Mental health problems at work are extremely common, statistically 1 in 6 people will suffer at some stage in their working lives, and that’s only counting those that actively seek help. Many people suffer in silence either because they don’t know where to look for support, or because they fear being discriminated against, judged or labelled as not being able to cope with pressure.

Confronting the issue at work can be scary and confusing for employees, and as an HR team or hiring manager this is something that needs your attention because the hard facts state that mental health is costing you money and affecting the productivity of your business. According to a survey by the mental health charity, Mind more than one in five employees agreed that they had called in sick to avoid work when asked how workplace stress had affected them. That’s 21% of your workplace who aren’t performing to the best of their ability, or full capacity, because of mental health-related issues.

Thankfully, the taboo around mental health is slowly shifting, but in order to continue to encourage anyone struggling to seek help it relies upon every one of us in the workplace, especially hiring managers and those working in HR, to be open about mental health at work and ensure that all employees know there is a safe space within their work place where they can seek help and that there are processes in place to help them cope and recover.

Many companies are doing a fantastic job at confronting mental health at work, with talks, forums and dedicated mental health support services such as counselling, CBT and referrals. For employees suffering the most important thing is for them to know that they have somewhere to turn and that they won’t be judged. However, although improvements have been made, we still have a long way to go to ensuring all workplaces are equipped with the appropriate mental health knowledge and services.

If you’re concerned that your workplace is not supporting its staff as well as it could be we’ve listed some advice and links to articles that might help below.

Mind – The Mind website is full of tools and advice on how to improve your mental health at work. We’ve selected some that we think are particularly useful below but head to their website here for more information.

• Training and Consultancy – Mind offer a fantastic range of courses aimed at helping train mangers or anyone working at a senior level about how to effectively help their employees deal with mental health issues at work. You can download their calendar of events for 2019 here and head to their website here for more information and to book.
• Free Resources – Download a leaflet aimed specifically at HR professionals and line manager here, which details how organisations can support staff at every stage of the mental health spectrum. The approaches in the guide are universal principles designed to support a diverse range of people across a range of workplaces. • Guide for Small Businesses – If you’re a small business it’s likely you won’t have the resources or budgets at the disposal of larger corporations, however, that doesn’t mean you can take action. Click here to down free resources aimed specially at small business.

Mental Health Foundation – Dedicated to finding and addressing the sources of mental health problems, the Mental Health Foundation Website is a fountain of knowledge on all mental health issues and has a great section on supporting your employees at work. View their website here and download their PDF on supporting people at work here.

Mental Health At Work - This website is 100% dedicated to supporting mental health at work, with resources available for managers regardless of whether you have 2 or 2,000 employees. Answer a few simple questions about your organisation and they'll provide you with a list of appropriate and really useful resources. Click here to get started.

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