Today, 10th October, we celebrate World Mental Health Day. The theme set by the World Federation for Mental Health this year is: “It is time to prioritise mental health in the workplace”.

Here at Simplify Consulting we are passionate that a mentally healthy workplace is essential to foster a more productive, engaged and fulfilled workforce.  We want our team and other businesses to thrive in an environment where wellbeing is taken seriously.

One of our core values and behaviours is Teamwork and we recognise that Mental Health is a shared responsibility.  Educating ourselves on the signs and signals that a person’s mental health is being affected in some way is a priority for all.

Workplace transformation

The pandemic has brought unprecedented changes, resulting in massive transformation in many areas, including workplace.

The lines between work and home life have become increasingly blurred. With many of us working longer hours, accompanied by cost of living crisis, employers have been faced with challenges to maintain mentally healthy workplaces for their staff.

‘Burnout’ as identified by the World Federation for Mental Health is one specific area we have focused on. It is a rising concern for all businesses.  It doesn’t happen overnight and can appear in many ways, with symptoms being physical, emotional or behavioural. Examples include reduced performance, unexplained exhaustion, feeling overwhelmed, becoming isolated, tension and stress.

Nine out of ten adults experienced high or extreme levels of stress last year and 20% of workers needed to take time off work due to poor mental health caused by pressure or stress

we can read in the first published by Mental Health UK. The report provides an overview of the contributory factors to burnout, both inside and outside of the workplace and offers recommendations for how to create a mentally healthy work environment.

Employers

We all know employers have a duty of care for their employees.

With managers having to manage more remote workers than ever before, dealing with mental health can be even more challenging. The basics should remain the same. A comprehensive  ( Employer Value Proposition ) should include things like mental health, work environment and workplace culture.

Simplify have taken a variety of approaches to tackle and prevent our workforce from finding themselves in a position where burnout is a real possibility.   This includes:

  • A trained mental health first aider
  • Code of conduct for all staff that stresses the importance of a work-life balance -working.
  • to help balance personal life and work commitments, e.g. hybrid working, flexible hours
  • Unlimited access to an employee assistance programme
  • Closely monitoring workload and capacity
  • 121’s centred around the individual rather than work
  • An open door policy, where anyone is approachable regardless of role or seniority and no-one should ever feel compelled to only speak to their line manager if they are having mental health challenges

Mental well-being allows people to focus on their goals and aspirations, leading to a higher level of life satisfaction and productivity. When our work life balance is in a good place, we feel secure, make informed decisions, experience less stress and have better relationships.

Here at Simplify we can support businesses in defining their operating model, support project delivery and operational excellence and help improve their control environment, so that they are better positioned to support their employees. For more information please get in touch with the Simplify Team today.