8 Ways Managers can support Employee Mental Health
Employee Mental Health in the workplace is the cause for 12.7% of all sickness absence in the UK. As well as absenteeism, poor mental health leads to lower productivity and increased presenteeism. Investing in better mental health support at work could save UK businsses up to £8 billion each year.
Mental health can affect everyone. By upskilling managers to be able to support employee mental health you can directly improve employee wellbeing and the workplace environment.
Below are 8 ways that managers can support employee mental health:-
- Ensure your employees know that you treat mental health as seriously as you do physical health in your business, and give employees and workers the same consideration for mental health absences as you would for absences for physical health problems.
- Offer greater visibility for the whole workforce on how your business is performing. This will lead to a greater sense of trust from your employees. It may help them feel more prepared and less anxious about the future and their role within the company.
- Set up a regular catch-up daily, weekly, monthly to check-in with your employees. Start each conversation talking about people’s lives outside of work. Regular social contact is the most successful coping strategies for mental health, so make sure your team are taking the time to enjoy each other’s company.
- Consider putting in place or updating your employee benefit system. Through signing up with a benefits and discounts provider, you can give your employees access to desirable perks and help them make considerable financial savings, this could help to reducing stress. Furthermore, it can help you to stand out as an employer of choice. (BDHL specalise in this area)
- Create a sense of accomplishment by setting goals and targets. Don’t underestimate the importance of work satisfaction in contributing towards people’s mental health.
- Put in place a recognition strategy to reward employees for hard work they’ve done recently. This creates a sence of community and makes know that they are apprechaited weather they are working from home or the office or both.
- Talking to employees and making sure they understand that you know what they are going through can make them feel less alone and help build up trust.
- Flexible working – is about giving employees more choice over how long, where, when, and at what times they work. This can help lead to a better worklife balance, less stress and presenteeism in the workplace.
If you are concerend about a colleauge then the most effect thing you can do is to reach out and speak to them, listening to someone can make a big difference. Speak to BDHL about putting in place an EAP (Employee Assistance Programme) for your business. This could be a standalone policy or a service within an employee benefits package such as a private medical insurance policy or a group risk policy. An EAP can provide an employee with professional support quickly.
Email – enquiries@bdhl.co.uk or call – 01892 891900
