In the UK 2nd of February is “Time to Talk Day”. This awareness day focuses attention on mental health, one of the most pressing issues for employers in 2023. 

Addressing mental health at work is a balancing act that many companies are wary of – there is the need to create an open environment for employees to talk about mental health but that must be balanced with psychological safety, meaning support that helps rather than hinders, and being respectful of personal boundaries when offering support.

Employee mental health is on something of a precipice with increasing everyday pressures and strains and compounded by issues and circumstances such as financial worries borne from the cost of living rises, our emergence from the pandemic, war in Europe, and climate change to name but a few. A study by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published in late 2022 reported – perhaps alarmingly- that nearly 1 million workers in the UK were suffering from work-related stress, depression or anxiety and that 17 million working days were lost to these issues in 2021/22.  This cannot be overlooked if employers are to support their staff whilst maintaining high engagement and productivity.

Time to Talk

Time to Talk Day allows employers to highlight their commitment to employee mental health. Creating an environment where these issues are discussed may encourage people to seek support.  This first step of asking for help for mental health can be difficult, especially in a professional environment.  This is often underpinned by concerns about being embarrassed, ostracised, treated differently by co-workers and the possibility it could affect career prospects.

However, something as simple as being transparent and purposeful in being willing to listening to colleagues, encouraging them to talk about their struggles, can be liberating and cathartic for employees. It may help them feel supported, whilst cultivating a working environment that acknowledges the need for tolerance and understanding.  It also helps people manage issues early rather than seeing them develop incrementally into crises.

Therefore, to mark “Time to Talk”  companies should cease the opportunity to publicise the mental health support they have in place.  HRO Optimisation can help with a template email if of help – just ask.  You could highlight existing programmes, take on workshops and training and signposting to professional mental health resources is a chance to help create the environment of psychological safety that is the bedrock of employee wellbeing.  Rethink Org also has a range of free resources to support you:  order a free resource pack today or check out their tips for talking about mental health.

Respecting Boundaries in Mental Health Conversations 

The desire to create space for the discussion of mental health issues is a positive goal for employers. However psychological safety requires both the open environment for discussion as well as boundaries and a framework for how these conversations are navigated.

Be careful to ensure staff are not offering mental health advice without the appropriate qualifications and experience.  There are regular instances of colleagues, managers and HR professionals offering unqualified mental health advice or turning the conversation onto their own experiences, rather than listening and signposting to professional support. This has the real potential to descend into a psychologically unsafe situation for all parties and can be burdonsome emotionally to managers in particular.

2022 research carried out by Wellbeing Partners found that 26% of HR managers surveyed recognised that they become overly involved in employees’ mental health issues – an unhelpful situation that increases risk for the HR professional, the employee and the employer as well.  Investing in referral resources can be invaluable in these circumstances – Employee Assistance Programmes, Wellbeing Apps, Private Healthcare and being aware of free referral signpost can be invaluable.

Train your workforce to ensure conversations are kept psychologically safe

Ensuring boundaries and frameworks are common knowledge to enable your colleagues to support mental health.  “Time to Talk Day” is an opportunity to widen the conversation about mental health in the workplace. However, the conversation is not simply raising the issue, but making sure that it is an ongoing policy, and conversations have boundaries and are focused on facilitating professional support rather than recuing, advice-giving,  or fixing behaviours.

Part of the ongoing commitment of employee mental health and wellbeing in the workplace is to ensure that all HR and managers, and indeed all employees, know the skills for navigating a supportive conversation around mental health, so that it results in an appropriate and safe outcome.

Here are some sample  of tips for creating boundaries around supportive conversations at work:

  • LISTEN    If a colleague is willing to talk about an issue, they will want to be listened to and validated. They don’t want to be interrupted, nor should they have to listen to a colleagues’ mental health anecdotes, be analysed, or encouraged to focus on the “positives”.
  • EXPLORE Unless the colleague doing the listening is a  mental health professional, it is not helpful to give advice (other than resource signposting) or try to solve a colleague’s mental health or personal issues. Showing compassion and enabling an exploration of what professional support the employee might benefit from is the correct approach. A few simple explorative questions are important for leaders and all colleagues to learn.
  • SIGNPOST TO PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT  This is often appropriate, especially if the company has an EAP in place or other therapeutic referral services in place such as counselling via private medical insurance. However, signposting is a skill. If handled incorrectly, it  risks being interpreted negatively by employees: being told to get professional support can be viewed as a threat or accusation. Asking a colleague if they “would like to know more about what professional support services are available” is a much safer way to signpost on that telling someone that they need help.

Providing leaders and all employees with training around the boundaries for supportive conversations in the workplace is a key focus for workplaces in 2023 – having appointed mental health first aiders can be of great assistance here.

Trends in mental health wellbeing strategies

Across the UK, workplaces are increasingly focusing their budgets on tailored, professional support for individual employees who are struggling with mental health issues and burnout, and offering wellbeing coaching to employees to prevent issues becoming chronic. In-house counselling and wellbeing coaching is the fastest growing trend in employee wellbeing for 2023, offering individual employees a supportive space for people to work through workplace and personal life issues with a fully qualified professional.  Small employers can also benefit from investing in apps and resources to bolster their employee’s wellbeing for example Unmind.

Time to talk day is a great starting point to open the conversation about what your staff might welcome, and to help you hone your wellbeing strategy.  Encourage open and honest conversations around mental health, but also put in place the boundaries for supportive conversations with training and guidelines that mean once those conversations begin, there is more likely to be an effective and psychologically safe outcome for all.

If HR Optimisation can be of assistance to you in developing your wellbeing strategy and mental health support plan please do get in touch.

 

 

 

Hannah Powell