Podcast 6: How can you create a more mentally healthy workplace?

In this podcast, we were joined by Emma Mamo, Head of Workplace Wellbeing at Mind; a leading mental health charity. Emma gave her expert advice to listeners on how to build a mentally healthy workplace that provides the right support for those who may be experiencing mental health issues.

1. Mental health is quite a far-reaching term. Could you pinpoint what we mean when we talk about mental health and more specifically mental health problems?

We all have mental health the same as we have physical health. You know we move up and down from a spectrum of good poor for any number of reasons. You’ve just mentioned the World Health Organisation, so they define mental health as a state of well-being where a person is able to contribute to society, live their life fully, cope with the daily pressures of life and so on and so forth. So when you’re experiencing poor mental health, this is a period of time when you may be experiencing, you know the faults and feelings and how you respond to the world may be more negative and maybe more challenging for you and how you live your life on a day to day basis.

One in four of us will be affected by a mental health problem in any given year. And you know the term mental health problem can refer to more common issues like depression and anxiety but it can also refer to conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder which are rarer.  So yes, and I think the key thing is just to think about even if someone’s diagnosed with the same condition they can experience it very, very differently so that’s another key factor around mental health that it’s so different from person to person in some ways.

2. How common is it for people of a working age to experience mental health issues?

So at least one in six of us of the working age population is experiencing depression or anxiety. You know as I said the fact that we all have mental health when we’re on a spectrum, you know you can be dealing with a temporary period of emotional distress linked to a life event like bereavement or relationship breakdown or you could be dealing with workplace stress that your employer absolutely needs to respond to. Or as I said you can be living with a mental health condition that you need to manage alongside your job.

3. And how could this impact on their wellbeing, engagement and performance at work?

Well, you know research shows that when employees feel that their work is meaningful, that they’re valued, that they’re being supported to develop they have higher levels of wellbeing and linked to that they have higher levels of employee engagement. And again that all leads to better performance. So smart employers know that the success of their organisation depends on their workforce being healthy and happy and the more that they do to invest in that, the more they’ll see the benefits in terms of increased morale and productivity. So in prioritising mental health not only do you minimise the cost of poor mental health, you also get those added benefits.

4. In your experience, what is it that typically stops employees from opening up about their mental health issues at work and do you think there’s still a stigma around the subject?

Absolutely. I mean there’s progress there absolutely is. I’ve worked at Mind for around twelve years and I’ve focused on mental health and employment since 2010 and we’ve seen progress in the broader society around people talking openly around mental health. Sports professionals, athletes, the young royals have been spearheading a campaign so there are definitely improvements. I think in the workplace it has lagged behind and I think it’s around you know once you say it you can’t unsay it and would it impact negatively on your career and so on and so forth. So I would say the last three years we’ve really seen improvements around attitudes in the workplace and it’s from some senior business leaders talking openly about their experiences that have led the way.

So yes in terms of what stops people is that fear of what could be some negative consequences. So last year we surveyed around forty-four thousand people across the UK in employment and around half had experienced poor mental health in their current job, but only half had disclosed. And when we asked people why they didn’t disclose it was because they didn’t want to be treated differently or viewed differently by their employer. They didn’t want to be viewed differently by their colleagues, so it is all that kind of fear about what might happen.

5. What does a mentally healthy workplace look like? And can you share any examples of any organisations who are taking the best practice approach?

For me, it’s being both proactive and reactive. I think many employers will be good at you know promoting well-being or they’ll be good at providing support once someone is unwell but it’s really making sure you’re doing stuff in all of those areas so doing stuff to promote wellbeing absolutely. Work-life balance and senior leaders modelling that from the top is really key. Doing stuff to encourage people to take care of their physical health because there are huge links. And then the features of good work so people having a say, how they do their job, how the organisations run.

As I said being supporting developing their career. All of these things keep people well. So a well-run organisation goes a long way in keeping people well. And then for me, the second part is how you can identify and respond to what might be driving poor mental health in your workplace. And you can do that at an organisational level through you know staff surveys, you can do it at team levels you know, carrying out audits and so on. So just getting that regular temperature check of what’s going on for people and being responsive to any emerging issues. And then the final piece is about how do you provide support to people who are struggling? And for me, that’s really about having a good conversation with that person about what’s going on for them and what support and flexibility you could offer in the workplace for them. So if you’ve got stuff in place, if you’ve got that kind of framework that goes a long way.

