Supporting Mental Health as a manager
It’s mental health awareness week this week, and I find it really encouraging to see so much content about this topic, especially from employers. The last few years has really changed the landscape for how mental health is viewed in the workplace. It never even came up in conversation in my first few years at work but now I know I can talk to my manager about my mental health as well as the usual discussions around things like my KPIs.
But I also know this is not the case for everyone. I do feel we have come far, but there are still plenty of people who feel unable to talk to their line manager or supported by their company. If this is the case for you, please do ensure you speak to someone. Seek out help from friends, family and consider your GP or charities like the Samaritans if you need to.
I wanted to consider what advice there is for managing an employee who needs support with their mental health. This can be a difficult balance and whilst I will always emphasise the experience of the employee should be front of mind; their manager might not feel confident of their actions either. Mental Health training is increasing, but how to respond to a direct report sharing their concerns with you for the first time may be something you feel ill-equipped to know how to respond. I’d like to think supporting that employee would be the main focus, but in a workplace, I know many managers will also be worried about how it might impact team performance and whether their business will make appropriate adjustments.
I am passionate about this topic, and I also believe it is possible to get this balance right. We all have mental health, and the NHS stats show that 1 in 4 adults experience poor mental health each year. On average a manager is responsible for around 6 individuals which means the chances are you are already managing someone who is experiencing poor mental health. This is not a topic we can ignore, and we can, and should, prepare ourselves to manage mental health in the workplace.
Every company will be different, but a good starting point is to familiarise yourself with the support your employer already provides. Many will have an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), where those who work for the business can call up and receive support from trained individuals, often leading to counselling sessions where needed. This is usually free to staff and kept anonymous from the business too, which are often the 2 main barriers that prevent people getting the help they need. As a line manager ensure you understand what is on offer and have the details to hand. I save my company’s EAP number in my phone so if I need to share details with someone I have it ready. Mental Health First Aiders also exist in many businesses across the UK, I became one of them myself in 2018. Whereas it can be tricky for line managers to know what to say, Mental Health First Aiders will have been trained how to respond and encourage people to reach the right support. It’s usual for these people to have put themselves forward for the role too which shows this is something they want to do and feel passionate about.
If your business doesn’t communicate their approach to mental health be pro-active. Speak to someone about it and ask how they’d expect conversations about mental health to be supported. Businesses should understand that there are benefits to investing in this area. 84% of employees who feel their mental wellbeing is supported at work say they are less likely to seek alternative employment. Supporting employees at the right time can also prevent health deteriorating. It’s estimated 70 million working days are ‘lost’ each year due to mental health in the UK, and this costs employers approx. £2.4 billion annually. Supporting their staff isn’t just the right thing to do, it makes good business sense and creates a compelling argument for employers to introduce the right support.
Be open with those in your team. It’s really hard to find the courage to speak about our mental health, and the better our relationships are the easier this will be. Leaders used to be seen as strict impersonal authority figures, but this is no longer the norm. Vulnerable leadership is a growing topic and you can easily find articles on the benefits of opening up to staff. In being vulnerable we create a stronger personal connection with our teams, and this becomes a strong foundation for almost everything connected to work. If we’re prepared to show our vulnerable moments, we’ll be seen to be authentic and open to sharing more than just our success. If we imagine how it might feel to need to reach out to a line manager and discuss personal issues, like mental health, it’s easy to see how you’d be more likely to seek someone who has already shown their own vulnerability to you. This can be done gradually. If we take time to regularly reflect on what we are sharing with our teams we can see whether we are being selective and only putting forward the good news, and then look to create a better balance. Have we had projects that we wish had gone better? What are our concerns about our own KPIs? In creating an open culture, we create an environment where people feel they can be honest about their own concerns. It may start with work, but the stronger our interpersonal relationships become the more we’ll see employees being open about everything that impacts work too.
