Workplace wellbeing feels more important than ever right now. Recent research by Mind states that at least 1 in 6 workers experience mental health problems like anxiety and depression and that work is the biggest cause of stress in our lives - even more than money problems. 

The Mental Health Foundation estimate that 70 million workdays are lost each year due to mental health problems so it’s no surprise that the cost to UK employers is hitting a whopping £2.4 billion per year. Therefore it’s never been more important to take care of your mental health at work.  

But looking after your wellbeing is not just the responsibility of the employee; it has to be a priority for employers too.  

Workplace wellbeing a proactive approach  

Approaching mental health proactively tackles the matter head on and puts measures in place to help people before they feel overwhelmed. Workplace wellbeing means taking care of your staff as a standard day-to-day measure and building wellbeing into the regular running of your business.  

It can prevent staff burnout and absenteeism and provide an outlet for them before they reach crisis point.   

This differs from being reactive and waiting until people feel stressed and unwell before they begin to seek support.  

Ellie Levers is a Senior Developer at a South Yorkshire based Computer Game software company. She began to experience symptoms of workplace stress in 2018 when the company restructured and several members of her team were made redundant. She was left with extra responsibilities as a result of the changes and found herself struggling to cope.  She says:

“I loved the job and my team – we were like a little family. We worked and socialised together and had a very active WhatsApp group that pinged all day long. I enjoyed waking up and going to work every day, I was so happy and settled.  

We were all nervous about the restructure and even though my role was not at risk I had friends who either had to leave or reapply for an altered version of the job they were doing. It was so tense and all the comfort and safety seemed to disappear. 

I ended up having two other roles merged into my own to save costs so was effectively doing three people’s jobs. It was a nightmare and everyday became a mountain I couldn’t climb.  

I didn’t want to speak out in case the managers thought I was weak and couldn’t cope but I was falling too far behind. I don’t recall the company having a mental health policy or plan in place and nobody really talked about the impact of stress and anxiety at work. It was the elephant in the room.” 

Ellie and countless like her tried to continue in silence but soon realised they couldn’t keep going. She visited her GP after breaking down to her fiancé one weekend and was signed-off work for eight weeks and put on a short course of anti-anxiety medication.  

She continues: “Taking an enforced break felt like I’d failed but in hindsight was essential. Nobody else that worked there had ever been off due to mental health difficulties so I was worrying about going back again but thankfully it was OK.” 

To Ellie’s surprise, her boss had viewed her absence as a wake-up call and decided to take action. He implemented a staff wellbeing and care package for the organisation and encouraged all employees to undergo mental health first aid courses.  He also made sure all managers included a wellbeing check-in in their one-to-ones and follow a procedure if any concerns were raised.  

Ellie’s story is representative of so many others and a prime example of how situations can escalate if left to worsen. Had her management had procedures in place before she became overwhelmed and unwell, her absence and poor state-of-mind could have been avoided.  

Journalist Sophie Money famously wrote about proactive and reactive mental health support in the workplace for The New Statesman UK.  She stated:

“In the workplace, many UK employers adopt a reactive approach to mental health. But while support in a crisis situation is admirable, it would be better to prevent that crisis from happening in the first place.  

Although reactive approaches can successfully target individual needs on a case-by-case basis, more proactive measures have the advantage of helping to nip some psychological conditions in the bud, reducing the risk of trigger scenarios for employees with a more positive and welcoming atmosphere.” 

Prevention is better than cure 

With the evidence suggesting that getting ahead of the game and being pre-emptive helps reduce workplace stress, here are five top tips to promote proactive mental health and workplace wellbeing.

Encourage employees to take breaks 

This can be regular screen breaks, outdoor exercise or even annual leave incentives; anything that encourages staff to refresh their minds and physically get away from their desks and emails.  

A recent article by MyHR claims: “Taking leave is essential. It promotes good physical and mental health in the workplace and improves people’s work-life balance, which reduces stress and unscheduled days off.” 

Discuss Workplace Wellbeing 

You can reduce the stigma around mental health by openly discussing issues such as stress, depression and anxiety and make it clear that everyone struggles to stay mentally healthy sometimes.  

Educate your managers to spot the signs of mental health problems and encourage them to talk to their teams. A caring conversation can be encouraging for the employee to get help. 

Be flexible with your staff 

Whether it’s allowing your employees to work remotely, to start or finish earlier than usual or to change their working days or hours, it can make the world of difference to them when you demonstrate flexibility.  

A recent survey of employees from 115 companies, conducted by Wildgoose, discovered that 39% of those who worked flexibly had noticed big improvements in their mental health. Staff were found to have more energy and were more focused when they had flexible working to fall back on. 

The lesson - being adaptable helps staff to maintain a healthier work-life balance and be more productive.   

Show compassion  

We are all human and come from a variety of backgrounds and lifestyles creating busy lives outside of our working environment. Being compassionate means understanding, caring for and supporting your staff and seeing them as equal humans and not just your employees.  

An article in Positive Psychology believes that: “compassionate expressions aim at alleviating the troubles of others or sharing them with the sufferer. Workplace compassion also invites more loyalty, dedication, and employee engagement.”  

Listening to your staff, lending them a hand if they’re under pressure, being flexible and giving praise and reward will help you provide a more compassionate workplace.  

Promote a Healthy Work/Life Balance 

This will mean different things to each individual but it centres around getting to a place whereby you feel accomplished and satisfied at work but not to the detriment of your personal and family life.  

The Mental Health Foundation claim: “It’s not so much about splitting your time 50/50 between work and leisure but making sure you feel fulfilled and content in both areas of your life. A healthy balance may include meeting your deadlines at work while still having time for friends and hobbies or not worrying about work when you’re at home.”  

Encouraging your staff to finish on time, not respond to emails outside of working hours and prioritise their out-of-work activities will help them to achieve the best balance possible.