And in terms of some examples of organisations that are doing it well. So we run a Workplace Wellbeing Index and for the first two years of us running it, the Environment Agency came out as the number one employer. And I think what they’ve got is that holistic approach and they focus on building everybody’s mental health literacy so everybody knows how to take care of their mental health and how to look out for colleagues and then they really focus on line managers and making sure they’re comfortable in this space. So for me, you know being a good people manager is about all that stuff around good work and then feeling comfortable, saying to people “How are you?” And when they say “I’m not great,” you know where to go with that and how to talk to them about that. So yes I think the Environment Agency are really good because they’ve got a Mental Health Continuum, that tool that they’ve implemented where people regularly assess where they are on that. So are they flourishing, are they struggling and line managers are trained on how to respond to that depending on where people come out. So for me, they’re kind of normalising mental health and weaving it into their everyday people management structure so quality one to ones that talk about mental health as well as the work outputs and team meetings where you have temperature checks. So it’s about that embedding.

Read Mind’s Workplace Wellbeing Index

6. What steps would you recommend leaders of all business sizes take to start building a more open and communicative workplace where people feel able to speak up about their mental health problems?

The first step is carrying out a review of your organisational approach. I mean obviously if you’re a larger employer you’ll have HR structures and frameworks in place, if you’re small maybe not so much but you can still sit back and think “Well what do we do in those areas? How do we promote wellbeing? How do we identify what might be causing stress? How do we support people?” And just being very clear about what that framework looks like and then I think if you do have HR policies in place around disciplinary procedures, equality and diversity and so on. Just making sure that they take account of mental health within them. And equally, you know stuff around performance you know making sure that that takes account of the fact that someone’s mental health might impact on their ability to do their job. Equally, if someone’s under review for their performance, that might impact on their mental health. So just really understanding the intersectionality I guess of those people management processes and staff wellbeing.

I think you can do a job but then managing people to do a job is very, very different. It’s a different skill set so making sure your managers feel really comfortable with this area and supporting staff. And then I think it’s about how you then launch a kind of awareness-raising campaign to your staff and start drip feeding information about mental health and kind of building peoples literacy. So for me, I come from a youth work background before I worked for Mind and I think many of the reasons we have such issues around mental health is you’re not educated growing up. So I think it’s really good for employers to be sharing information they do around you know diet, exercise, nutrition and then also mental health so all of that piece to suit so that people have more of an awareness and that will help create a more open culture. And then I think for senior leaders to really champion the issue and be very clear about why it’s important to them. A blog or a communication from the CEO and so on can really create that culture.

7. And how can leaders help their people manages to feel adequately equipped to spot the signs of mental health issues in their teens and to have open and supportive conversations with their employees?

So as I said you know really making sure line managers are trained both to be good people managers then also how to kind of support staff around them into health is part of it. And then the second part is really embedding that so making sure that mental health is weaved into everyday conversation. So for me, line managers having frequent quality one to ones with their team members where it’s a kind of holistic conversation, so it’s not just about are we getting the work out the door, but you know checking in on their well-being, reviewing the last month, what’s gone well and why? And what hasn’t gone well and why? And I think it is good practice for managers to ask for feedback about how they’ve supported their staff so they’re creating the space for people to raise issues.

They’re not just having to put their hand up and you’re creating that feedback loop. And then if you’re looking the month ahead, looking at any pinch points, then checking in on their hours and their personal development. You know, if you have a conversation that covers all of that that’s really getting a snapshot of how that person’s getting on in the workplace and then highlighting any issues that you might need to respond to, so I think that’s a really key tool.

And then also there are wellness action plans. So in the health world if someone’s living with a mental health problem they would develop a wellness recovery action plan with their health professional, which covers you know what will keep them well and what they need to do to facilitate that and what does their health professional need to do. And then what might cause them to struggle again and what might be signs that they’re struggling, and I just think it’s a great framework for a conversation. So with permission, we’ve kind of taken that tool and repurposed it for the workplace, so we’ve got resources on this but we would encourage line managers with each of their line reports to put one in place. And I think it’s good if someone’s got a diagnosed mental health condition absolutely, but I think it’s good for everybody. At Mind we have them rolled out across the organisation just in terms of how people can manage their mental health.

But I think the reason it’s so helpful is it’s very clear about what the person needs to do and what the manager needs to do and the piece around you know identifying potential indicates that they might be struggling. You know that comes from the person sharing what might be an indicator, so it gives the manager permission when they see that because otherwise, you might think that “am I intruding on a personal issue?” But if you’ve had that kind of conversation it opens it up, so I think that’s another really helpful tool.

View Mind’s Wellness Action Plan

8. Is it just down to those who manage teams to feel able and equipped to have these conversations or does the wider workforce also have a part to play here?

I think everyone has a role to play. It’s definitely the onus is on employers and managers to create a positive environment and respond if people are struggling. But we know that often people may choose maybe in the first instance not to talk to their line manager. Not to say the line manager’s problematic, though they might be. But I think sometimes because of what I said once you say you can’t unsay it, so sometimes people will seek support from a colleague. So as I said making sure everybody’s more literate around mental health can be beneficial in case people do seek support outside of those line management structures. And we know of people that have set up programs of mental health champions or mental health first-aiders where people in the workplace are more equipped and are trained to have conversations with people and act as a signposting service. Not to provide counselling support, but I guess to be a listening ear to a certain point and then signpost on.

