Let’s face it HR Managers roles are challenging at the best of times and then the term ‘Mental Health’ is placed into the mix; Are you confident in dealing with the Mental Health of your employees?
We reveal 4 key reasons why is mental health in the workplace is important;
1. Recognise what mental health is and what mental ill health means:
It’s important as a HR Manager to understand the issues surrounding mental health with one in four people in the UK will have a mental health problem at some point.
Mental health is about how we think, feel and behave. Anxiety and depression are the most common mental health problems. They are often a reaction to a difficult life event, such as bereavement, but can also be caused by work-related issues.
2. Identify the causes of mental ill health in the workplace:
Work can also aggravate pre-existing conditions, and problems at work can bring on symptoms or make their effects worse.
Whether work is causing the health issue or aggravating it, employers have a legal responsibility to help their employees. Work-related mental health issues must to be assessed to measure the levels of risk to staff. Where a risk is identified, steps must be taken to remove it or reduce it as far as reasonably practicable.
3. Recognise the stigma associated with mental ill health and consider how this can be removed from its workplace:
In today’s world there is still a stigma surrounding mental health. By revealing issues, people fear to become isolated, viewed as abnormal, and considered unfit for the job. HR Managers have an essential role to play in supporting employees with education about mental health and creating an open dialogue. Providing resources that promote awareness can help create an accessible and positive workplace, one that fosters engagement and attracts talent.
4. Know its legal obligations to employees:
Whether or not an employee has a mental health problem, an employer has a duty of care to ensure their health, safety and wellbeing under health and safety legislation. Employers have a duty to assess the risks arising from hazards at work, including work-related mental health problems.
If an employee is considered to have a disability, the Equality Act 2010 says that they have a right not to be discriminated against in employment. This means that employers must not treat individuals with a mental health problem less favourably than other people.
To aid you in the above steps Latus health has designed a Mental Health First Aid programme that outlines what mental health is and provides several methods that employers can use to pick up on staff behaviour that might indicate that they need support. With group exercises and presentations, our mental health programme can help your business overcome any mental health stigmas that could be holding it back while helping you build a supportive and informed workplace culture.
