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Promoting Mental Health in the Workplace
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Posted in Employers on Nov 08, 2016 by Richard Hayden
This quarter we are focusing on Health & Wellbeing in the workplace and Mental Health is such a big part of that.
A recent survey of 2,000 people conducted by the charity 'Business in the Community' uncovered some worrying trends. It revealed that 62% of workers believed their employment had contributed to physical, psychological or behavioural symptoms of poor mental health.
10th October was Mental Health Awareness Day. So this month is a good time to reflect on good mental health in the workplace.
The survey probed deeper and found that traditional channels which you might expect to help manage this problem were not being used. Only 11% of staff members had discussed mental health problems with line managers. Just one in four felt able to talk to any colleague at all about the matter. And while a quarter of employees said they had access to an employee assistance programme (EAP), only 2% had used one.
It suggests that businesses need to go further than just putting processes in place to manage mental health. If you have line managers, training in mental health awareness could be a big help here (32% of managers said they didn’t have enough) and building in time for one-to-one appraisals provides more opportunity to nurture staff and spot problems early.
If you invest in an EAP, don’t think of it as just a box ticking exercise: promote it internally to staff so they understand how it can help.
Finally, one of the basics to get right is workplace culture. Creating an environment where people get on with each other and enjoy their work is a great starting point for promoting mental health.
Key Appointments works hard to find the best candidates. We believe that part of this is helping our clients ensure that they are attractive as an employer. That’s why we offer far more than just a recruitment service.
We have taken the time to build strong relationships with reliable, professional businesses whose services we feel could be beneficial to the clients we work with. If you would like to improve health and wellbeing in your workplace then we can introduce you to our network of specialist contacts. Whether you need help with recruitment or would like us to connect you with someone who can assist with health and wellbeing, get in touch.
