Top tips for supporting workplace mental health
Monday 16th January is ‘Blue Monday’ and is considered to be the most depressing day of the year after overindulging at Christmas time, bills coming through the door and feeling guilty about not sticking to new year’s resolutions.
Wellbeing and mental health in the workplace is very important and Sutcliffe & Co have many tips to help you support your team, particularly in these challenging times. Take some time this Blue Monday to set some goals to improve wellbeing and mental health in your workplace. Employers can do more to promote integrated mental and physical health by fostering supportive workplaces that encourage self-screening and connect employees to proper support resources.
Supporting wellbeing and mental health in the workplace.
Awareness and information regarding mental health.
A good place to start is to provide material and messages about mental health, mental illnesses, suicide prevention, trauma and health promotion through brochures, fact sheets, payroll stuffers and online resources. You could offer confidential screenings for illness such as depression, anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder. Always encourage the use of telephone help lines.
Mental health training.
Sutcliffe & Co have a trained inhouse Mental Health First Aider, Sue Smith which not only provides an invaluable resource for staff, but it also demonstrates that we take mental health seriously and it’s not something that should be hidden away. A first step to showing the commitment to mental health in your business could be offering a variety of mental health presentations and training for all staff with an emphasis on prevention, treatment and recovery messages.
Helping to reduce stress in the workplace.
Stressed employees are less productive and are proven to have more time off work. Training and discussions centred around stress reduction could include topics like conflict resolution, managing multiple priorities, project planning, personal finance planning and parenting. Providing classes such as yoga, meditation, physical activity and self-help groups, either within work hours or after work can help reduce stress and also act as a team building exercise to strengthen the core values of the business.
Leading the change on mental health.
By managers and supervisors being educated in recognising mental health as a factor in performance, positive changes can be put in place to aid staff. Creating policies and practices can also help provide guidance for supervisors and managers on how to address performance issues. You can offer mental health consultations and information, and improve managerial skills in supervising an employee with mental health issues. Always ensure that you review policies and evaluate the workplace environment on an ongoing basis to reduce workplace stress and action feedback from employees.
Privatised medical insurance cover.
Provide and maintain comprehensive privatised medical insurance cover, which includes mental health in employee benefits packages. Include screening, brief intervention and referral as a covered evidence-based benefit. Also you can offer referral mechanisms to connect employees to mental health treatment services.
Sutcliffe & Co Insurance Brokers are focused on supporting staff and the wider community in mental health and wellbeing, and this Blue Monday we invite business owners to join us in our mission. If you would like further information about wellbeing and mental health in the workplace, please call us on 01905 21681 or alternatively email Enquiries@sutcliffeinsurance.co.uk.