Mental Health - are we doing enough?
Uncovering roadblocks
I am very fortunate to be working with an organisation that supports a large number of employees and this company does a great job in guiding them toward success.
There are occasions however, where roadblocks can get in the way of success and this can be due to a number of different reasons. I uncovered a number of roadblocks recently when I completed an analysis on sickness absence trends. I found that over half of the sickness absence within the employee population had been due to some form of mental health related illness.
My immediate question was ‘what more can we do to help?’ I don’t profess to be a mental health professional, but I do passionately believe that if a business wants to get the most out of its employees, then it needs to look after its employees.
Help is at hand
When I started looking into mental health solutions in more detail, it amazed me how much you can do as an employer for very little cost. First of all, there are some excellent companies and charities out there (such as www.mind.org.uk ), who can sign-post you in the right direction and provide you with ideas for support and advice.
Secondly, when I talked to my own network, I found that there was a broader range of solutions than I had ever hoped for. Needless to say, I explored many of these options and picked the best solutions for that particular business.
There is still stigma attached to mental health illness but slowly we are seeing more understanding, compassion and solutions. However, I believe that transferring solutions into the workplace should be a key consideration for all businesses. After all, if our employees are safe, happy and healthy, then we all know this contributes towards success in the workplace.
Support a culture of heath and well-being
What was the end result of my journey? My conclusion is that there is a lot you can do to support managers and employees whilst also creating a culture that is supportive of health and well-being. These solutions don’t all come with a high-cost associated to them they just need backing from the leadership team to ensure effective implementation.
What difference have the changes made to the business? Time will tell, but so far this organisation has less employee sickness and the employees recognise the investment that has been made.
If you would like to find out more about my health and well-being journey, or how I can support your business, then I’d love to hear from you.
Angela
Websterhrconsultancy@gmail.com
(T) 07909911473
NB: photography provided by the talented Miss Ellie Webster