Employers have a key role to play in supporting staff to maintain their mental wellbeing. Regular supervision or catch-up meetings can help managers recognise symptoms such as stress, anxiety, paranoia or depression. It is also worth incorporating time in your meetings to discuss your employees’ wellbeing. In addition managers play a crucial role in setting reasonable adjustments, flexible working allowances and return to work plans if employees need additional support.
Ideally, speaking about mental health problems should be an intrinsic part of the culture of your workplace.
Mental health problems may emerge gradually, suddenly as a result of a specific event, or may be known to you due to a disclosure at the recruitment stage. We have put together guidance to assist line managers in dealing with disclosure about a mental health problem at any point.
It’s critical that all of your line managers feel confident having a conversation about mental health with their line reports. Increasing their capability to spot signs and symptoms in their team, and feel confident in discussing this with those who are struggling will help stop problems before they become more challenging. See our training page for training course suggestions.
Wellness Actions Plans (WAPs) are an easy, practical way of helping you to support the mental health of your team members.
Mind also has useful resources for looking after the wellbeing of your team.
Graeme talks about managing an employee with schizophrenia