Mental well-being in the workplace

Andy Williams and Chelsea Feeney at Stevens & Bolton outline how organisations can ensure they are sufficiently supporting their employees

 

Mental health issues can affect every aspect of a person’s life, from their personal relationships to their ability to go to work. 

 

For this reason, it is crucial that businesses recognise the common signs of poor mental health, work to facilitate an open and supportive working environment and have the appropriate knowledge and tools to effectively, and sensitively, deal with mental health issues when they arise in the workplace.

 

Mental Health and the Equality Act 2010

The Equality Act 2010 protects individuals from discrimination based on various protected characteristics, including disability.  In certain circumstances, depending on the severity of the condition/s, mental health issues can constitute a disability under the Equality Act.

 

It is critical that businesses are familiar with the provisions of the Equality Act and ensure that no employee is subjected to detrimental treatment because of a disability.  If this happened, the business would be at risk of a disability discrimination claim, which could potentially be extremely costly and time-consuming, as well as damaging to the reputation of the business. 

 

Under the Equality Act, employers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to support employees with certain mental health conditions.  Businesses should be alive to their duties and should work with employees from an early stage to identify necessary adjustments that will enable them to perform their roles more effectively. 

 

Preventative measures

Often, the most effective way of dealing with mental health issues in the workplace is to cultivate a working environment where employees feel comfortable talking about mental health concerns.  Encouraging conversations about mental health concerns can help businesses identify employees who may be struggling.  Early identification can help avoid both the problems becoming more severe and lengthy absences from work.

 

The introduction of training on mental health and wellbeing for employees who manage staff and for those in HR is an important first step.  This would ensure staff in management roles have the knowledge to properly identify, and deal effectively with, mental health issues in a caring and compassionate way.

 

Stress is often a key cause of poor mental health in the workplace.  As such, it is important to reduce workplace stress where possible.  Businesses should take a proactive approach to managing stress levels in the workplace.  Potential causes of stress can be monitored by carrying out risk assessments and employee surveys to identify where stress arises most.

 

Managers should also be encouraged to have regular conversations with their reports about workloads, to ensure work is distributed fairly and to build a relationship of trust. 

 

Implementing policies on mental health and stress can also help by ensuring employees have a clear route to resolution if they are experiencing stress.  Promoting a positive work-life balance is also important, e.g., encouraging the use of annual leave and not promoting a culture of long working hours.  

 

Reasonable adjustments

Often, preventative measures are not effective when an employee is suffering with a severe mental health condition.  It is sometimes the case that an employee must take time away from the workplace to recover. 

 

When this happens, it is of critical importance that the business deals with the employee’s return in a sensitive manner.  It is in this situation that it will become important to discuss reasonable adjustments with the employee. 

 

There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach when it comes to reasonable adjustments.  What is appropriate will differ in each situation, depending on the facts.  This is why it is so important to consult with the employee as early as possible to find out what will work best for them.

 

Often, the thought of returning to work after a long period of absence can cause an employee anxiety.  With this in mind, it is worth discussing with the employee whether a phased return to work might help them settle back into the business and their role.  This might involve the employee returning for a few hours per week and slowly building this up until they resume their normal hours.

 

Flexible working is also a useful way of facilitating a smooth return for an employee who has had a prolonged absence from work.  This could mean agreeing a temporary change in working hours or agreeing that the employee can work remotely, rather than attending the office.

 

The business could also agree a temporary change in responsibilities with the employee, to ensure they are not given stressful tasks to deal with upon their return. 

 

Some businesses have external support mechanisms in place, which can aid employees looking to return after an absence.  For example, a business might have an Employee Assistance Programme in place or private medical insurance through which the employee can obtain counselling like cognitive behavioural therapy. 

 

If a business does not have any support already in place, it could offer to contribute to the cost of such support for a certain amount of time whilst the employee is signed off work, or whilst they are returning to work.

 

If an employee needs ongoing therapy, the employer might want to discuss with the employee whether they require paid time off to attend appointments.  Businesses could limit this time off to 2 hours per week (for example), which might make a huge difference to the employee’s recovery; particularly if the employee works in a role where it is not convenient to work flexibly.

 

Managing mental health problems in the workplace requires a proactive and inclusive approach from businesses.  It is the responsibility of the business to ensure that employees feel supported and that it is safe for them to seek help when it is needed.  Furthermore, reasonable adjustments should be made where necessary to help the employee to carry out their role.

 

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Andy Williams is a Partner at Stevens & Bolton and Chelsea Feeney is an Associate

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com