Canada provides a structured framework for workplace mental health. Their framework, called ‘the Standard’ provides a comprehensive framework to help organisations of all types improve their workplace mental health offer to provide the best return on investment. The Mental Health Commission of Canada has developed a variety of resources to help organisations implement the Standard. Various aspects of work and the workplace can cause substantial disadvantages for people with disabilities. When this happens the Equality Act 2010 says that employers must take reasonable steps to remove the disadvantage. The purpose of the law is to place a duty on employers to address the disadvantages encountered at work by people with disabilities, and the starting point for any consideration of reasonable adjustments should be what difficulties someone is experiencing in the workplace. The best expert on a person’s needs is themselves – if there is one golden rule for supporting a colleague, it is never to assume and always ask. In order to support your employees’ mental health, digging further into the work-related causes is a great place to start. Take a look at the processes within your business. Is there anything that stands out that could cause unnecessary stress? Is it a high-pressured environment? Do many employees work alone? Could you make the hours more flexible? Are your employees’ workloads manageable? Ultimately, the conversation on mental health starts with you and you need to foster a positive culture on the subject. People find it difficult to talk about mental health at work and unfortunately, there is still a stigma attached to it. But you can improve upon it by encouraging such conversations and normalising it. Awareness of the scale and impact of poor mental health at work is increasing – in 2018, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found that poor mental health was the most common cause of long-term sickness absence in UK workplaces and that stress-related absence had increased in nearly two-fifths of organisations (CIPD 2018), while a Mind survey found that one in ten employees rated their current mental health as poor or very poor.
The practical implications for employers is that they can consider advocating for increased federal funding for workplace health research and may even fund their own well-designed studies in partnership with academic institutions. Begin creating a healthy workplace environment by establishing, implementing and enforcing clear health and safety policies and practices. Your company’s health and safety guidelines can help develop processes for addressing prevention, early identification, support and rehabilitation for distress, burnout, substance abuse and other mental health concerns. Organisations should pull together resources that are readily available and start the conversation about mental health from there. For instance, get senior managers talking about their experiences of mental health at work and how to stay well - consequently, this will change the narrative of showing vulnerability from a weakness to a strength (a sign of strong leadership). Employers are able to buy insurance products to help support the mental health of their employees, including private medical insurance, health cash plans and Group Income Protection. Many insurance products provide early support for mental health conditions for individuals who are still working and those who are off sick to help them recover and return to work. Communication that emphasizes that leadership cares about concepts such as managing employees with mental health issues should be welcomed in the working environment.
Employees Perform Better When They Feel Supported
Understanding how to support mental health at work is also key for designing modern, accessible and effective well-being programs, which in turn lead to better business and people outcomes. How can you, as a business owner or manager of people, who is struggling with your own mental health challenges and stress, help your employees while also taking care of yourself? The same basic principles apply. First, acknowledge that you are struggling, that it is common and not something to be ashamed of. Second, seek help from resources in your company or through your health insurance plan or community. Mental health challenges don't often go away on their own and getting the right assistance can help you feel better faster. Discussions about how to support mental health at work are being redefined across the globe in ways we’ve never seen before. As a result, they’re ultimately launching a new revolution in mental health. Healthy Minds is the name of American Express’ mental health in the workplace program. Healthy Minds shows how psychology can improve an employee’s well-being and performance. The program provides part-time counselors at each employee clinic. They also have a professional clinical psychologist to provide support to employees. The barriers that prevent people with mental health conditions from finding and keeping paid work include stigma and discrimination from employers and (if in work) workplace colleagues, because of their mental health condition. Thinking about concepts such as employers duty of care mental health is really helpful in a workplace environment.
