4 Questions You Should Be Asking When Considering Mental Health In The Workplace

WorkingWorld

You might be relieved to have seen politicians finally talking about how we ensure the same quality and access to treatment for mental health as physical health. However, in reality in the workplace, organisations shouldn't even need to make this distinction - managers should treat all employees, who might experience mental health issues, in exactly the same way as if they had physical health problems. This means compassion, support and adjustment. Why is this?

Firstly, employers have many statutory (written in law in England and Wales) obligations to employees. As a manager, you have to protect your employees' health, safety and welfare. You have to take reasonable care to provide a safe place to work and a safe system of working if your employees are disabled. You need to consider making adjustments to alleviate the effect of any disability they might experience. These requirements in law are just as relevant to mental as to physical health conditions.

Secondly though, this is obviously not just about what the law requires. Businesses succeed thanks to their people. Good employers know if they look after their people, their organisation will benefit. Sickness absence isn't good for anyone, and teams will function better and increase their output if they are provided with the right support to be productive.

So how do you know if you are treating mental and physical health in exactly the same way?

This will depend on the type of organisation and sector you work in. Developing a bespoke approach is key and there are some important questions you or your organisation should ask:

1. As a manager, are you aware of mental health issues, generally and as they relate to your organisation?

   A priority for any manager is to be aware of pressures affecting their team and to think about how they might be addressed. This isn't about looking at productivity reports, but a question of taking the time to talk to your colleagues. You should be checking in with them regularly, which will help you to identify issues early.

2. On the flip side, are you enquiring, but respectful?

   Ideally employer and employee should be able to have a frank and honest discussion with each other, but how much detail do you really need to know...