on employee survey. Common courses of mental health in the workplace include unmanageable workloads on door demands, such as poorly defined job roles on staff having a lack of control over their own work clothes, unhealthy work, life balance. So a commitment along an extended working hours on failing to take breaks such as, for example, eating lunch at the desk. Poor relationships with management and or work colleagues are lack of feedback and praise for good work. A manage of failing to build good working relationships with individual team members on unclear discipline and grievance procedures, organizational change and fears about job security staff not being involved or kept up to date about decisions that might affect them. Ah, lack of variety in work on limited career progression, and it is important to ensure that support is available on support should include someone within the organization who will discuss the existence of any mental health issues on this means. Acknowledging that some people may find it easier to discuss these types of issues with someone other than their manager so dependent on the size of the organization, a cast suggest designating particular managers to be mental health champions on services such as employee assistance programmes. Who can provide 24 7 confidential support advice and counselling step for Educate the workforce about mental health. Every employee, including managers, need training so that they will understand what mental health means. Recognize the symptoms of mental health. Know about the organization's commitment to raising awareness on promoting positive mental health on who they should go to if they need advice or support. So what training do bakehouse recommend that staff should receive, while a cast advised staff were trained to understand the law concerning equality and discrimination on how it can be relevant to attitudes towards mental health in the workplace, training should also include standards of behaviour expected of all staff on how unacceptable conduct will be dealt with. It should also include what staff conduce to improve and maintain a positive mental health, for example, fun or productive out of work activities. Training should also include how to spot the signs of mental health in others. How to raise concerns on where to get support and advice. Who to contact training should ideally form part of the induction process. And a cow's also recommends that every staff member is also provided with a written summary of key points, which they can use as a reference point. Steakhouse recommend that training should start with senior managers on in a larger organization. This may include training. Some senior managers are specialists who will be in a position to assist other managers on that's who bakehouse refer to as mental health champions. And, of course, training at induction is not sufficient on a CASS. Make it clear that it's important to continue to talk about mental health to ensure that training is not for gotten on, that staff don't revert back to old habits. A cast suggest that managers should regularly discuss mental health, so it becomes part of just everyday discussions, ensuring that all members of team are able to contribute, for example, holding regular team meetings where team work load on upcoming challenges are discussed so that staff can think about mental health and how they're coping. Managers should also hold 1 to 1 meetings with individual team members so that the individual gets the opportunity to discuss more personal issues in private. Whilst the managers can check on how the team member is doing on that will help identify any issues early on. Managers should also hold informal chats around the work pace. To build up a relationship. Onda should hold activities such as Mental Health Awareness Week to help each person focus on mental health. On a house suggests. Those activities should include things like sharing insight and talks from those who have personal experience off mental ill health issues. And finally making sure that key information is readily available on included, for example, in any newsletters or emails, which staff receive about their organization on what is happening Generally, step five. Where to go for further support. It's essential that both employers and managers are aware off what further resources are available so that they can obtain further supporting information when required, and this should include understanding and knowing where to encourage employees to get additional support and help So, for example, as recommended by acres mindful employer UK Wide NHS Initiative aimed increasing awareness of mental health work on providing support for business in recruiting and retaining staff, and fit for work, which offers free occupational health assessments. For staff who reached four weeks of sickness absence, the aim is to help them to return to work. And it can also provide free work related health advice through a telephone advice service and website, a managers role encouraging openness. It's also equally important. Managers encourage openness about mental health issues so that everyone feels comfortable raising issues connected with it. It's also important to deal with mental health issues in the same way that they would deal with physical health issues, focusing as a cast advice on how to support team member to continue working or return to work when they're ready. Managers should also understand that they are role models for staff, so as a cast, advice should encourage healthy behaviors. For example, managers should always take a break from their desk or work area for lunch to encourage staff to take a break as well. Staff will then see the mental health is taking seriously on. It helps normalize the subject on Make Star feel better able to talk to the manager and colleagues about their own mental health. The managers should recognize when they may be facing mental issues themselves on know and understand what steps they can take. And, of course, it's really important that they do actively seek support for their own mental health issues. And finally, a cow suggest that when a manager has experienced mental health issues themselves, they may wish to discuss that because it can assist in highlighting to staff how common mental ill health can be on that. It's not a barrier to promotion on a successful career. And that brings us to the end of this session on Thank you for joining me, Steph Barber.