Mental Health had made it to the boardroom agenda a few years ago. The Covid-19 pandemic has acted as a catalyst for businesses to lean in closer and listen to this agenda. The result of the pandemic is a dichotomy in so much as it opened the Mental Health conversation, however, impacted the mental health conditions significantly too.
Longitudinal studies show that symptoms of anxiety and depression heightened in lockdowns subsiding afterwards nevertheless around 10% of the population experienced persistent distress ongoing.
Evidence shows stress, depression and anxiety are behind 44% of all cases of work-related ill health in the UK.
The attitudes and approaches adopted to Mental Health are pivotal to a company having a positive MH culture.
A positive culture is one where:
- Your people feel able to talk about this topic
- If they need help, they know your support protocols
- They are willing to access these knowing they will not face stigma and discrimination
- They recognise your workplace to be an active part of their recovery
Below shows three different scenarios within a company – Which team would you like to be working in?
The A Team
The team manager does not shy away from wellbeing and mental health conversations. Quite the opposite, in fact, this topic is included as part of the team meeting agenda. Taking no longer than 10 minutes, the short time spent makes a massive difference whereby team members don’t feel so alone in what is raised and shared. When necessary, time for wellbeing 1-2-1’s is made available.
The team manager has high levels of awareness when it comes to mental health. He/she recognises the importance of having early conversations with team members that are struggling, being mindful not to fix situations, but rather listen and signpost to support. This confidence comes from knowing they don’t need to be a counsellor or psychologist to support effectively.
The teamwork cohesively and collaboratively. Performance and wellbeing are acknowledged as separate and there is a high level of accountability for both in this team. Trust levels are high so asking for help in challenging times is made easy.
This company has invested in Health, Wellbeing and Mental Health initiatives for their people. They have done this with a long-term impact in mind understanding not only the financial reward but important to the engagement of these people. Leaders advocate and encourage the wellbeing agenda and the strategy reflects longevity and sustainability.
Team B
As a manager, having a Mental Health conversation with a team member is avoided at all costs. Noticing signs of challenge in the team is something achievable however actually broaching this subject is not easy! Frankly having this conversation is scary and means opening a can of worms. It might be that issues raised could impact everyone.
The team are functional and gets the job done. High performers would be an overstatement and day to day operation unfolds reactively. Stress and pressure levels are at a continuous high and resources seem stretched. Asking a colleague for help is not a consideration as they seem equally maxed out.
In this company, there is some financial investment on health, wellbeing, and mental health and this is done with very good intentions. The challenge is the staff don’t have the time to attend the wellbeing initiatives on offer. There is also no benchmarking, planning and measurability, so whether what has been out in place is helping who knows? The result is one of a sticking plaster making a short-term superficial impact.
Team C:
All this wellbeing and mental health soft and fluffy stuff is a waste of management time. After all, managers are paid to fulfil a management role, not be a counsellor or psychologists. Really, the wellbeing pursuit should be followed up at home and work is for that… work. Who has time to sit monitoring and checking in with staff on what is a personal agenda?
As a team, there is an unspoken agreement that people struggling with health and wellbeing challenges are viewed as snowflakes and need to get on with the job. Targets, deadlines and getting the job done come before anything else even if it is at the expense of your time, after all this is how it has always been done around here.
The organisation: The company’s bottom line is the primary focus at whatever cost.
Which team would you like to be working in and why? You may have chosen the A Team – who wouldn’t? The priority of focusing on a wellbeing agenda is an ethical choice which will inevitably impact your business and your people positively too.
