By Samuel Rapley 17/05/2018

Under: Team Welfare

Tackling Workplace Stress: Mental Health Awareness Week 2018

According to the MHF, the pressure of an increasingly demanding work culture in the UK is one of the biggest contributors to stress. Overloading team members is highly counterproductive: on top of the personal cost to employees, mental ill health can decrease motivation and productivity and increase absenteeism and staff turnover.

Start the Conversation

Less than half of employees say they feel comfortable talking openly to a manager about workplace stress. Starting a conversation around mental health and creating an open culture of communication is the first step to positive change.

Mental Health Awareness Week provides an excellent opportunity to share key messages with employees and management teams and get your workplace talking about stress and mental health. Check out the Mental Health Foundation website for resources you can share with your team.

What Can I do to Safeguard My Team?

1) Create a Well-Being Strategy

Well-being should be as important to your health and safety strategy as fire safety or PPE requirements. Get things moving with a companywide email outlining your well-being strategy and steps you’ll be taking to reduce workplace stress. You should also provide contact details for who team members can contact for support within your organisation.

2) Ask for Feedback

Mental health needs to be a conversation that flows both ways – ask employees for feedback on how strategies are working in practice. Conduct anonymous staff surveys to ensure views can be freely expressed when staff feel they can’t communicate problems in person.

Ask for volunteers to share stories or to become a well-being champion for your team. Those appointed to supporting roles should be given sufficient training and time allocation to fulfil the role.

3) Keep the Conversion Flowing

Put mental health on the agenda at your next team meeting. Use team talks as an opportunity to check in with staff about their stress levels and any concerns they have about team well-being.

In-depth discussion groups that focus solely on mental health can provide more time to delve into issues further and address problems. You could also invite managers to share personal stories, which can be a great way to make others feel more comfortable talking openly.

Need Support? You are Not Alone

If you or someone you know needs urgent help or support, call the confidential Mind Infoline on 0300 123 3393 or text: 86463. Mind is a leading mental health charity and can provide information on types of mental health problem, where to get help, medication and alternative treatments. 

Alternatively, call the Samaritans helpline on 116 123 which is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

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