MENTAL WELLBEING ... an asset for you and your staff

Work-related stress, anxiety and depression are common and debilitating. By knowing what to do in advance, business owners can help their vulnerable colleagues and themselves in times of crisis.

A health issues that are often hidden

One in four UK people will faced mental health problems at some point in their lives. Most are mild but can still be debilitating. For the good of your business, yourself, your decision-making and your staff, knowing how to identify and respond to common mental health problems, and more serious stress, is both logical and compassionate.

Mental health and wellbeing affects how we think, feel and behave. Anxiety includes being worried, uneasy or fearful; it can be hard to control, leading on to yet more anxiety affecting daily life and work.

Depression is about more than just feeling unhappy for a few days. Again, it can have a wide variety of symptoms and cause problems at work.

Work-related stress and common mental health problems (CMHP) go together, often resulting in a loss of appetite, tiredness, tearfulness and physical changes such as high blood pressure.

What can you do?

While the root causes are complex and an area for medical specialists, there are steps that you can and should take to minimise difficulties and help workers experiencing problems. For business owners themselves, this can be a case of 'physician heal thyself'; seeking professional medical support is not a badge of failure and can lead to more positive outcomes. You are not alone.

Employers can help by: -

• Improving specific working conditions that improve the management and prevention of stress
• Talk to employees with difficulties early on and support them with an empathetic action plan
• Suggest employees speak to someone else - their GP, medical support or occupational health manager/department
• Encourage line managers to make reasonable workplace adjustments rather than trying to anticipate a medical diagnosis
• Remain in touch with employees off sick so they don't feel isolated, forgotten or unable to return to work
• Reassure absent staff that their job is safe - keep them informed about work and social events
• Use routine work meetings, appraisals and informal chats to give staff members opportunities to raise potentially embarrassing mental health issues
• When an employee returns to work, discuss their reintegration into your workforce before it happens

In summary

Fortunately, most people who have ongoing health issues continue to work successfully. They should always be treated in exactly the same way as any other staff member, unless they either specifically ask for help or demonstrate clear signs of distress.

It is considered discriminatory to make assumptions about their capabilities, promotability or the amount of sick leave they may need as a result of illness.

It is also important to remember that stress does not affect everyone in the same way.