Relate some illusions about Workplace Mental Health Initiatives that you've heardPutting workplace support in place for mental health early to deal with any issues could prevent the problem escalating and having a larger impact on both the individual and the team. Being burned out means feeling empty and mentally exhausted, devoid of motivation, and beyond caring. People experiencing burnout often don’t see any hope of positive change in their situations. If excessive stress feels like you’re drowning in responsibilities, burnout is a sense of being all dried up. And while you’re usually aware of being under a lot of stress, you don’t always notice burnout when it happens. Sometimes staff experiencing mental ill health will need to be absent from work for a period of time. This may be because they are too ill to work or it could be because the medication they are on means they are not able to safely carry out their work. Mental ill-health is now the leading cause of sickness absence in the UK, costing the British economy an estimated £42-£45 billion each year. To put that into perspective, each employer is estimated to lose between £1,652 and £1,716 per employee. That’s a potential loss of £16,520 if you employ just ten staff. And it’s not just about the bottom line either. Research has linked mental health with employee engagement, satisfaction and retention to name a few. Create an accepting environment that encourages employees to speak up when workloads or personal pressures are causing mental and emotional stress. There are many benefits to this – smoother workplace operations, employee loyalty, work productivity and more. Give your employees the tools and appropriate pathways to follow, to support their mental wellbeing before a problem arises. Rather than solely reacting when something does happen. There are many effective actions that organizations can take to promote mental health in the workplace; such actions may also benefit productivity. Mental health services are listed among ten essential health benefits required under the Affordable Care Act. Requiring providers to offer mental health coverage is a huge step toward ensuring that employees have access to necessary resources. How each insurance plan covers mental health services varies, but they must offer some coverage in order to stay compliant. Most people think of their problems as things which require technical solutions: you hate your job, so you must find a better one; you’re too indebted, so you must earn more; you don’t exercise enough, so you must buy better gear. In reality, however, every problems is at least in part a psychological problem. Over the past few years, employee wellbeing has been rising up the agenda for employers in the UK. A key aspect of this is the mental health of staff. Organisations depend on having a healthy and productive workforce: we know that when employees feel their work is meaningful and they are valued and supported, they tend to have higher wellbeing levels, be more committed to the organisation’s goals and perform better. Employers may not be fully aware of their employees’ mental health needs because employees are not likely to tell them. Employers should gain a better understanding of employees’ perceptions and attitudes toward their role in promoting mental health and providing support for mental health issues, including diagnosed mental health disorders. Communication that emphasizes that leadership cares about concepts such as workplace wellbeing ideas should be welcomed in the working environment.Psychological & Social SupportWorkplace mental health issues are often associated with stress. Exposure to high levels of stress at work can cause emotional symptoms such as depression, tearfulness, withdrawal, mood swings, loss of motivation or concentration and behavioural changes such as smoking, drinking, drugs, changes to eating or sleeping habits and nervous behaviour. Leadership stoicism is a dangerous trend and unhelpful in the effort to create open workplace cultures. It is a strength for leaders to show vulnerability and courage as a role model in discussing mental health. Conversations around mental health usually aren’t one-off, check-the-box situations. Do be mindful of your own capacity to handle these conversations. If you think you can’t be there for a co-worker without it impacting your own mental health, don’t be afraid to refer them to other support options such as your HR team or Employee Assistance Program. From medical journals to government reports, the word most commonly used to describe the toll of all illness is "burden". That trillion-dollar figure the World Health Organization uses to drive home the economic impact of mental illness? That’s technically its "burden" on the global economy. Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands. As the stress continues, you begin to lose the interest and motivation that led you to take on a certain role in the first place. Even though it may not be easy to become an employee-centric company addressing Wellbeing for HR it is of utmost importance in this day and age.Organisations should adopt an organisation-wide approach to promoting the mental wellbeing of all employees, working in partnership with them. This approach should integrate the promotion of mental wellbeing into all policies and practices concerned with managing people, including those related to employment rights and working conditions. Employers should touch base regularly with their employees to check how they’re getting on and think about what might be causing them stress. Create space for them to ask questions and raise issues, and give them permission to talk about home as well as work issues if they wish. Evidence also shows that employers who, after a fair recruitment process, have appointed the right person for the right job, find no difference between the performance of people who have or have had a mental health condition and those who don't/haven't. We’re all different. It’s much healthier to accept that you’re unique than to wish you were more like someone else. Good employees are worth investing in; take care of your team. After all, happy and healthy employees are productive employees. Organisations can make sure their employee benefits package provides support for employers duty of care mental health today.The Role Of InnovationBusiness leaders have a number of responsibilities and investments that they need to be conscious of each year. However, when it comes to investing in their employees’ health and well-being, studies have proven that this has a direct impact on the quality of their work, productivity, and focus. Stigma reduction programs are considered to be systemic or organization-level programs that promote mental health awareness and seek to organizational stigma toward employees with mental health issues. Stigma programs appear to improve manager and employee knowledge and behavior, but the effect on attitudes is less positive. Your company isn’t the product you make, your intellectual property, your patents, or even the customers you serve. First and foremost, your company is your people. (Literally. The word “company” comes from the military, and simply refers to a body of soldiers.) Mental health is the area that has the most prevalent number of incidents reported and in a workforce of 50-100 people you will definitely have members of your team who would benefit from support. As a leader you need to get under the bonnet of what mental illness and what mental health is. You need to attend seminars and meetings and you need to get into it to understand it because how can you help somebody recover if you don’t give them the right support or understand it yourself? Good mental health enables people to realize their potential, cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively, and contribute to their communities. Don't forget to send out proper internal communications around managing employees with mental health issues in your organisation.Organisations should ensure that groups of employees who might be exposed to stress but might be less likely to be included in the various approaches for promoting mental wellbeing have the equity of opportunity to participate. These groups include part-time workers, shift workers and migrant workers. When workers feel trusted to handle their own responsibilities, it makes them feel empowered, safe, appreciated, and ultimately helps to create a positive culture of autonomy and confidence in the workplace. But fostering a sense of autonomy among a team first starts with good leadership. Despite the steps society has made in creating a speak-up culture, many employees still perceive mental health to be stigmatised in the workplace. These employees fear admitting they have a mental illness as they think the employer may feel they won’t cope with a more responsible role or management position. There’s a huge stigma around talking about mental health in many UK workplaces. Employees remain too reluctant to talk to their managers about any mental health issues they may be having. Break this stigma by promoting discussion about mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. People living with mental health problems contributed an estimated £226 billion gross value added (12.1%) to UK GDP. This is 12.1% of GDP overall, and as high as nine times the estimated cost to economic output arising from mental health problems at work. Similarly to any change that happens within organizations, discussions around workplace wellbeing support need planning and implementing properly.Self-reported Mental HealthApproaches to mental health at work such as flexible working, building resilience and staff development contribute to good engagement. If an employee is returning to work after mental health leave, you might find they are raring to go and keen to get back into their daily routine and role. But, as their employer, it’s down to you to make sure they’re ready to do so. If they return too soon it could have a detrimental effect on their mental health and in the worst-case scenario it could result in further leave. External triggers may have an effect on an employee’s mental health and well-being, such as experiencing discrimination and/or stigma, social disadvantage, poverty or debt. You can find extra intel relating to Workplace Mental Health Initiatives in this Health and Safety Executive article.Related Articles:How Do We Understand More About Employee Mental Health Initiatives?Mental Health At Work Programs Mediations: Perturbed By What's Offered?5 Arguments Why You Shouldn't Forget Mental Health At Work

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