5 Ways To Prioritise Mental Health in The Workplace

5 Ways To Prioritise Mental Health in The Workplace For Professionals, Teachers, Nurses & Police Officers

Why Mental Health in the workplace is so important!

World Mental Health Day on the 10^th of October is a crucial day to re-evaluate and look at factors posing a risk to people’s mental health.  

According to Mental Health First Aid England, the cost-of-living crisis is going to put even more pressure on the one in four people in the UK who experience Mental Health problems in their lifetime.

With over 300,000 people in the UK leaving their jobs because of mental illness, costing employers over £42 billion annually can companies afford to be complacent?

Whilst there are many ways to prioritise Mental Health in the workplace, we felt that it was important to focus on some easy goals to help make changes quickly:

1. Promote a healthy work-life balance

It is vitally important for employees to have time to regenerate and recharge their batteries.

Over two-thirds of people with Mental Health problems believe that long hours, unrealistic workloads, or bad management either caused or exacerbated their condition.

Some ways to combat this are:

• Offer flexible and remote working, where feasible, helping people to feel valued and trusted by their employers.
• Change the business culture to focus on productivity rather than the number of hours worked.
• Encourage employees to take breaks, go for a walk, work in a different place, and promote exercise.
• Check workloads regularly to make sure that workloads are possible to achieve and how long tasks take.

2. Invest in training:

After COVID-19 and now with the cost-of-living crisis there is no doubt that employers should be prioritising Mental Health training now more than ever before.

Companies need to be better positioned to help employees and supervisors navigate Mental Health and to reduce the stigma in the workplace so that they can build conversations and support Mental Health at work.

It is important to invest in training to build community and offer peer support during these difficult times.

Cross Counties Training offers three Mental Health training courses to help create a positive Mental Health culture.

• Awareness of First Aid for Mental Health (Level 1): This 4-hour course gives employees basic knowledge to recognise Mental Health conditions and how to provide support.
• First Aid Mental Health Training Course (Level 2): This 1-day course is certified and suitable for everyone to gain a better understanding of Mental Health in the workplace.
• Supervising First Aid Mental Health Certification (Level 3): This 2-day course covers a wide range of Mental Health conditions and is aimed at Managers and Supervisors who have responsibility for implementing a positive Mental Health culture in the organisation.

3. Ensure line managers can offer the right support

With the cost-of-living crisis unlikely to end anytime soon, line managers must be able to identify the signs of mental ill health to assist employees who are having problems.

Companies should consider putting an Employee Assistance Programme in place communicating relevant tools to help employees who are having difficulties.

Employees and Supervisors need to know where they can go for help, these can be highlighted on employee well-being sites.

Some examples of places to recommend for assistance include:

• Samaritans – 116 123
• Under 19 years old call Childline – 0800 1111
• Mind – 0300 123 3393
• SANEline – 0300 304 7000
• National Suicide Prevention – 0800 689 5652
• CALM – 0800 585858
• NHS Shout line text 85258

4. Implement Mental Health Days

With the rate of inflation increasing, businesses are facing challenges of how best to support employees through the cost-of-living crisis.

There is a strong possibility that someone in your team is going through personal matters that may be difficult or challenging to discuss.

Offering Mental Health days enables employees to have valuable time, without justification, to recoup and re-energise without guilt and it will help them to come back stronger and in a better frame of mind.

5. Employee Appreciation

Showing appreciation to employees makes them feel valued and thus supports mental health.

Recognition and appreciation come in different forms and don’t have to be limited to monthly or annual events.

Sometimes it is as simple as showing genuine interest in employees and their families and praising and encouraging them frequently.

There may be additional services that can save employees time and money and alleviate stress.  These may include:

• Subsidised gym membership or free fitness classes
• Offer discounts – e.g. dry cleaner discounts
• Massages in the office over particularly stressful deadlines
• Petrol allowance
• Helping employees with their tax returns or tax support if they have any questions.
• Ensure lunch breaks are taken away from the desk and employees have a proper break

Employee recognition is a great way for organisations to positively impact employee mental health, reduce absenteeism and increase productivity and performance.

Employees shouldn’t feel alone and should be able to communicate their concerns. It’s critical now more than ever to ensure we look after employee wellbeing.

Helping our employees can make the world of difference and provide vital support through these troubling times.

It is important to use this opportunity around World Mental Health Day to create a mentally healthy workplace for our employees.

We understand that the cost-of-living crisis is tough on everyone, so we are offering a 10% discount for 6 people or more booked on any of the above courses.

To book call us on 07599086885 or email us at admin@crosscountiestraining.co.uk

*This special offer is not available on course pages