28 Aug Mental Health Provision in the Workplace. What Are You Doing About It?
As mental health organisations ‘Time to Change’ and ‘Mind’ both say, one in four people experiences a mental health illness in any given year.
How prevalent it is as an issue for us all is put into stark terms by Time to Change who said:
“We probably all work with someone experiencing a mental health problem.”
Mental Health Support in the Workplace
Although many HR departments have made great strides in the provision and implementation of mental health support, it is important that companies do not rest on their laurels. Externally provided support via team workshops, strategy development and individual counselling are essential. The provision of this needs careful consideration and planning to be truly effective and beneficial to employees.
Although potential causes are varied, worries about things like money, jobs and benefits can make it harder for people to cope both at home and work. The Covid-19 pandemic may well exasperate these worries particularly when employees might be returning to the office after working from home or experiencing grief, relationship breakdown, financial or childcare concerns.
Mental health is a complex and personal issue, it is important that employees feel comfortable in their place of work and are made to feel part of the team even if their mental health is suffering.
Supporting Staff
HR managers and their teams need to ensure they can support staff reviews, make sure that employees know the support network is there and easily accessible, offer regular meetings, flexible hours, and easing back into work if somebody is returning to the company following a period of absence.
In sum, employers now have a legal as well as a moral responsibility to take care of employees, whose wellbeing is intrinsically linked to the performance of any company.
Contact Future Edge Therapy
If you work in HR, or are a business leader and would like a work-based mental health support review, please drop me (Bonita) a line and visit my website to find out more www.future-edgetherapy.co.uk – alternatively, you can fill out our online contact form and we’ll be in touch.
I am able to provide bespoke coaching for teams of managers, leaders or HR staff, group workshops covering anxiety, stress and other areas of mental health and wellbeing such as grief and trauma, and one-to-one therapy session both onsite, online or from my Bedford HQ. I am fully accredited, professionally trained and have previously worked in a corporate and educational setting, so am qualified to deliver the absolute best training and support for your teams.
- Learn more about my corporate therapy and mental health at work training: Vitamins For Your Mind Program