Promoting a Mentally Healthy Workplace
In the UK at least, many companies do their level best to promote a ‘Health and Safety’ workplace.
There are often signposts showing employees any areas of danger, the workplace is usually ergonomically laid out to promote good health, there is usually sufficient heating and lighting, and so on, to promote good physical health.
There are even posters that show employees how to work safely at their desk. There are fire drills. First aid officers and designated fire officers too. How many workplaces though have steps to promote good mental health?
Read Mind’s guide on Mentally Healthy Workplace
Firstly, employees that are dealing with mental illness often have the dilemma of whether they should tell their employers of their plight.
The next hurdle is how to tell them, or even how much. This is often driven by the fact that many do not want to risk stigma and discrimination in their workplace. Or worse, losing their job. It is better to explain absences with a migraine than depression. I know someone who does that.
That is not to say the person thinks that migraines are trivial. Of course not. It is just that a migraine is more acceptable than depression.
And even in the workplaces where there are tolerances to mental illnesses, depression is more acceptable than bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. After all, people casually use the word ‘depressed’ themselves and often have days they say they are feeling so.
The truth is not every person challenged with mental illness, though classed as a disability in some severe cases, necessarily means they spend their life at home, and away from work.
Many, and literally many, on their well days, weeks and months are just as productive and very capable as the next person. However, just like a person who is genuinely challenged with migraines has days when migraines makes work impossible, there are days when someone challenged with bipolar is in a psychiatric hospital or on medication, or not well to get to work.
Does your workplace make it easy for such a person to call in and report the issue? What is the response? What is the support given? If the illness is prolonged, or frequent, does the employee risk losing their job?
And what happens if the person gets ill at work? Has the employee confided in their manager and informed him/her of the symptoms? Is anyone educated enough to recognize the symptoms?
After all if someone is displaying symptoms of a heart attack or has a wound gushing blood, a first-aider is immediately called while an ambulance may also be called as the next step.
Statistics tells us that 1 in 4 people experience mental illness in their lifetime. If you have at least a modest 30 people, and I am being generous here, statistics tells you someone among those 30 is challenged with mental illness. Well statistics says there is likely to be about 4 or so.
Work can even often be the trigger for stress. What does your workplace do to minimize high levels of stress? Does the employee encourage staff to have at least a compulsory lunch? Yes, there are legislation that say that employees are entitled to certain amount of time for lunch per so many hours of work. But you may find some employees never take lunch, or just eat at their desk.
Some work places organize outings and entertainment, so employees can relax with their colleagues and that ‘mean’ manager who may not be so mean after all when you all go out together!
Even staff that work in isolation at home, may be prone to stress and may be challenged with mental illness. Are there lines of communication open? Is there someone they can contact? Or are they this nameless person whose name is only known on the email list?
There is much to say about this but we have given some food for thought. What are your thoughts on this matter? Please share or if you have many thoughts, why not guest blog us a post on this topic and share your experience or suggestions.
About The Author
