Staff mental health – did you know?

Did you know that mental health difficulties is now the primary cause of long-term sickness absence for many UK organisations? Did you know that recent research shows that only 32% of organisations train line managers on how to support staff with mental health difficulties? Do your managers know how to support their staff experiencing stress and other mental health difficulties at work? Would new guidance and training help?

Mind, the mental health charity, have published a revised mental health guide that helps managers to get to grips with workplace mental health. It sets out the practical steps that managers can take to

• create a mentally healthy workplace
• support staff who are experiencing  stress and other mental health difficulties at work and
• help prevent poor psychological well-being.

The toolkit section has a package of resources that focus on a particular area of workplace mental health. The resource section provides a range of resources which you can access using filters or search tools.

You can download the guide here

Staff training

As a registered trainer with Mind, I am frequently asked to deliver training to managers and HR on how best to support their staff who have mental health difficulties. Training is essential considering that one in four of us will experience a mental health difficulty at some point in our lives.

Training helps ‘start the conversation’ around mental health at work and tackle myths, misconceptions and workplace stigma around mental health that so often exists. Training also provides practical advice for managers who are supporting staff with mental health difficulties.

Take a look at a DVD about the importance of talking about workplace mental health here

My training workshop can cover, for example:

• common mental health difficulties to be aware of
• questions managers should and should not ask as part of staff induction
• appropriate questions  to use within occupational health questionnaires
• creating a mentally healthy workplace
• case studies that draw out best practice in supporting staff with stress, anxiety, depression and other common mental health difficulties
• knotty issues commonly experienced by managers
• relevant case law, for example making reasonable adjustments and the implications of sickness absence
• understanding how to determine what is ‘reasonable’ when making reasonable adjustments 

Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you are interested in me delivering training for your staff