In this article, Health and Safety expert, Adam Williams discusses the importance of wellbeing support within a business and how employers can start to implement this.
We all have mental health just as we have physical health. It moves up and down along a spectrum from good to poor. Considering how much time we spend at work, it’s not surprising that workplace environments and culture affect our wellbeing.
Some employers know that organisations perform better when staff are healthy, motivated and focused. Moreover, research consistently shows that when employees feel their work is meaningful and they are valued and supported, they tend to have higher wellbeing levels, be more committed to the organisation’s goals and, importantly, perform better too. This strong relationship between levels of staff wellbeing and motivation and business performance is often called ‘employee engagement’.
‘60 per cent of employees say they’d feel more motivated and more likely to recommend their organisation as a good place to work if their employer took action to support mental wellbeing’. – Mind.org.uk
Employers should send a clear message that staff wellbeing matters. Colleagues take cues from how leaders behave. When the CEO speaks out about mental health it can have a huge impact. Leaders can also show the organisation’s commitment to staff wellbeing by simple actions. For example, supporting a campaign to encourage all staff to take lunch breaks and to work healthy hours.
In many workplaces, mental health is the elephant in the room. Too often, employees are scared to talk to their manager and problems can spiral.
What can employers do to promote wellbeing in the workplace?
Speak regularly with team members to check how they’re doing and to reflect on what might be causing them stress. You can do this at a team level by adding a standing item to team meetings where people talk about wellbeing and stress as a group. Building checks into the organisation’s culture in this way can:
The way you manage and support staff who are experiencing a mental health problem can be key in shaping how they cope and recover. Therefore, your organisation should:
We deliver a 2-day online course in Mental Wellbeing First Aid. The course provides an insightful understanding of mental health and mental health problems. Packed with practical advice, you will be able to spot signs of declining mental health, and by using a practical action plan, be able to appropriately offer someone help in both an emergency and a longer-term situation. Our next upcoming course is on Thursday 30th – Friday 31st March at a cost of £265 + VAT per person.
It is likely that having a staff member trained in Mental Wellbeing First Aid will become a requirement soon so it may be worth getting one step ahead by booking yourself or your colleagues onto this course.
If you would like to book onto this course or would like to know other available dates for this training, please get in contact with one of the team.
T: 0330 107 1037
Twitter: @HPC_HRServices