What makes a good manager? Is it just hitting targets or does it go further than that? Being a supportive manager when it comes to employees wellbeing and spotting the signs.

In the last year, 50% of all workplace sickness absence in the UK has been attributed to mental health difficulties.

Some of the factors contributing to this were anxiety, depression and stress, often as the result of workload pressures, tight deadlines, too much responsibility or lack of managerial support. Some employees are voicing the need to take a break from work. Workplace sickness absence caused by stress has grown significantly since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic as the nation faced the challenges involved with adapting to new ways of working without compromising output.

While the world around us became more alien and unfamiliar, the need to work harder, faster and smarter never seemed to relent.

Many feel that little to no leeway was given to targets or deadlines, while management demands remained as high as ever. The combination of these factors led to an increase in distress for millions of workers who felt the need to take a break. Public services and industries in several sectors have been badly affected by this.

A recent study conducted on UK health workers impacted by Covid showed that nearly a third reported moderate to severe levels of anxiety and depression.

CIPD’s annual survey on health and wellbeing at work reports that the Coronavirus pandemic continues to influence employees health and wellbeing, with absenteeism causing severe disruption.

Good Managers Encourage Breaks

Feedback of work related stress and anxiety is very common across different industries.

“I just couldn’t keep up”, states Jodie, a Marketing and Sales Executive from Derbyshire. “I was anxious about the pandemic, my kitchen became my office and I felt so isolated. I couldn’t ask my colleagues a quick question as easily and found it so much harder to function.” 

“My manager put a weekly Teams call in my diary, but it wasn’t enough to bridge the gaps. My workload was relentless and colleagues were sending more emails than usual. There wasn’t an escape as my work laptop was always there on the kitchen table.” 

“I was prescribed medication for my anxiety but didn’t want to go down that line and risk becoming dependent. When my doctor suggested signing me off for a month, I felt huge relief yet also guilt and like I had failed somehow. It wasn’t an easy decision but I had to do it for the sake of my health as I was no longer sleeping and my appetite had practically vanished. I wish there had been someone I could turn to before it got to this point.” 

Around 70 million workdays are lost each year due to mental health problems, and the associated cost to UK employers is hitting a staggering £2.4 billion per year. Such rates of absence present not only an enormous challenge for all workplaces, but even more so for the individuals concerned.

What can responsive and responsible organisations do to support employees before they feel like they need to take a break?

How can they help create work environments that support mental health while looking out for their profits, or the maintenance of public-service standards and expectations?

In the day-to-day, often the responsibility to answer these vital questions falls in the remit of line managers. Being a more supportive manager can be difficult.

Managing teams with increasing levels of stress and challenging targets is not an easy task, and managers often lack the training to support someone who is struggling at work, improve mental health for their teams and avoid burnout for their employees.

The solution to these issues is far from a simple one, but there are some useful tips that a good manager can put in practice to support their employees’ mental health.

1) Be Reasonable  

If you, as a manager, couldn’t complete the volume of tasks you’re asking of others then the chances are they are unrealistic and too demanding. We are all busy and have more to do than time to actually do it in, but excessive workloads with tight deadlines can often set people up to fail, making the situation worse. 

If you want to be seen as having good manager qualities, meet with your staff. Assess what is achievable, and prioritise workload. It is better to postpone a couple of less urgent tasks than risk losing employees for large periods of time.  

2) Be Flexible  

Employees value flexibility and in this ever-increasing virtual working world we have more to balance than ever before. The chance of being flexible with their working hours and plan their time to incorporate personal commitments makes a very positive difference to work-life balance for your staff.  

Leaving half an hour early, taking a slightly longer lunch break, swapping your working days around if you’re on a part-time contact, all build to reduce the stresses and strains from everyday life. As long as the work gets done, trust your staff to decide when is best for them to do it. You’ll also gain their respect for being understanding and a supportive manager.

3) Check In 

Don’t wait until your scheduled team meetings and one-to-ones to check how your team members are doing: rather, ask them regularly.  

Send a Teams message, pick up the phone, or suggest going for a coffee – anything to create an environment conducive to honesty and open conversation. Working collaboratively will improve the workplace atmosphere and morale. 

If you notice anyone behaving differently, seeming subdued or unlike their usual selves, then please ask if all is well and what you might be able do to help. Be a good manager that your staff know that they can turn to.

You could be throwing them a valuable lifeline and opportunity to confide something that they can’t trust anybody else with. We often see our colleagues more than our families, so we are perfectly placed to spot any changes in temperament.  

4) Give the Gift of Time 

Although money is important, staff truly value the gift of time. Rewarding people’s efforts with extra annual leave, or their birthdays off, will really mean something to them and they will feel appreciated and that their hard work is being recognised.  

Certain NHS Trusts, for example, offered their entire workforce a bonus day of leave this year and, considering we all got an extra bank holiday, this gave many the option to have a lovely long Summer weekend. Time creates memories, and people treasure the chance to make more of them.

5) Get Out of the Office  

Being confined to a small space for long periods of time is proven not to help creativity, clear thinking or feeling calm. It is good to encourage your staff to take regular breaks away from their screens as well as holding meetings in different locations both indoors and out (weather permitting, of course).  

If you’re working remotely, why not suggest that colleagues work from cafés, parks or libraries – somewhere that they enjoy being and feel comfortable without compromising concentration or confidentiality.   

6) Build Mental Wellbeing into Your Schedule  

There are several ways to do this; offering mindfulness sessions, building wellbeing check-ins into your meetings, going for group walks or exercise classes at lunchtime – whatever suits the preferences of your team.  What makes a good manager goes further than praising your team. Offering support as a manager who understands mental wellbeing can make your staff feel more understood.

Short breaks away from your screen that are centred around mental welfare and encourage calm and positive distraction will lead your staff to feel refreshed and able to return to work with a clearer mind.  

7) Act Quickly and be Responsive 

Employees often fear speaking to management about their mental health for fear of not being taken seriously or ignored altogether.  

It is not anyone else’s place to determine how real an individual’s feelings and thoughts are and we must see their concerns from their perspective, not our own, to be a true empath.  

Responding to staff difficulties as early as possible can prevent them from developing and becoming worse – ultimately risking sickness absence and a backlog of tasks to complete.   

As soon as you feel that somebody is struggling, that they may need to take a break, assist them to seek support or offer reasonable adjustments which enable them to get help whilst continuing to work at a pace they deem manageable.  

This list is not exhaustive, but it should give good managers a practical starting point to help manage stress and anxiety in employees and improve mental health in the workplace.

If you are going to try any of these tips, don’t forget to share this article: it’s never too late to promote awareness of wellbeing and mental health at work, and everyone in your organisation is surely going to benefit from it.