Mental health in the workplace – Five top tips for employers

What is mental health?

Mental health is a broad term that relates to an individual’s emotional, psychological and social wellbeing. The World Health Organisation (WHO) emphasises that mental health is not just the absence of mental disorder, but is instead a “state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.”

According to the Health and Safety Executive, one in four people in the UK will experience a mental health problem at some point in their lifetime. Issues can arise as a reaction to challenging life events, such as bereavement, but may also be affected by the workplace environment.

Benefits to employers

It has long been recognised that employees with good, sustained mental health are more likely to be resilient to the pressures of life, foster positive relationships with colleagues and clients, work more productively and realise their full potential.

Therefore employers who adopt positive and proactive approaches to mental health can benefit from more engaged and motivated employees, reduce mental health related absence and save costs in the long-term.

 Five top tips for employers

1. End the silence – ensure that the importance of taking care of your mental health is communicated across the organisation at every level to enable colleagues to talk about it without fear or embarrassment
   • Address mental health as part of individual employee performance reviews.
   • Allow employees to be open about their mental health problems.
   • Inform employees of support that is available to them, and ensure that anything shared is in confidence, unless otherwise agreed.
2. Offer confidential support and counselling services to employees
   • Some employees may not wish to discuss their mental health with others in the employer’s organisation.
   • Providing a mixture of confidential telephone or face to face counselling options through third party counsellors may encourage employees to address any concerns.
3. Encourage healthy behaviours through implementing wellbeing programmes, events and out-of-work activities. Examples include:
   • Arranging group exercise classes such as yoga, meditation, runs or walks;
   • Cycling to work schemes or one off event days;
   • Subsidising gym memberships;
   • Providing fruit or healthy snacks to employees; and
   • Promoting a range of local volunteering opportunities.
4. Provide training and support for line managers and HR departments
   • Ensure that line managers’ job descriptions include supporting employee mental health and train them on handling sensitive conversations with employees who may be experiencing difficulties.
   • Encourage HR departments to implement mental health programmes.
5. Help employees to return to work smoothly after a mental health related sickness absence
   • Employers who have become aware of health or disability information are under a legal duty to consider making reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010. Employers also have a general duty of care and responsibility for the health of their employees at all times.
   • By adopting a fair, consistent and supportive policy for employees who have taken time off work for mental health reasons, employers can assist in the timely recovery and return to work of valuable employees and meet their legal obligations.

(Note: This article was written by our Employment Trainee Alfie Bright with input from Partners Merrill April and Stephen Ravenscroft.)