Mental Health in the Workplace

Mental Health Awareness is focusing on kindness as this year’s theme.

What will you be doing for your employees?

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed the spotlight on mental health. In the home-working environment there may be a lack of distinction between work and home life, while some may be struggling to feel motivated. For those who are unable to work remotely, particularly in roles where social distancing is not possible, anxiety and stress may well be high. In addition, it’s important to include staff who were temporarily not working, having been placed on furlough leave, and consider the negative impact this might have on their perception of their value.

With this in mind, we have outlined some top-tips and recommendations for businesses:

Time management

With the new “WFH” lifestyle, many of us will be blurring the lines between work and home life – there’s a temptation to work non-stop. Managers need to engage with staff and ensure they are taking regular rest breaks and holidays.

The focus needs to change – managers should be setting an example between balancing home and work life, and this can be achieved by encouraging colleagues to be more open, more personal – sharing hobbies, weekend plans – encouraging life beyond the screen/the workplace. Especially if there is no social escape in the same way as before when we were all in the same place – we can’t switch off by heading out for a drink with colleagues and friends after work and we no longer have our commute to allow us to mentally prepare ourselves or put on the breaks at the start and the end of the day.

Managers therefore face a new challenge, to help motivate and encourage staff in their new working environments – this could be done by setting up team challenges, encouraging effective use of internal platforms (see social engagement below) and holding regular catchups.

Communication

Communication with colleagues has changed – not only for those in home-working environments, but also in workplaces, where social distancing and new rules such as one-way systems and staggered shift-patterns may still be needed in your environment. This brings further challenges: it is far easier to pick up on employees’ moods from their body language than it is by email or even on a call, and new processes in the workplace may feel awkward and un-natural.

Every employee is different and needs/wants different levels of interaction – it’s up to management to gauge that – and deal with people as individuals. Mental health first aiders can be trained to spot the first signs of mental health issues, and know how to reduce and manage the stress levels of the workers in their team – why not allocate this role to one (or a few) colleague(s) per team? Such individuals should check-in with all employees across the business, including those who are on furlough leave.

Social engagement

Another way employers can turn to nurturing employees’ mental health whilst many employees remain working at home, is to create a virtual “safe space” for staff to enjoy a shared break and catch up. TED, an American media organisation, has set up a virtual space where staff can work alongside each other — separately, but not alone — in an effort to replicate working in a coffee shop or a shared office space (the usual chats by the coffee machine).

Employers should encourage employees to talk and share positive experiences as well as their hardships. Similarly, many businesses are encouraging employees to tap into their inner creativity such as encouraging creative ‘clubs’ which inspires individuals to use art, nature, cooking, and creative film to keep connected.

Recognition and praise

Let’s not forget about the vital work of those still making the daily commute – these are roles that cannot be done remotely or at home. The public support for these workers who were known during the pandemic as ‘key workers’ has been enormous over the lockdown period, and long may the general attitude towards their hard work and dedication continue.

However, the pressure and long hours can lead to mental and physical exhaustion. Checking in with employees is essential to their mental health and it is important to encourage employees to identify how they are feeling mentally and physically in order to take steps to alleviate the pressure from work and switch off. Many organisations have been sharing positive stories, it’s great to share positive stories to recognise the value and achievements of employees – both across social media and also internally in your business.

Effective monitoring, using technology

There are some Employee Wellbeing App’s on the market. This App captures employee’s feelings with a simple mood recording and wellbeing form. By allowing staff to record their mental and physical health, the App offers suggestions to help alleviate low mood and tracks when these have been used, providing access to guidance documents.

Managers can then use the information captured to see the live working status of their team and report on wellbeing data. This is an excellent idea that could be adopted across the board, for both workers at home and in the workplace. It’s likely that we will continue to see the increased use of technology to assist employers to effectively monitor employees in the new world of work.

Training and resilience sessions

There’s also the potential long-term impact on mental health to consider as lockdown has ceased, and workers adjust to the ‘new normal’ in their environment where some peoples roles mean they can work some or all of the time at home and other have to be in the workplace – this can cause divisions between different cohorts.

Businesses should be putting in place vital support such as a comprehensive employee assistance programmes (or “wellness action plans” maybe an App (similar to that mentioned above) and training courses. Resilience training courses are an ideal way of encouraging employees to focus on their “inner game” – their decision making, self-awareness, emotional intelligence and their beliefs and assumptions. By identifying limiting beliefs and behaviours and learning how to gain a new perspective, individuals are able to achieve a more positive mind set (both in the workplace and in their personal lives) which leads to greater motivation, more fulfilment, and an increase in job satisfaction. If businesses were to invest in such courses, the impact on the workforce could be huge – greater productivity and an increase in profits.

It should be recognised that people were coping with work in different ways during the Coronavirus pandemic –the pandemic has exposed the missing pieces in employee engagement and productivity: resilience and mind set. Employees who are thriving during the coronavirus crisis are the ones with the highest levels of resilience, optimism, and perseverance. Focus therefore needs to turn to these three areas, now and in the long-term.