Mental Health is Wealth

I woke up and cried every day for over a month when I was working corporately, there wasn’t a particular issue so I put it down to hormones as I was pregnant at the time, but when it happened again after I returned from maternity leave, I knew something had to change and I had to address why the thought of work drove me to tears. For me, it was a sign that it was time to make my side hustle my full-time business.

As its World Mental Health Day tomorrow, I’ve got some tips for taking care of the mental health of your team (and yourself):

Set the ground rules for working from home

Research has shown that employees are working longer hours from home and feeling pressured to respond to emails and calls at all times. Agree working hours, Encourage your team to log off and take a lunch break and to take breaks from their screens.

Be clear about objectives and timelines

This gives you team to the ability to prioritise their workloads, always check that the timelines are reasonable and offer support if it is needed. Your team may not ask for the help they need, so try to prompt them.

Have regular team meetings

It’s important to keep the lines of communication open with your team. Have a regular team huddle, keep your team informed of what is happening in the business and give your team the opportunity to share knowledge and interact.

Schedule weekly 1-2-1’s

Check-in with your team weekly, use video so that you can look for any signs of fatigue or overwhelm. As well as checking on their workload, be mindful of the pressures of living and working in the same location. Ask about how they are coping with remote working and social distancing, talk about their weekend activities and ask about their family and friendship group.

Do something fun

Have a virtual team bonding session, my favourite activity is a cooking contest. Each individual received a basket of ingredients and something to wash it down with. We were instructed to make a meal by a chef and eat our work! There are tonnes of options from beer and wine tasting to talent contests find something that will work for your team.

Show your appreciation

Let your team know that you appreciate them and their hard work. Don’t forget to plan something for Christmas!

Monitor working hours

Check that your team aren’t working additional hours constantly. Be aware of late night and early morning emails. I’ve been clear to my team that I clear my emails at night but I’m not expecting a response outside of our agreed working hours.

Remind your team to use their annual leave

Although the government has said that statutory holidays can be rolled over to December 20201, taking a break from the challenges of work is essential.

Let me know how you take care of the mental health of your team in the comments.

Are you protecting your team from Stress and Anxiety?

When Ian walked into the café I barely recognised him. It wasn’t just that he wasn’t wearing his usual sharp suit, he seemed to have shrunk and his usual smile and twinkling eyes had disappeared.

Ian was a member of the board, he managed a team of 5 and budget of millions! He had a beautiful wife, gorgeous children, wore a signet ring, Lived in a NICE part of London – He was posh!

He belonged to a club that I aspired to (at that point in my life!), so even though I’d seen the Dr’s notes and spoken to him on the phone, I wasn’t prepared for the person who turned up in front of me.

Ian had been signed off for stress for the past 3 months, he’d exhausted his company enhanced sick pay and was receiving statutory sick pay that wouldn’t make a dent in his outgoings. So he’d met us to discuss coming back to work, but it was obvious that he wasn’t ready yet. I watched him deflate when I said we’d need a fit note from his doctor and for him to see our occupational health team before he could return.

It turned out that this wasn’t the first time that he’d experienced stress and anxiety at work, and even though he’d felt it coming on, he didn’t mention it to anyone because of the stigma attached to his condition.

We worked with Ian’s doctor and therapist and he returned to work in a phased manner when he was ready ….

But I was angry that we’d failed him as employers, he hadn’t felt comfortable to share his mental health issues and therefore get access to help before he became unable to attend work.

Also, we had a duty of care, was his manager lax in ensuring his workload and external pressures were being monitored? When was the last time he’d had a 1-2-1? 

Did you know that Stress Management is one of your responsibilities as a business owner as part of the health and safety regulations?

This experience led to a series of changes being implemented to ensure that Managers were aware of the warning signs of stress and anxiety in their team members and were having regular 1-2-1 meetings.

Remember the top four reasons for absence due to stress and anxiety in the workplace are:

• Workload: 44%

• Lack of support: 14%

• Changes at work: 8%

• Violence, threats or bullying: 13%

Do you and your managers regularly check on the mental health of your staff?

Here are some tips for dealing with cases of stress:

• Treat stressed employees in the same way as those with a physical health problem.

• Discuss the issue with the employee and demonstrate that you are concerned with their health.

• If their work is being affected, explore the option of a referral to Occupational Health.

• Ask if there is anything as a manager you can do to help/try and identify the stressors.

• Seek advice from the employee on any action that could be taken to alleviate the stress e.g. simple modifications to work for a short period, increase communication etc.

• Advise the employee about sources of help e.g. Employee Assistance Programme.

• Document agreed actions and actively follow up to ensure stress levels have been reduced.

• Review and if necessary modify the work tasks and responsibilities of employees who have had sickness absence due to stress as a result of their work.

• Be aware of the impact of stressed employees on other members of staff.

If you are concerned about stress in the workplace, contact us to discuss how we can assist you.

I couldn't stop the tears falling

I remember a time when every day I would wake up and the thought of going to work would make me cry. If you know me you’ll know I’m not THAT GIRL who cries, I’d rather punch something to vent my frustrations!

Has the thought of work ever reduced you to tears or anger?

I put it down to hormones because I was pregnant when it started happening, but it wasn’t that as when I returned to work after having my baby I felt worse. I was doing really well in my job but the workload was unsustainable and I was learning on the job, so I didn’t have the support of a framework or a mentor to direct me. I worked through the night and weekends to complete work to tight deadlines.

Now if I pull an all-nighter, it’s my choice!

I began to become snappy, less friendly and forgetful – I lost my motivation. It was only my stubbornness to complete at any cost that kept me going, but ultimately it was the beginning of my decision to start Eden Mayers HR Consulting.

Was job dissatisfaction part of your decision to become a business owner?

I’m speaking to more and more businesses who have record numbers of staff signed off with work-related stress, for small businesses this has the potential to be crippling.

The Health and Safety Executives Report for 2017, states that:

• 526,000 workers are suffering from work-related stress, depression or anxiety (new or long-standing)

• 12.5 million working days lost due to work-related stress, depression or anxiety

• Stress, depression or anxiety accounted for 40% of all work-related ill health cases and 49% of all working days lost due to ill health

The breakdown of the causes of work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2017 as follows:

• Workload: 44%

• Lack of support: 14%

• Changes at work: 8%

• Violence, threats or bullying: 13%

• Other: 21%

You can support your employees areas through strong policy, procedures, training, and the use of Employee Benefits and guidance services to help as and when needed. However, you also need to ensure that there is no stigma surrounding Mental Health, so that your employees are comfortable sharing.

A mentally and physically fit workforce is less likely to be absent, and be fully motivated to carry out their role to the best of their ability. Which means productive employees and happy clients for your business.

Let us help you to ensure that your HR policies and process are fit for purpose, contact us for a FREE policy review.