Understanding the mental health requirements of your employees
As an employer, do you understand the mental health requirements of your employees? Workers are increasingly looking to their employers for mental health support. However, many businesses are still in the dark about engaging in meaningful conversations with employees about their mental health and where they could benefit from additional support.
Beneath the professional façade, your employees carry their unique burdens, stressors, and mental health challenges. Less than 10% of people feel comfortable sharing their mental health issues or conditions with an employer, leaving team leaders and managers in the dark about their employee’s mental state or even how mental health is impacting the business’ bottom line.
Anxiety, burnout, depression, and other psychological issues can silently permeate people’s lives, impacting their resilience and overall happiness inside and outside the workplace.
As a business, developing a deeper understanding of mental health’s complex and nuanced nature is imperative, shedding light on your employees’ hidden struggles. Understanding and addressing the mental health requirements of your employees is not merely an act of goodwill; numerous studies have shown a strong correlation between employee mental wellbeing and productivity, engagement, and retention rates.
Some relatively common situations in the workplace that you might not realise have an impact on employee mental health
Grief and Bereavement Support
Organisations can offer CBT therapy or support services to employees who have experienced the loss of a loved one or are going through a traumatic life event. Grief can be a complex subject to bring up with an employee, so understanding the requirements of the individual and how to start those conversations (without causing offence or stepping over any boundaries) can be achieved through training.
Stepping up in your career
Management teams and executive leadership that foster an open and understanding work environment have a powerful opportunity to shape corporate culture from the top down. The transition into a role with more responsibility or into a different team can be daunting, and some employees may need extra support navigating these changes.
Menopause Support
Menopause can bring about physical and emotional changes that can significantly impact a woman’s mental well-being. Organisations may want to consider providing resources and support, such as information sessions, access to healthcare professionals, and CBT therapy, to talk through any new changes.
Parenthood and Caregiving
Becoming a parent or taking on caregiving responsibilities for children, elderly parents, or individuals with special needs can bring both joy and added stress. New parents can be affected by post-partum depression (which can present in mothers and fathers) and may find reaching out for help too tricky.
Chronic Illness or Disability
Being diagnosed with a chronic illness or facing a disability can substantially impact a person’s mental wellbeing. Support may look like managing symptoms, adapting to new limitations, and offering therapy to learn how to manage thoughts to cope with the emotional challenges associated with the condition.
Neurodiversity in the workplace
Whether an individual has disclosed a neurodiverse condition (ADHD or autism) to you or not, neurodiverse brains have differences in communication styles and social interactions, leading to challenges in understanding and navigating workplace dynamics.
Why is it important to have conversations about mental wellbeing in the workplace?
When employees feel that their employers care about their mental wellbeing, creativity flourishes, collaboration soars and overall job satisfaction increases, leading to enhanced business outcomes.
When business leaders engage in conversations around mental health, this helps to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues. When people feel comfortable discussing their mental wellbeing openly, it creates an environment of acceptance, understanding, and support. This can encourage individuals to bring to light invisible problems without fear of judgment or discrimination.
These open conversations about mental wellbeing allow for the early identification of potential issues. Early intervention and support can help prevent more severe mental health issues and promote timely access to appropriate resources and interventions.
How do you measure employee wellbeing?
The best way to know how someone is feeling is by asking them. However, knowing the right questions and how to ask someone is vital to receiving honest answers. Through a mental health audit with Onebright, gaining expert mental health insights into the current state of wellbeing within your workforce is possible.
A mental health audit can reveal how mental health is perceived and prioritised. It can assess whether there is a stigma surrounding mental health, the level of support and understanding from leadership, and the overall climate for discussing mental health in the workplace.
Mental health audits can include surveys, focus groups, or interviews to gather insights from employees about their perceptions and experiences related to mental health in the workplace. This can help identify barriers to seeking support, gauge overall well-being, and understand specific challenges different employee groups face.
How to get a mental health audit of my business?
If you want better to understand the mental health requirements of your employees, fill out the form below, and one of the Onebright team will be in touch.
