This week is ‘Mental Health Awareness Week’.
We all have times of feeling great and feeling not so great! It is completely normal for people to go through times where things may just seem a little bit harder. Sometimes work can exacerbate these feelings and it is an employer’s responsibility to see if anything can be done in the workplace to help manage the situation.

Causes of stress at work. There are six main areas that can cause work related stress, demands, control, support, relationships, and change. For example, employees may feel the below:

• Are not able to cope with the demands of their jobs
• Are unable to control the way they do their work
• Don’t receive enough information and support
• Are having trouble with relationships at work, or are being bullied
• Don’t fully understand their role and responsibilities
• Are not engaged when a business is undergoing change

Signs of stress. As an employer you may notice signs of stress with some of your employees.

• Arguments
• Higher staff turnover
• More reports of stress
• More sickness absence
• Decreased performance
• More complaint and grievances.

Acting fast on these things can reduce the pressure and make it easier to remove the causes. These types of things can affect more than just the person that is showing signs of stress, so to assess the situation is good for everyone.

How to help.

Stress is not an illness, but it can lead to it. It can affect how people feel, behave physically and mentally. People struggling with stress can affect those around them and workplaces can suffer. The sooner the problem is dealt with the better. If an employee seems to be struggling you can encourage them to speak to someone, see a GP, talk to a trade union representative, occupational health team.

Mental health in the workplace. 

In the UK, one in four people may have mental health issues at some point. While mental health issues are widespread, the majority are moderate, usually have a brief lifespan, and can be effectively treated with medication by a GP. 

Mental well-being pertains to our thoughts, emotions, and actions. The two most common mental health conditions are anxiety and depression. These can come from problems at work, although they are typically a response to a traumatic life event and are then exacerbated by work. It does not always mean there are issues at work its just the trigger. In which case it is good for the employer to see what can be done in the workplace to make the situation easier. It can be evaluated to determine the degree of danger, just like any other workplace health and safety concern. You need to come up with a plan to minimise any risks that you believe may exist. 

Below are some practical resources and links that are available: 

• Working Minds campaign free online learning
• HSE’s risk assessment template to record risks and actions
• employing disabled people and people with health conditions on GOV.UK
• employing people and workplace adjustmentsfrom the Equality and Human Rights Commission
• principles to help employers to support disabled workers and workers with long-term health conditions in work

If you feel like you would like any advice or help with any of the above, please feel free to contact us on equries@wedohealthandsafety.co.uk