If you have employees suffering workplace mental health issues – which is likely, given that a staggering 45% of Australians between the ages of 16-85 will experience a mental health condition in their lifetime* – this can seriously affect profitability, productivity and workplace culture. Like the majority of employers, you probably genuinely care but lack the knowledge, confidence and skills to help staff.
GETTING UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH MENTAL HEALTH AT WORK
- 3 in 10 employees have either experienced, are experiencing or will experience a mental health problem annually.
- Initiatives to prevent and address poor mental health are lagging behind in Australian workplaces.
- It’s easy enough to spot and fix physical hazards like an exposed wire or a slippery floor, but invisible hazards that people experience, like mental health, impacts.
- The largest mental health illnesses are still anxiety and depression.
- This is because there are too many demands on employees, no support from colleagues, and potentially no recognition or reward for their efforts.
Source: Larry Forsyth’s research and evaluation from delivering mental health leadership training; and his study gathering quantitative/qualitative information from 10 different organisations over the past 1.5 years.
CAN YOUR BUSINESS AFFORD NOT TO DO SOMETHING?
You have an obligation to prevent, respond and manage workplace mental health issues effectively. Workers with these issues should never face discrimination and are entitled to the same support as people with physical injuries.
"If you don’t address the issues, they can severely impact on other workers and the business overall."
Competing considerations, such as fulfilling work health and safety obligations, appearing not to show discrimination or taking adverse action, can be a challenge for you. Or you may simply not know how to help employees.
It is estimated that untreated mental health conditions cost Australian workplaces approximately $10.9 billion per year. This comprises $4.7 billion in absenteeism, $6.1 billion in presenteeism and $146 million in compensation claims.*
THE FACE OF MENTAL HEALTH
Around one million Australian adults live with depression, and over two million have anxiety. On average, one in five women and one in eight men will experience depression in their lifetime. One in three women and one in five men will experience anxiety. These are the overwhelming statistics supplied by Heads Up, an initiative of the Mentally Healthy Workplace Alliance and Beyond Blue.
Others will be suffering from symptoms associated with mental ill-health, such as worry, sleep problems and fatigue, all of which will affect their ability to function efficiently at work.
HOW TO SUPPORT MENTAL HEALTH AT WORK
1. Recognise the mental health is everyone’s responsibility, but employers need to take the lead.
2. Look at your leadership style. Do you display commitment and appropriate behaviour yourself? If you’re an SME owner or manager, you’re likely to have more frequent interaction with workers and be in a strong position to identify mental health issues.
3. Be alert to the signs and symptoms of workplace mental health issues. These can include outbursts of anger, decreased productivity and often arriving late to work.
4. Make it a priority to ‘notice a change’. Then undertake early intervention to return the employee to their best, as quickly as possible.
5. Develop a mental health action plan tailored to your specific workplace needs. This includes the following:
- Monitor stress levels – being aware of a problem is a vital first step. Metrics like sickness absence can be a helpful indicator, while many companies include questions about health and well-being in their employee surveys (for example “I feel able to cope with my workload”).
- Make small changes to manage risk factors – think about the risk factors in your workplace. While reducing your employees’ workload might not be possible, making sure they feel valued for their contributions, and creating a culture of support during busy periods may help buffer against the negative effects of stress.
- Adopt a stress management culture – Stress management programs may sound expensive, but they don’t have to be. Organisations like Beyond Blue offer free access to resources via their website, which helps companies monitor, tackle and systematically prevent workplace stress.
SIX CRITICAL FACTORS FOR A SUCCESSFUL MENTAL HEALTH PLAN AT WORK
A report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Creating a Mentally Healthy Workplace: Return on Investment Analysis, identifies six critical success factors. These are:
- getting the commitment from senior organisational leaders and business owners
- ensuring employee participation in training and awareness sessions on mental health
- developing and implementing appropriate policies and action plans
- providing adequate resources to ensure the success of initiatives
- ensuring a sustainable approach follows the initial success
- undertaking review and evaluation to ensure continuous improvement prevails overall.
OTHER POINTERS FOR SUCCESS
Ensure mental health is recognised, acknowledged, referred and actioned in the business. Initiatives to do this include:
- promoting ‘good workplace mental health.’
- implementing practical and proactive action steps and strategies to raise the profile of ‘good mental health.’
- providing learning awareness sessions in how to deal with mental health issues once diagnosed.
Management should articulate a longer-term productivity, cultural change and sustainability agenda, including this in the overarching operational and strategic planning.
CREATING A SAFE AND HEALTHY WORKPLACE MAKES GOOD BUSINESS SENSE
Being proactive about mental health in the workplace:
- reduces costs associated with worker absence from work and high worker turnover
- improves productivity, profitability and other workplace efficiencies
- achieves greater staff loyalty, retention and a higher return on training investment
- minimises stress levels and improving morale and motivation
- offers an effective way to attract and support competent and productive workers
- avoids litigation and fines for breaches of health and safety laws
- avoids the time and cost involved in discrimination claims
- avoids industrial disputes
- addresses the diverse needs of both society and your workplace
- recognises the contributions made by a diverse workforce, including workers with mental illness.
There is no simple fix to employee mental health illness, but taking any of the steps above may develop real strengths for employees, as well as for businesses.
*State of Workplace Mental Health in Australia 2014
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