We all have mental health – it moves up and down a spectrum from good to poor and it’s affected by a range of factors both in and outside of work. Starting a conversation about it doesn’t have to be difficult – we can show you how to effectively support your staff and increase employee engagement, motivation and productivity.
If you, or someone you know or manage, needs urgent support in a crisis, you should contact emergency services.
Recognising the signs
The earlier a manager becomes aware that a team member or colleague is experiencing mental ill health, the sooner steps can be taken to prevent it becoming more serious and provide support to help them.
A manager should never make assumptions, but signs of mental ill health can include:
- changes in usual behaviour, mood or how they interact with colleagues
- changes in the standard of their work or focus on tasks
- appearing tired, anxious or withdrawn and reduce interest in tasks they previously enjoyed
- changes in appetite and/or increase in smoking and drinking
- increase in sickness absence and/or turning up late for work
Of course, not everyone who experiences mental ill health will exhibit obvious signs. So it is important for a manager to regularly ask team members how they are doing and create an environment where staff feel able to be open and honest about how they are feeling.
Starting and supporting a conversation about wellbeing
The mental health charity Mind has a list of resources for managers and HR colleagues to help with conversations with staff.
Free resources to support staff mental health - Mind
The Support After Suicide Partnership has a useful booklet that helps you find the right words to support someone who has been bereaved and affected by suicide.
Find the right words booklet - The Support After Suicide Partnership
NHS Employers have guidance for line managers conducting health and wellbeing conversations with staff.
Read Health and wellbeing conversations - NHS Employers
If you line manager or supervise people
If you are then it’s worth knowing that people respond positively to managers who demonstrate value for their staff and appreciation for their contributions. Line Managers who are attentive to each individual’s achievements and challenges, encourage development, provide honest and useful feedback in a supportive manner whilst also demonstrating their respect for staff member are able to nurture their team into high productivity. Building a strong manager and employee relationship opens the door to open conversations about mental health.
This guidance from Time to Change provides a list of simple suggestions that can demonstrate value to a staff member – especially if they are regular and consistent.
Do you supervise or manage people - Time for Change
Wellness Action Plans (WAP)
The WAPs are a personalised, practical tool we can all use – whether we have a mental health problem or not – to help us identify what keeps us well at work, what causes us to become unwell and the support we would like to receive from our manager to boost our wellbeing or support us through a recovery.
The mental health charity Mind provides free WAP templates you can download.