Mental Health Problems At Work – Why Companies Need To A Plan To Handle The Surge
In a recent article, I wrote how stigmatised mental health issues still seem to be in our society. I find this is doubly true at work. People will talk to doctors, family members and friends but are still wary of revealing any mental illness to their employer. We need to talk more about mental health problems at work because work is where many of us spend a third of our day or more.
I believe that we can write as many articles as we like stating mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, but until companies put a robust system in place, far too many people will fall through the cracks. This doesn’t just impact the person, it negatively affects their colleagues, the business and the employee’s family.
The Financial Cost
It’s hardly the key concern, but it’s worth highlighting the financial impact mental health issues have on businesses due to lost productivity. The World Health Organisation estimates that $1 trillion is lost worldwide per year due to mental health problems. Quite a scary figure, isn’t it? Closer to home, for me anyway, Deloitte reported that poor mental health costs UK business £45 billion a year.
Why Now?
This isn’t a new problem, but it’s even more important now, thanks to the continuing Covid pandemic. Mental health problems have increased dramatically due to the isolation during lockdowns and the significantly reduced availability of mental health support.
Since the world started to return to “normal” there’s been another surge. This is mostly due to fears about returning to the office because of concerns over safety with Covid cases still high and social anxiety problems. Those employees who already suffered from social anxiety have enjoyed the break from interacting with others. Now they have to return to the office they have heightened anxiety about having to readjust.
Other employees didn’t realise how stressful their office environment was until they were away from it. Again, they feel anxious about the impact returning will have.
How Can Companies Help With Mental Health Problems at Work?
This list is not exhaustive, but here are a few ideas:
Mental Health First Aiders
This is a growing trend in some companies. A mental health first aider is the first point of contact for employees struggling with mental health problems at work or any other part of their lives. They can provide a friendly ear, help liaise with management if time off or adjusted duties are required, or help them seek appropriate help.
Employee Assistance Programs
Some larger companies offer an employee assistance program (EAP). EAPs offer 24-hour helplines that the employee can call at any time if suffering from mental health issues. These issues do not need to be work-related. They can be about anything. As well as providing on the spot phone counselling, the employee can be referred for a short course of counselling if the counsellors at the EAP feel it would be beneficial.
Mental Health Seminars
These seminars, which would ideally be mandatory, discuss mental health in an open and non-judgemental way. They should aim to highlight how widespread mental health issues are and signpost help available to employees who fail they may need help. This can be through an EAP, mental health first aiders, and the NHS. If the business offers employees private medical insurance, they should set out what this covers too.
Ideally, employees of the business who have mental health issues should talk about how mental illness has affected them. This will help break the stigma, but initially, people may not feel comfortable doing this.
Check-Ins
Companies should train their managers to spot potential mental health problems at work so that they can check in with their employees before their illness escalates. Not all employees will be willing to admit they have an illness, but asking the right questions in an empathetic way may help the person to realise they can open up.
A frank conversation may highlight elements of the employees work life that are negatively impacting them. It gives the employer the opportunity to assess if adjustments need to be made for that one employee or the whole department or business.
It’s Ok To Have Mental Health Problems!
I really cannot stress this enough. Mental illness is so much more widespread than many people think. Regardless of how it may seem, you are not the only one struggling while everyone else is crushing it! It’s only when we open up about our struggles that people who always seem fine creep up to us and whisper “me too”. We need to start a conversation, and we all need to do our part. You don’t have to suffer mental health problems at work on your own.
