[Mental health] Mental health in the workplace: The crucial link with mental health Financial wellbeing

The importance of mental health in the workplace

The importance of discussing workplace mental health

The days of not talking about mental health are gone. Or, at least they should be. Positive mental health is important because it allows individuals to cope with challenges, even good ones, and setbacks in their lives, both at work and at home.

Positive mental health at work helps teams remain agile when changing roles and responsibilities. Not to mention facing difficult challenges. It helps employees flourish in their roles, manage stress, and boosts resilience. Ultimately, it allows each individual to reach their highest potential.

With all these accolades it is important that workplace mental health is discussed. Creating a safe space for employees at all levels to communicate openly without discrimination is crucial. Without this, you risk losing out on valuable feedback that could help you retain valuable talent.

Work-related risk factors that can harm mental health

Employee mental health can be negatively affected in the workplace due to: 

Inadequate health and safety policies

Workplace health and safety policies aim to protect the well-being of employees, visitors, and customers. They also protect employers. 

For instance, a general policy may include consulting with employees on day-to-day health issues or demonstrating a commitment to safe working conditions. Are employees working with hazardous materials or poorly maintained equipment? Is the workplace over-crowded, poorly lit or ventilated, or unsanitary? Are workplace accidents common? Have employee safety complaints or concerns gone unanswered? 

Workplaces with poor health and safety policies may decrease employee mental health, lose staff, risk prosecution, and reduce profitability.

Poor communication and management practices

Kind and engaging communication and management practices are the mark of a good manager-employee relationship. 

Poor communication and practices, on the other hand, create strain on the relationship, create poor mental health, and increase workplace stress.

Low levels of support for employees

Managers who don’t help remove obstacles or share resources with employees can contribute to employees feeling overwhelmed and unmotivated. For instance, rather than expecting employees to figure out tasks that they’re unclear about, managers should demonstrate how to complete those tasks and stay available for questions. 

Performance pressure

The expectations of employees to constantly perform at peak levels puts unreasonable pressure on them. It leads to an increase in workload and work hours, added stress, and emotional exhaustion.

Job insecurity

Job loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic became a major stressor for employees in 2020. The fear of not being able to pay bills or care for families carries a significant threat to an individual’s mental well-being.

 

 

Ways to promote mental health in the workplace

When it comes to promoting well-being at work, creating proactive options that help people improve and maintain their mental health day-to-day is key to helping employees flourish. Here are some proactive options to promote mental well-being at work, both as an employer and as an employee.

As an employer: 

The most vital action an employer can take is to offer resources for both broader mental health and those who need clinical services.

Making clinical services accessible is critical for employees experiencing mental illness. However, the majority of workers don’t need clinical care — they need mental health support.

Often during trying times, employees need help with coping skills, managing stress, and building up resilience. Strengthening their overall mental fitness is important for them to be both happy individuals, but also productive contributors to your team.

Below are six strategies employers can use to promote mental well-being at work:

 

1. Employee assistance program (EAP). An EAP is a work-based program that traditionally assists employees with personal or work-related problems that may be hurting their job performance or well-being. 

An EAP is provided to employees at no cost and can assist with issues like relationship challenges, traumatic events (i.e., workplace violence), legal problems, wellness matters, and a broad range of other issues. 

Employees can access services online, via phone, video or email, or face-to-face.

 

2. Relaxation spaces. Dedicated quiet spaces for relaxation activities give employees the opportunity for mid-day breaks to unwind and de-stress. Equally important is making it culturally acceptable to take breaks and use these spaces. Leaders and managers can set the tone.

3. Mental health self-assessment tools available to all employees. Self-assessment tools provide questionnaires and tools to assess mental health concerns. 

These tools don’t provide a diagnosis but rather help explore if further assessment or resources would be beneficial to the employee. 

For instance, tools may include:

• Mental health meter quiz
• Mood assessment checklist
• Work-life balance questionnaire
• Assessing your current situation questionnaire 
• Online alcohol and drug help center 
• Online mental health check-up

4. Free or subsidized clinical screenings for depression. Clinical screenings from mental health professionals that provide feedback and clinical referrals when appropriate. The effort of seeking evaluation and treatment can otherwise be a barrier.

 

5. Free or subsidized mental well-being coaches. Coaching services from certified coaches to help employees navigate challenges and strengthen their mental fitness. 

 

6. Health insurance with mental health benefits at no or low out-of-pocket costs. Provide free or inexpensive health care coverage for prescription medications and mental health counseling.

 

As an employee: 

To promote mental well-being at work, employees should encourage employers to offer stress management education and mental health programs that meet their needs and interests. 

Employees should also understand policies around how to take a mental health day off work in case the need arises. 

Additionally, here are six strategies employees can use to promote mental well-being at work:

 

1. Take part in employer-sponsored programs and activities. Employees should take advantage of employer programs to learn skills and obtain the support they need.

2. Share ups and downs with others. To help reduce the stigma around mental health, employees can share more of their own experiences with other co-workers when appropriate. Unless you feel very safe, this is more about sharing your humanness than getting into details — co-workers can’t substitute for mental health professionals.

