Mental Health Awareness Week and Wellbeing at Work During Covid-19

From last year’s figures it was estimated that mental ill-health was costing the economy a staggering estimated £99 billion each year. According to the CIPD report published in May 2019, mental ill health was an even more significant issue for organisations than in previous years, with over a fifth reporting that mental ill health is the primary cause of long-term absence in the workplace. With the outbreak of Covid-19 across the world, we are likely now all struggling with some level of additional pressures and anxieties in one way of another; juggling work and childcare, lack of time and space to ourselves, financial pressures, concern for our family’s health and feelings of isolation. It is highly likely that we will start to see a rise in mental ill health as another longer-term result of Covid-19 into 2020 and beyond.

Never has there been a more pressing time for us to stop and take a moment to consider our own and our colleagues mental wellbeing.

How can we continue to support each other through these challenging times and where can we look for additional support?

Mental Health Awareness in the Workplace

Just because you may not be in the same place as your staff or your colleagues right now, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be aware of the challenges they may be facing.

People are an organisation’s greatest asset after all, so creating a workplace culture where individuals feel they can approach their line manager and have an open and supportive conversation about their mental health is key. It is also key that line managers have the knowledge to be able to signpost their team member to the relevant professional help or support.

By taking steps to break the stigma and having more people stand up and talk openly about their mental health then maybe this could be one anxiety we, as a society, can help ease.

Support for Mental Health at Work

Although employers are increasingly recognising mental health as a significant workplace issue, which is a fantastic step forward, the levels of work-related stress and mental-health related absence even before Covid-19 were not improving, which the CIPD attribute to a stubborn implementation gap, between the aspiration of the organisation and the actual practice.

The Where’s Your Head at? campaign survey revealed that:

• 86% of the men and women who responded agreed that mental health is one of the biggest challenges facing the country and over a third (33%) of those people said they are more stressed than they were a couple of years ago;
• 90% of the public say they still feel there is a taboo around discussing mental health;
• Over half (56%) of respondents said that if they had to take time off work due to stress/anxiety then they would tell their boss the truth, but this was lower for those living in London.

There are many great charities set up to help us as individuals and employers. One such charity is Mental Health at Work which has been curated by Mind, the mental health charity and is funded by The Royal Foundation as part of the Heads Together campaign. It’s a website which offers resources, blogs, toolkits and so much more to support our mental wellbeing at work. If you are looking to expand or implement an open forum around mental health within the workplace they can support you with this. They offer sector specific resources such as:

• Support for line managers, colleagues and staff
• Ways to assess my organisations approach
• Ideas to improve workplace culture
• Help to develop policy and practice.

As a business you can also pledge to ‘make the commitment’. By doing this you are publicly pledging that mental health at work is a priority for you. It’s a great opportunity to embrace the mindset that mental health within the workplace needs to be recognised and addressed. According to Mental Health at Work 39% of employees have experienced poor mental health where work was a contributing factor in the last year. This is a worrying statistic for all employers and one that must be addressed.

The great work of charities in the UK means that mental health awareness within the work place is now high on the agenda. Support is available and just as importantly the knowledge and tools we need to support each other are available. We seem to be naturally equipped to support those with a more visible illness but it’s all of our responsibilities to equip ourselves with the ability to support both ourselves and others with those illnesses that are less visible.

What can you do to support your employees’ mental health?

We can start by looking at how we can help to combat the root causes of mental ill health and commit to effective employee wellbeing strategies across the organisation to raise awareness and support of wellbeing at work. The positive effects of such a strategy can include lower sickness absence and presenteeism, better employee morale and increased engagement, as well as forging a healthier and more inclusive culture within the workplace. All important during ‘normal’ times, but completely vital right now.

As an eLearning provider, we understand the importance of developing and encouraging professional and personal skills through eLearning to allow you to get the very most out of your employees. Learning resources support individuals in so many ways from learning how to be a better leader to improving job skills. However, organisations can go further by offering eLearning to nurture and support their employees’ mental health and wellbeing, going beyond career-based performance and thinking about the individual as a whole person.

“Employees who believe that management is concerned about them as a whole person – not just an employee – are more productive, more satisfied, more fulfilled. Satisfied employees mean satisfied customers, which leads to profitability.” – Anne M. Mulcahy

One way to really prioritise Workplace Wellbeing is to make finding help and support as easy as possible. We’ve created our Workplace Wellbeing eLearning content library to offer reliable and effective resources to support individuals, content which goes beyond simply box ticking compliance or professional soft skills training, in order to put the power of knowledge and awareness of mental health in your learners’ hands. Make wellbeing something that is emphasised throughout the business, from the top down and work to create a culture of support and a more open and understanding working environment, with staff who are motivated, productive and healthy.

We continue to add to our content Wellbeing range with relevant topics to support our learners beyond just becoming great managers, first class presenters or top team workers, but to learn for themselves how to cope with challenges, thrive in change and manage their mental wellbeing to be the best versions of themselves.

During this year’s Mental Health Awareness week take some time to stop and reflect. Consider your own mental health and those of your colleagues. Ask yourself, could you or your business do more?