Awareness and knowledge around the issue of mental health in the workplace, and in life more generally, has advanced tremendously over the last few years. Where these subjects were often considered taboo, they are now discussed much more openly.
If you are trying to build a company culture that supports good mental health and enables open discussion about this issue, your line managers are one of your most important assets. These individuals manage your employees on a day-to-day basis and are ideally positioned to support them in the case of any mental health challenges that are impacting them at work.
Here are six of our top tips to support your line managers in talking about mental health with those they manage.
Create a culture that normalises talking about mental health
Despite many strides forward, mental health can still be difficult to talk about and mental health challenges are often stigmatised. It is vital to create an organisational culture that normalises talking about mental health and supports good mental health at every level.
This includes talking openly about mental health at every level of the organisation, providing resources (we will delve into this in more detail below), promoting self-care, and providing appropriate education and training.
Removing stigmatising language is important, too. Even casual use of words like “crazy” and “insane” can contribute to an atmosphere that views mental health struggles as something shameful.
Finally, consider creating a written Mental Health Statement. This is a declaration that your organisation cares about mental health and a place to define how the organisation is committed to supporting good mental health amongst its people.
Provide expert training
Mental health is a broad and complex field and one that boasts numerous highly trained and skilled professionals. Make use of these individuals by providing expert-led mental health training for everyone in your organisation who has management responsibility.
This might include Mental Health First Aid training, mental health awareness training, and sessions on how to support employees who are struggling with their mental health.
These trainings can consist of in-person sessions, live online classes, or self-led training programmes.
Provide mental health resources
Mental health resources are one of the most important aspects of creating a workplace that destigmatises talking about mental health and encourages positive mental health. These resources might include an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), private medical insurance that includes access to therapy, subscriptions to online therapy services, wellbeing and self-care workshops, and written or video resources.
These resources give managers an array of tools to help them support their staff in times of mental health difficulties, and places they can signpost people to for additional assistance. They also give managers options when they need to access support for their own mental health.
Empower managers to know their limits
Managers have an important role to play in enabling better mental health in your organisation, supporting employees who are struggling, and creating a culture that normalises talking about mental health. However, in the vast majority of cases, line managers are not trained mental health professionals. This means that it is important for them to know and honour their own limits.
Line managers are unlikely to be equipped to adequately support employees through periods of acute crisis or severe mental illness. In these instances, it is vital that managers have access to other resources and sources of support to which they can signpost employees.
It is also important for managers to set personal boundaries and resist the temptation to take on employees’ mental health struggles as their own or as their responsibility to solve. Empowering and equipping your managers to know and honour their limits allows them to support their employees without damaging their own mental health.
Ensure that managers also have access to mental health support
Managers, just like their employees, can also suffer from mental health challenges. On top of the life stressors that can affect all of us, the additional responsibility of a management position and of supporting employees through mental health struggles can take a toll on managers.
Therefore, it is vital to ensure your managers have access to mental health support. This can come from their own managers or supervisors, employer-provided resources such as access to therapy or an EAP, and peer support. Check in with your management team regularly to see how they are and check whether they need any additional support.
Prioritising managers’ mental health will help to enable them to stay happy, and healthy, and contribute towards a positive mental health culture across your entire organisation.
Don’t let perfection be the enemy of good
Mental health is complex, and managing mental health in the workplace is a careful balancing act. It is important to ensure that your managers do not feel as though they need to be perfect, to know all the answers, or to understand how to respond to every possible mental health situation they may encounter.
Managers should not be afraid of being imperfect, of seeking extra guidance, or of not knowing something. As long as they are provided with all the right resources and training, have good intentions, and have the backing of the organisation, they will be well-equipped to support their employees through any issues that arise. All the steps you take towards better mental health at work will help to create a more positive environment for everyone.