3. Practice coping skills during the workday. To cope with daily work stressors, employees can practice skills that promote healthier mindsets, relationships, and self-image. 

Coping tools may include:

• Deep breathing
• Healthy communication
• Prioritization and focusing on one task at a time to avoid being overwhelmed
• Using positive self-talk

4. Practice self-care on lunch breaks. Daily lunch breaks are more than just opportunities to eat — they’re also the perfect time to practice self-care. 

Practicing self-care during lunch breaks may include:

• Listening to inspirational podcasts
• Meditating
• Deep breathing
• Going for a short nature walk
• Using the emotional freedom technique (EFT)/tapping

5. Take care of their physical health. Employees can set themselves up for mental health success by taking care of their physical health. This includes eating healthy meals, exercising regularly, and getting plenty of sleep.

6. Nurture relationships. Nurturing social connections at work is key to preventing social isolation and loneliness in the workplace.

 

 

 

Financial wellbeing:
The crucial link with mental health and the role of employers in tackling the cost of living crisis

 

Britain is facing the highest rate of inflation since the 1980s and, whilst we’ve seen promises of energy price caps and ‘levelling up’, there is still a great deal of uncertainty among us. As the cost of living rises, many people are being forced to consider changing their careers, upping their hours, or even getting a second job to try and offset some of the financial difficulties they may be experiencing.

With this in mind, we reached out to Simon Blake OBE, Chief Executive of Mental Health First Aid England, to ask what employers can do to support their employees’ financial wellbeing.

 

 

What steps can employers take to support employees' financial wellbeing?

As an employer, it is important to remove the stigma regarding financial issues so that employees do not suffer in silence and can access the support available to them. Research from a Wealth at Work survey found that 14% of UK adults say that financial worries make them feel embarrassed, rising to 23% of 18 to 34-year-olds.

As a nation, we might not feel terribly comfortable talking about our finances but, if we remove the stigma of talking about financial insecurities and worries, we can start to create plans to alleviate financial concerns and promote mental wellbeing. Here are a few top tips on how to remove the stigma of mental health in the workplace:

 

1. Deploying Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAiders®) in the workplace

The role of a MHFAider® is to be a point of contact for an employee who is experiencing a mental health issue or emotional distress. The MHFA course teaches people how to spot the early signs of poor mental health, including the warning signs of common mental health crises.

Research from The Royal College of Psychiatrists shows one in two adults with debt experience mental health issues, and over 100,000 people in England every year attempt to take their own life whilst struggling with debt. MHFAiders are trained on how to approach the person, listen and communicate non-judgmentally and then signpost to relevant support. This interaction could range from having an initial conversation to supporting the person to get appropriate help.

 

2. Focus on flexibility

There are individual and business benefits to some face-to-face interaction and, whilst at MHFA England I am keen for my teams to be in the office once a month for our all-staff meeting, I am also aware of the cost of travel. Keeping mandated office days to a minimum and providing lunch for everyone, I hope goes some way to mitigating some of the costs. We also have a policy of flexi or condensed hours which can help our employees avoid peak travel costs.

 

3. Keep connected

Creating opportunities to bring people together and boost morale will be important over the coming months. Proactively creating moments of celebration and joy at work as well as reminding employees that they have a strong team structure in place can help people through challenging times.

 

Be – and encourage all employees to be – considerate with your social planning. Activities can sometimes be expensive, and people may feel unable to participate. Introducing a mix of social options including virtual and affordable activities can allow more staff to feel included while not adding an additional call on their finances.

 

How can employers start difficult conversations about money/budgeting?

 

Societal norms mean many people are uncomfortable discussing money worries. 68% would not want to discuss finances with their employer for fear of shame, embarrassment or even discrimination.

Positive and open cultures are developed from the top down. As senior leaders, we can lead from the front by showing that we understand that finances are increasingly tight and a significant number of people in most organisations may find it difficult to manage.

We must also remember that soaring costs will exacerbate existing economic and social inequalities, and some groups within your workforce will be impacted more than others. We can helpfully encourage people to access the support available to them whether that be from a line manager, your Employee Assistance Programme or other people in your organisation.

💬 An Employee Assistance Programme, or EAP, is a service funded by employers, giving their staff free access to wellbeing support. At Counselling Directory, we provide a list of counsellors and therapists that can accept both EAPs and health insurance.

 

How can employers support their employees to feel more financially confident?

Organisations should take stock and make sure that everyone is aware of all the benefits already on offer, for example, any season ticket loan, salary sacrifice options, or ‘cycle to work’ schemes. Make sure employees know they exist and how to make the most of them.

As employers, we should ensure that our wellbeing strategies reflect the relationship between financial wellbeing and mental wellbeing. As part of the support we offer our employees, we recently facilitated an online discussion to help our employees understand the different options available to navigate the cost-of-living crisis. We wanted to ensure that people knew that we recognise things may be tough in the months ahead and that they felt supported.

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Speaking to your employer or employees about financial situations can feel somewhat taboo. The truth is, the cost of living crisis is likely to have an impact on all of us in some way or another. So, if you’re finding that it’s affecting you, your family, or your work, it’s important to speak to your employer about what support they can offer you. If you don't feel you can confide in them, try having a conversation with HR or a close colleague instead.