Mental health issues are a major cause of long-term absence from work. As employers we should promote good mental health and provide support for employees who are experiencing mental ill health including anxiety or depression.
If an employee has a mental health issue, it's important we take it seriously. For example, it's a good idea to talk to them to find out what support they might need at work. There are many types of mental health issues. An issue can happen suddenly, because of a specific event in someone's life, or it can build up gradually over time.
It’s helpful if we create an environment where staff feel able to talk openly about mental health. We can do this by:
- treating mental and physical health as equally important
- making sure employees have regular one-to-ones with their managers, to talk about any problems they're having
- encouraging positive mental health, for example arranging mental health awareness training, workshops or appointing mental health 'champions' who staff can talk to
When mental health issues are not supported employees are less likely to seek help. This can lead to their symptoms increasing and make them more likely to get sick. If the issues are not resolved then it may result in time off work, falling behind in workload, presenteeism and underperformance.
We should encourage staff to talk about mental health as a regular topic. Asking open questions such as "How are you feeling today?" or "What can I do to help you" can encourage staff to speak about issues they are facing. Making time to talk and listening in a non-judgmental way can help them to open up.
There are many voluntary and community organisations that can help you as employers to support the mental health of your staff and volunteers. Please reach out to them for support, advice and training for your staff. You can find them on Communityni.org
Webinars
We have two FREE webinars planned in December focused on wellbeing and mental health
Strategies to support positive mental health - resources and recording (held on 8 December)
13 December - Financial wellbeing
Further information
Mental Health in the Workplace | Factsheets | CIPD
Supporting the mental health and wellbeing of your team | NCVO
Charity Digital - Topics - Supporting staff wellbeing in uncertain times
Mental Health Conditions (mindwisenv.org)
