Could your organisation be failing their staff's mental health needs?

My experience in the world of mental health began seven years ago when I experienced a mental health crisis at work. I didn't really understand what it was or what was happening back then; all I knew was that I couldn't deal with work or life at that point.

I was a business development manager for a huge, well-known cigarette manufacturer, out on the road, visiting retailers, trying to hit targets and generally living at 100mph.

Sadly when I had this experience, there was nobody I could trust to tell it was mental health related. I feared that if I did, it would go on my record, and my work colleagues would think less of me or gossip about me behind my back.

It was a risk I wasn't willing to take.

There were no mental health first aiders or allies I could speak to about what I was experiencing.

This is when (like some folk) I decided to visit my GP and ask if I could be signed off with "work-related stress". There was very little I needed to do to convince my GP I needed time off, but even so, I refrained from telling her it was because of the mental health struggles I had been battling for years, just in case it got back to my employers.

My GP signed me off for a month.

I was invited into a meeting with my manager on my return to work to discuss how I felt. I can't remember much about any conversation about extra support or having a phased return or workload; all I remember is being placed on a Performance improvement plan.

In hindsight, it was the right thing for the company to do at the time. The conditions were not there for me to tell them it was mental health related, I had no other choice or option but to go with the PIP.

Being placed on a performance improvement plan can be stressful and potentially damaging to a person's mental health, it was certainly the case for me, sadly, it resulted in being managed out of the business a month after returning.

Being placed on a performance improvement plan often means that there are specific areas of one's work that need to be addressed and improved upon. This can be stressful and lead to feelings of inadequacy or a lack of confidence in one's abilities.

Performance improvement plans can be time-consuming and require a significant amount of effort to complete. This can be overwhelming and add additional stress to a person's already busy workload.

Being placed on a performance improvement plan can damage a person's sense of self-worth and lead to negative emotions such as frustration, anxiety, and depression.

It can also create a hostile work environment, which can further contribute to negative mental health outcomes.

I've included some FAQ from some of the HR departments I've worked with before delivering mental health training.

What do we do if a team member has frequent days off sick suffering from mental health?

Understand more about their wellness and what reasonable adjustments they need for you to be able to help support them.

This should come from the manager, it needs to be both parties working through this. Help them through it rather than jump straight to performance management processes.

The key here is to seek first to understand and have regular conversations.

What do we do if I think an employee is suffering, but they don’t want to talk about it (also, what if it’s affecting performance).

They may not trust you as their manager to talk about it, and there could be many implications, including fear of losing their job, fear that others may find out or financial implications.

If in doubt you can refer them to HR or MH first aiders or the Employee Assistant programmes the company have.

HR usually have these details; provide all the numbers and contacts they can reach out to.

All this information should be provided in a common area like notice boards, intranets, online systems like teams etc. Nominate wellness champions in the business to help with the wider conversation.

Understand why it’s impacting their performance exactly and devise a plan to help them; avoid going straight to a formal Performance management process, as this just adds more stress.

Do we tell colleagues/ team members?

Ask the person what they would like to do. Some will appreciate the support, and others will want to remain private. Ask the question and respect their answer.

Where do the boundaries lie regarding when to help and when not to help?

Have a good discussion and ask them; everyone is different. Ask what support they want, and need.

If they are off for a while, ask them if they would like you to check in on them regularly or if they would like space.

It’s important to make reassure the person it’s not a case of out of sight, out of out of mind.

Where does HR fit in, and when do I get them involved?

HR should be made aware of this from the beginning to support the manager with how to deal with the support needed and the tools to use.

If there are issues with the relationship with the manager, then HR may decide to take the lead with the person; this is for the benefit of their well-being. It really depends on the relationship with the manager and with HR.

It’s all about trust.

How would you approach somebody if you think they’re struggling with their mental health?

You can approach them by stating what you have noticed that is an area of concern; it could be a behaviour change you’ve noticed; you could say something like, “Steve, I’ve noticed you seem very low or anxious or depressed, sometimes when people are feeling this way they are struggling in some way, how are you feeling at the moment?” this needs to be done in a kind and caring way without judgement.

Overall, it is important for employers to be mindful of the potential impact of performance improvement plans on their employees' mental health and to provide support and resources to help employees successfully complete the plan, having managers trained in mental health awareness and having staff from different sections trained in mental health first aid can also reduce the cost to the organisation of things like absenteeism and presenteeism which currently cost the UK economy billions of pounds each year, it also helps reduce the number of tribunals due to unfair dismissals.

If you want to discuss having your staff and managers trained in mental health first aid, get in touch.

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