Whether it’s virtual or in-person, we spend a lot of time with our work teams. Even if it’s done sub-consciously, we will be able to perceive how individuals may be feeling. The more we think about this consciously, the better able we’ll be to pick up on the signs that someone may need support. Changes of behaviour should be monitored. Is someone behaving out of character? If this is the case create opportunities where they can be open with you, such as 121 sessions free from distractions and with enough time to encourage meaningful discussion. Simply asking them if they’re ok more than you would do usually may be the key to finding out if there’s something behind their changing behaviour. If you’re really concerned approach this sensitively and make it clear that you’re doing so out of compassion and not discipline. “Is everything ok at the moment? I noticed you seemed a bit quiet in our last few meetings, and that’s not a problem but I did just want to check in with you”. When we’re busy or working apart we’re more likely to ignore these warning signs, so we need to work harder to ensure we don’t miss them. So, take some time to tune into how the team are and reach out to those you feel unsure of.
When someone opens up about their mental health it is very common for managers to want to step in and make everything right. We need to be conscious that mental health is complex and very individual, and we will likely never fully understand it. Hold back from problem solving and focus attention instead on listening to what is being said. Don’t interrupt someone who has started to open up, even if they are struggling with their words. Be patient and let them know they can take all the time they need. If we jump in with our own thoughts and suggestions, we may feel we are helping, but are actually only making ourselves feel better. We are not the hero in this situation, instead we are listeners helping someone think through what is happening. There may be tears, and we often feel compelled to comfort others with a hug, but this may not be appropriate. Reassure them but continue to be patient. This early stage really is about letting them share what they need to with you, so keep to a slow pace and simply let them know you’re listening.
Whilst we should be mindful not to problem solve, we should in time move into discussing what may help. The term ‘reasonable adjustments’ is often used here, and it can be difficult to judge exactly what is reasonable, but the more we have listened to the employee the better we’ll understand what may help. There are no certain answers here – for some having more regular catch ups may help but others may feel they need time away from the office altogether. Temporary reductions in workload may be considered too. In my training we were encouraged to think about physical health adjustments and draw comparisons. If someone broke their leg it’d be reasonable for them to work from home, have their hours adjusted to avoid a rush hour commute or base themselves on the ground floor of an office. Workwise you may temporarily avoid external meetings that require travel. We should view mental health in the same way, making adjustments that stay true to the core of what is needed in the role but being flexible about how to reach goals whilst they are recovering. But we cannot make assumptions about what is right. We should be led by the feelings of the employee in the first instance and continue to check our direction regularly and make adjustments until they feel happy to resume their normal working patterns.
Remind yourself that supporting your team is not your responsibility alone. Share your concerns upwards in the business and gain support from your own line manager. Nobody is an expert on this topic but having someone else to talk to can help us have more considered supportive conversations. It will also manage expectations if adjustments are being made. We may feel hesitant to talk about these adjustments, but businesses adjust all the time (as 2020 has demonstrated!) and we are doing so to support valued members of staff. Reminding ourselves of this simple fact is empowering. It makes business sense to protect talent in the business and just as we may adjust to client needs we can do so for our own teams too. Given that this can feel like a big learning curve, sharing with your manager may also help lessons be learnt by the business (although keep conversations about individuals as private as possible) and create a better culture of mental health support.
My last piece of advice isn’t a comfortable one. But mental health has a scale and can be very serious. If the signs are very worrying you must encourage them to seek support from trained individuals such as their GP, a therapist, charity, or your company’s EAP. If someone is severely unwell, or talking about ending their life, then regardless of confidentiality emergency services need to be contacted. If this is something you experience as a manager, gain the support of someone else in the business, such as a HR Manager, immediately so as not to be alone in supporting the individual.
Mental Health Awareness week is an opportune time to reflect on how we may approach supporting individuals. If we consider how 1 in 4 people will experience poor mental health each year then we absolutely need to be prepared and put in place the best possible foundations to create a supportive workplace environment, and I hope that these steps may help.
If you’re worried about your own mental health, I encourage you to contact your local healthcare provider or charities such as Samaritans.org, CALM (thecalmzone.net) and mind.org.uk. If you’re struggling, please talk to someone.