So yes I definitely think you can look at it in terms of what the whole workforce should be able to do and have a conversation about mental health. Peer support in its broadest term in an organisation is an untapped resource. How do you buddy up your veteran managers with your newbies? How do you get people to joint problem solve? And organisations should really think about how you can maximise the wealth of skills and experience you have in your workplace just by facilitating buddying, mentoring, coaching as well as those more intervention type stuff as I mentioned around champions.

9. Are there any steps leaders can take personally to look after their own mental wellbeing and manage the pressure that often comes with their very demanding roles?

Well, I would say put a wellness action plan in place for yourself. You know, I have one in place with my manager so she knows how best to support me. I then have them in place with my managers and so on and so forth. So I think yes you should really think about how do you stay well in a very busy and challenging role and if your middle management, you’re kind of managing upwards and you’re making sure you’re not adding pressure downwards, and you can kind of be in a difficult space. I definitely know from my role I’ve gone from overseeing four people to forty-two in four years. So that’s been a massive growth in our team and a challenge for me in my leadership role and how I manage my mental health.

So for me, I have to really focus on you know having enough desk time so I can manage work coming in. I can delegate effectively, so I have to really carve out time either working from home so I can focus or dedicated desk time where I look at my work, define it and decide is it for me? Is It for someone else? And manage things, so yes and I have to really make sure that I’m working sensible hours and then maintaining a life outside of work so doing the things that I know give me a sense of well-being and investing in them.

10. And in your experience have you found that when senior figures within an organisation open up about their own mental health issues, this encourages the wider workforce population to do the same?

I think absolutely that is key. You know this is a real leadership piece. It’s not helpful to say this is a really important issue for us and then you see your CEO emailing while meant to be on holiday or weekends and so on. So that’s one piece, but for someone at the top should share their experiences where they struggled or where they’ve been touched by in their personal life. You know, just making it clear why they think mental health is important I think goes a long way to create an open culture. I have heard it reflected though that when senior business leaders talk about it there is a feeling well they’re at the end of their career, they’re safe, it is okay to be open about their struggles now. So I think yes get your CEO to talk openly and then think about how you can encourage people from all levels across the organisation to share their experiences.

So Barclays ran a campaign internally called, “This is me,” and they got people from across the firm to say, “Hey I’m a dad of two, I love watching tennis and I have bipolar disorder”. And these films were then cascaded across the organisation and really helped change the culture there. And then they spoke about it an external event and Lord Mayor of London wanted to then cascade it across the city, so then they developed a campaign where a partner in it called, “This is me in the city,” is now rolling out across Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow. And again it’s about getting people who have lived experience of mental health problems to share their story to help create that culture where it’s okay to talk about these issues.

11. If an employee has had to take time off work to aid their recovery, what steps can employers take to aid their transition back into work?

How you handle someone’s time off sick and their return to work is really key. I think while someone’s you know taking time off to recover. I think if at all possible before they go off you agree what kind of communication you’re going to have for that person while they’re off. You know what and be led by them, how often? Do they want a weekly check-in? Fortnightly? Would it be an e-mail? Would it be a call? And really be led by them because you want someone to stay connected to the organisation, but you don’t want them to feel pressurised and that’s why it’s best to try and be led by the person. So I think there’s definitely keeping in touch while people are away.

And then when they’re getting ready to return it might be helpful to meet them off-site beforehand or you can meet on the morning of the day they return. Again be led by the person and when you meet with them you can then talk about a return to work plan. So being very clear about what kind of hours they think it would be helpful to work. You know coming back on a phased return. Thinking about the types of work or tasks that would be helpful. Thinking through what kind of support they might need from you or colleagues and the frequency of that, and I think so if you kind of capture all that in a return to work plan and then agree that it’s going to be reviewed maybe in the first week every couple of days you’ll have a check in and then go weekly after that. But being very proactive and kind of exploring any issues and any fears they might have about coming back and what you can put in place to support them.

And I’ve also heard meeting the person at the threshold on their first day back, you know it can be very difficult for people to come back if they’ve been away for a while, so meeting with them to walk in together. Maybe making a plan for lunch, you know try to take away some of those anxieties someone might have about coming back after being away for a while.

12. What do you think are the top three qualities that make a good leader?

Thinking about my own experiences and managing a team of that size and being in a leadership role, I always think as much as you can listen more than you talk. Quite hard for me, I’m the Mediterranean, quite chatty. But listen more than you talk and I think, as I said, and really role modelling healthy behaviours and healthy working habits, and again because I’m Mediterranean and quite fiery, you know trying to respond rather than react, so managing your emotions.

And then I think it’s really important around clarity. So clarity of vision and purpose and then clarity around processes and systems. I think you know a lot of that stuff as I said about a well-run organisation or a well-run team, those are the really important things a leader should focus on.

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