Read time: 5 Minutes
Topic: Employee Wellbeing, Mental Health, Governance
Introduction
A combination of the ever expanding corporate social responsibility agenda, the zero harm health and safety movement, and growing societal awareness of mental health issues, means that there is a growing expectation that organisations must take the wellbeing of their employees seriously.
There is lots of confusing and conflicting information out there around wellbeing and mental health in the workplace. Lots of providers out there provide hypnotherapy, wellbeing talks or mental health first aid courses, and while these may have their place, it is unwise to implement risk controls and spend money BEFORE you actually know which hazards are prevalent in your business and what the risks are.
The Problem
The wellbeing of the workforce is largely out of the control of the organisation. Of course, organisations can expose employees to psychological hazards through the organisation and delivery of work, a topic which is well documented by the Health and Safety Executive. These psychological hazards can lead to issues and risks impacting employees’ wellbeing including employees developing serious mental health conditions due to working conditions (although this is inherently tricky to prove definitively).
However, wellbeing issues and risks arising from traumatic life events such as marital breakdown, interpersonal problems, bereavement, physical violence or abuse, childhood issues or general aggravating factors in mental illness such as drug and alcohol dependency, financial difficulty, egotistical problems, diet and a myriad of other life factors lie solely in the control of the employee.
The amount of risk exposure to organisational psychological hazards compared to “everyday life” psychological hazards is grossly disproportionate (In favour of everyday life) and as such people are much more likely to experience psychological issues as part of their life, than as part of their career.
The Impact
This is problematic for the organisation for several reasons, mainly because regardless of the cause of the mental ill-health, the organisation will still feel an impact (the employee will also suffer a diminished quality of life, which is no small matter, however that’s not what we are talking about here).
For the organisation, the impacts range from loss of key employees for an extended period of time or for definite, to general negativity being spread across the organisation and individual employee performance suffering.
Unfortunately for the organisation, when these typical causes of mental ill-health strike an employee, the impact on an individual is very unique to that person. The fact of the matter is that what has happened to you does not matter (in regards to predicting the scale of the problem, possible treatments or a timeline for recovery), what matters is how you perceive these events and how you allow these events to shape you (although at certain points, practically speaking, controlling your response to these events may not be an option).
It is also worth noting that while there currently isn’t any compliance risk associated with mental health in the workplace, there is a shifting legal landscape in the UK regarding HSE prosecutions for ill mental health within the workforce.
Strategy
What can organisations actually do to improve the wellbeing of their workforce?
The most effective strategy is to arrange work and jobs in a manner which creates the least possible psychological hazards and resulting harm, I believe the best way to do this is:
- Complete a stress risk assessment (HSE resources on how to do this can be found here) or hire a consultant to complete one for you, so that you understand which hazards are more prevalent than others in your organisation.
- Implement sensible measures to reduce hazards based on the causes, this could be organising work to ensure fair distribution or to align with individual strengths, introducing more training or giving more information, or it could mean improving business processes – it all depends on the specific hazards.
- Introduce mental wellbeing support to the workforce via an employee assistance program, to deal with work and non-work psychological issues such as counselling, other forms of therapy or specialist help for mental ill-health.
- Introduce general wellbeing concepts to address general aggravating factors in relation to personal wellbeing, such as financial literacy, tackling addiction, diet and exercise and others. Examples may include providing optional webinars and reading material on managing personal finances, providing an addiction hotline for employees to use (and of course orienting all of this in a way which makes the employee believe that breaking their addiction is in their best interests) or running introductory sessions for employees on different forms of exercise like yoga or walking.
These initiatives form a solid base for the organisation to preserve and contribute to the wellbeing of its workforce while maintaining clear boundaries of organisational and personal responsibility.
Disclaimer:
The information provided in this blog is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, the content reflects general principles and observations and may not be applicable to your specific circumstances. Safety, security, and risk considerations vary widely depending on context, environment, and organisational factors. Readers should not rely solely on this information when making decisions and are encouraged to seek appropriate professional advice tailored to their situation. The author accepts no liability for any loss or damage arising from reliance on the information contained herein.