How to spot the signs of mental health challenges and stress in your employees, have effective conversations about mental health and support staff who are struggling or unwell, as well as the importance of leading by example.
1. The importance of self-care
As a senior leader, partner, line-manager, or supervisor of trainees, you are just as prone to develop stress, burn-out and other mental health difficulties as anyone else, if not more so. Nobody is immune.
It is important to attend to your own mental wellbeing and not see this as a luxury or a sign of weakness. Looking after yourself will ensure that you are effective, productive and make good decisions. If you can do this successfully, you will also be acting as a good role model. This will help demonstrate that you are not just paying lip service to any mental health initiatives you put in place.
2. Training for managers
One of the most effective interventions that any company can introduce to improve staff mental health is to put effective mental health training in place for line managers.1
This should cover:
- Appreciating, valuing and respecting difference.
- Learning how to recognise the signs of when people are starting to struggle with their mental health. See Help if you are struggling.
- Impact on stress levels and mental health from being from an underrepresented community and how to recognise/understand/manage this. See Understanding stress in minority groups.
- Effective communication skills, including ‘having the conversation’ and ‘active listening skills’. See Help if you are concerned about someone else.
- Awareness of the best kind of reasonable adjustments to introduce and how to do this.2, 3
- Managing sickness absence and return to work.
- Knowing when and where to refer.
- The importance of self-care and leading by example.
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3. Communication skills
As managers, we communicate in a variety of different ways – by email, telephone, in one-to-one meetings and team briefings. We also need to remember that communication is a two-way process involving the communicator, the message and the recipient. It is therefore always essential to ensure that the message is delivered in such a way that it is heard and understood by the recipient, otherwise there is no communication.
People may take in information in a variety of different ways and, as a manager, it is important to appreciate this and make sure you communicate in the most effective way for your audience. Good transparent communication is vital in a company to create a psychologically safe, healthy and productive environment.
Some tips
- Think about how your written words come across (for example, in an email). If in doubt, check them through with a colleague especially in important emails or other written communications.
- Keep your spoken communications clear and congruent with how you feel. Often facial expression, tone of voice and body language will say far more than the words you are using.
- Check that what you are saying has actually been understood or taken in. Often people who are anxious, stressed or depressed may not fully understand your words or will misinterpret them. It is good practice to follow conversations up with an email where appropriate.
- Make sure you really listen to what people are saying and check that you have understood them correctly. Tailor what you say to take account of the other person’s input. For more information see Help if you are concerned about someone else.
- When you are supporting a member of staff who is struggling with their mental health, check out which form of keeping in touch works best for them, especially when you are supporting sickness absence.
- Recognise that occasionally for a variety of reasons you might not be the right person to help at this time and remember you don’t have to do everything on your own.
4. Managing staff who are struggling
If the problem is not work-related:
- Allow the person to talk, listen carefully to what they say, without judgement, and don’t make assumptions about what people need or will find helpful. Be guided by them, bearing in mind that often people who are struggling with their mental health may be so distressed and confused they are not really sure what they need.
- Time away from work may be helpful or it may not. Discuss the options with the person, in a none judgemental way, and listen to their wishes.
- What is important is that your staff member/colleague/supervisee feels safe and comfortable talking to you and that they know that you will understand if they are having an ‘off’ day.
If the problem is work-related, as above, and:
- Don’t rush in with solutions. Each person and each situation is different.
- The answer might be simple, for example a few days off (make sure someone is there to help with their caseload), a re-examination/re-allocation of workload or some extra resources (including, perhaps, signposting to sources of support).
- It might be more complex and involve managing sickness absence, return to work and/or putting in place reasonable adjustments. These need not be difficult or onerous and are often temporary.
- Don’t forget that a diagnosed and enduring mental health difficulty comes under the definition of a protected characteristic and might well be covered by the Equality Act 2010.1 Employers also have a duty of care under the Health and Safety Act (1974) to look after their employees’ physical and mental health, safety and wellbeing.5
5. Wellness Action Plans6
If you have a member of staff who is struggling with their mental health, you might want to ask them to complete a Wellness Action Plan.
Basically, a Wellness Action Plan asks you to consider:
- What do you need to do to keep yourself well?
- Are there any triggers for becoming unwell, eg. too many late nights?
- What are the signs you might be becoming unwell?
- What to do / who to contact if you become unwell?
You can develop your own or you can use the template from Mind.7 They also have guidance for managers.
This is a useful tool for all of us but is especially valuable for those who do have mental health struggles and/or for managing a return to work after a period of sickness absence due to mental health difficulties.
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6. Privacy, confidentiality and record keeping
- Often people will be sharing information and feelings that are very personal. It is important to respect privacy by ensuring that conversations, if in person, are held in a place where the person feels safe. You might also want to check what information, if any, they would like to share with the rest of the team especially in cases of sickness absence.
- When you are asking someone how they are, try not to feel uncomfortable or that you are prying. If you are open and able to listen people will share what they are comfortable with. It is important to give them the opportunity to do this even if they choose not to take it.
- Whilst being sensitive about the need for confidentiality, never promise total confidentiality as there may be times where this could be broken for example if there is a serious risk of harm to self and others. Make sure you are very transparent about this and get permission for any information to be shared, except in the rare circumstance where the person is unable to do this.
- It is important to keep records of conversations, what is agreed and actions taken. Make sure these are respectful, that the person you are working with is aware of this and that they are stored confidentially in line with GDPR and company policy.
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7. References and further information
1. WHO guidelines on mental health at work
2. CIPD Guides
3. BITC Mental Health for Employers Toolkit
4. Equality Act 2010: guidance
5. Health and Safety Executive
6. Adapted from Mary Ellen Copeland’s Wellness Recovery Action Plan
7. Mind Wellness Action Plan guide