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. A consequence of a busy work life is that your work life balance suffers and so does your health. You may experience a feeling of overwhelm, stress or depression. This then affects your work and home life. You may make mistakes, become unproductive, over react to issues and have difficulty with relationships. There are a number of simple, concrete actions all businesses can take to promote mental health in their workplaces. When you begin adopting these actions to suit your business, think about the resources and existing structures and policies you have available, and how you can use these to make your investment in mental health more effective. Participation in ‘good work’ will drive health and productivity improvements. Recent evidence shows that we have to get this right. A poorly designed or poor quality job where people feel insecure, overloaded or do not have much control over how they manage their work, will not deliver these benefits and can be more harmful to health than having no job at all. While an employee health and wellbeing programme is centred on individually supporting your staff, it can positively impact the business as a whole. The Mental Health Foundation found that 12.7% of sick days taken in the UK could be attributed to mental health conditions. It also found that significant cost savings could be made by implementing intervention processes, such as an employee wellbeing programme. Don't forget to send out proper internal communications around workplace wellbeing ideas in your organisation.
Offer Flexibility And Be Inclusive
Ensure your team feel like they can count on management and the company to be fair and even-handed. When employees trust their managers, they’re much more likely to ask for help when they need it. It’s important to recognize mental and physical health are intertwined. Investing in physical health can be an effective aspect of a workplace mental health strategy. It may also be an easier place to start if mental health is a new topic for your workplace. Investing in lifestyle change programs and incentives can be an effective strategy for improving total wellbeing in the workplace. There is a large variation in access and waiting times for NHS mental health services, particularly those requiring treatment for severe conditions. The longer it takes for people to access the treatment they need the longer they may be ‘struggling’ in work, or be off work. There is real misunderstanding with mental health. If you have someone with an addiction problem with drink for example, they can’t just put a drink down. It’s an illness. We don’t have the people in positions of power, from the government level and in certain businesses, who share the right understanding of mental health and mental illness. Mental health disorders are very common and rising. This causes human suffering and depletes the economic vitality of communities and nations. Subjects such as workplace wellbeing support can be tackled by getting the appropriate support in place.
Stress is an adverse reaction to excessive pressures or demands in your work life, home life or both. Prolonged periods of stress can adversely affect the way you feel, your behaviour and your health. At work, it is vital that your employer addresses stress by tackling the root causes of any stress that your work is causing or exacerbating. A productive work environment relies on having happy and healthy employees. When teams feel valued and supported in the workplace they are more likely to perform to the best of their abilities. Mental health, like physical health, can fluctuate on a spectrum from good to poor. Mental health problems can affect any of us irrespective of age, personality or background. They can appear as a result of experiences in both our personal and working lives – or they can just happen. For a long time, talking about mental health was a taboo subject, and it still can be for some people. Talk about stress management, self-care and mental health in emails, meetings etc. If your employees trust that you won’t think they are “crazy” then they are more likely to speak up and receive treatment. Employers should provide mental health tools and support and increase transparency and accountability through internal and external reporting. Organisations can make sure their employee benefits package provides support for how to manage an employee with anxiety today.
Mental Health Disorders
Burnout often stems from your job. But anyone who feels overworked and undervalued is at risk for burnout, from the hardworking office worker who hasn’t had a vacation in years, to the frazzled stay-at-home mom tending to kids, housework, and an aging parent. Managers must send a clear signal that mental health issues will be treated with compassion and that no one should ever feel reluctant to admit to problems out of a misguided fear of being judged. This can be reinforced by composing a mental health strategy and circularizing it around the workplace. Measuring well-being is beneficial in two broad ways. Firstly, the boards of companies can use the information from surveys to establish well-being leads and strategies, targeting those areas of staff well-being and engagement most in need. Secondly, for individual employees...feedback allows individuals to take positive action to improve their own health and well-being, driving up employee well-being as a whole. Stumble upon additional particulars appertaining to Workplace Mental Health Initiatives on this Health and Safety Executive article.
Related Articles:
The Leading 7 Upsides Of Mental Health In The Workplace Programs Mediations
Current Conversations About Mental Health At Work Interventions
[url=https://rearingmotivation.blogspot.com/2022/04/questions-concerning-mental-health-in.html
]Questions Concerning Mental Health In The Workplace[/url]
[url][/url]