According to recent CIPD research the amount of people saying they have experienced mental health issues whilst in employment has climbed from a quarter to a third over the last five years. Many contributing factors can be responsible for mental health problems and it is by no means advisory or expected of a business to attempt to council these complex issues. Employers do have the capacity to make a real difference however to those who are struggling; take these easy -to -implement steps:
Workplace Training
Line managers are widely considered to be the most influential business members for offering support to staff with mental health issues. Equally, line managers also rate highly for feeling they aren’t offered enough training by employers to handle this responsibility. MIND, the mental health charity, advise that workplace training is the best way to help line managers and promote a supportive workplace culture. The charity offer this training themselves and support this with a workplace wellness index so that it is possible to see the areas of your business which require training to improve.
Implement an EAP
57% of UK workers have suffered from mental health problems at some point, but only 5% of employers have given them any help according to research. This is a problem which can easily be assigned to how comfortable employees feel disclosing stress or mental health problems to their employers. Embedding an employee assistance programme (EAP) into a business health and wellbeing corporate plan ensures that every new staff member is aware of the support on offer as soon as they join an organisation. The EAP also guarantees that these designated guidance staff know the best support platforms to advise staff to visit depending on their concerns.
Easily Accessible Support
Finally, a downloadable pack which discretely discloses help and advice along with the contact details for support platforms is a good way to show staff that support is available whilst removing the obligation to speak to someone if they feel more comfortable with privacy.
About Resource Management: we provide a comprehensive range of services throughout the UK and Europe and specialise in the provision of Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) and Manager Service Provider (MSP) programmes. We have been trading for almost 20 years, providing resourcing solutions to a range of blue chip clients from SME to FTSE 100 constituents.
