Samantha Downie, Managing Director at Mates in Mind, highlights the importance of building positive mental health in and through work.

With World Suicide Prevention Day (10th September) and World Mental Health Day (10th October) it is great to see the heightened awareness these dates bring. However, awareness is no longer enough. What matters now, more than ever, is that all employers take action to create a psychologically safe culture, every day of every year.

That might sound like a lot of work, but trust me, having worked with hundreds of managers across higher-risk sectors, I know that once an organisation has a tailored action plan to follow, creating positive mental health in the workplace can become part of everyday operations.

Before I demonstrate how, it is important to note:

• ‘Preventing work-related stress isn’t just good for people – it’s the law’ (Health and Safety Executive (HSE)).
• The HSE has demonstrated its intention to investigate potential breaches of its legislation, which can result in serious criminal and financial consequences.
• Investing in workers’ wellbeing improves the organisation’s bottom line. This is because positive mental health in the workplace increases productivity; reduces absenteeism, presenteeism and staff turnover, and therefore recruitment and onboarding costs. It also demonstrates that you are a good, safe and supportive place to work.
• Conversely, if left unaddressed, mental ill-health (for example, stress) can have a devastating impact on the individual, and can have life-changing repercussions for them, as well as their family, friends and colleagues.

The recently published Mental Health in Construction Joint Code of Practice (JCOP) ‘identifies and addresses the primary root causes impacting the mental health of our construction workforce’. The Code, and Mates in Mind, advocate for a proactive approach to workforce mental health.

Analysis shows that employers that proactively invest in mental health support for their teams can make significant gains, with an average £5 return for every £1 spent on wellbeing support (Deloitte UK).

So, what does all this mean for you?

If you are responsible for workers, whether as a senior leader, line manager, HR professional, and/or a health and safety team member, please take a moment to ask yourself five key questions:

• Do we have a mental health policy?
• Are we conducting individual stress risk assessments?
• What action do we take as a result of those assessments?
• Do we mitigate psychosocial risks?
• Do we make reasonable work adjustments where necessary?
• Do we conduct the assessments on a regular basis?
• Where do we safely store this information/evidence?

Put simply, do you satisfy your duty of care to your employees? If you answer ‘no’ then it’s time to take action:

• Get management buy-in.
• Assess where your organisation is on its mental health journey and develop a tailored action plan to fill any gaps, for example, in terms of provision, policies and that you are regularly conducting and acting on individual stress risk assessments.
• Set targets, monitor outcomes and record evidence. Know what success looks like in terms of the mental health of your workforce; plan in what and by when you will fill the gaps identified in your assessment; and keep records of the outcomes and evidence of actions you have taken.
• Educate your whole workforce so they have the skills, clarity and confidence to spot the signs of mental ill-health, start conversations, signpost support and make reasonable work adjustments if needed.
• Provide support – be that through Mental Health First Aiders, HR Team, Occupational Health, an Employee Assistance Programme, peer mentors – and ensure the information is communicated regularly with staff.

Speak to Mates in Mind to discover how we can work in partnership to achieve the above steps.

Identifying and mitigating psychosocial risks in the workplace is a big topic and we have only just begun to scratch the surface in this Soapbox column.

Additional free resources and information can be found on our website:

Supporting your team through suicide prevention and postvention (includes free resources to download): https://bit.ly/MinMblog25-8.

Creating a positive workplace culture: https://bit.ly/MinMblog10.

Discover how we can help you address the hazards identified in the JCOP: https://bit.ly/MinM-JCOP.

If you are ready to lead the way by creating a culture of work that has a positive impact on the mental health of your team, and your customers, ask us how we can help: https://bit.ly/MinMContact.

If you would like to help fund our vital work, please consider becoming a Charity Partner: https://bit.ly/MinMCPartner.

Catch up on previous ‘Soapbox’ articles here

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