Mental Health at Work

Glen Manners , Associate Director - London Section

Today is Mental Health Awareness day and this year’s theme is Mental Health at work.

In recent years we have been exposed to more stress than ever before. The cost of living crisis, post-covid social anxiety, pressures from social media and the constant news cycle of world issues that we are exposed to, can all trigger a sense of feeling overwhelmed.

Carving out a fulfilling working life that supports our healthy wellbeing can help us to cope.? But work can also become a source of stress.

Work can be stressful

Work-related stress can creep up on you from many different places…

• Working long hours or having a particularly heavy workload.
• Conflicting job expectations.
• Taking on too much responsibility.
• Lack of support from colleagues or senior management.
• Having to muddle through due to a lack of necessary training.
• Bullying, harassment, or even managing difficult day-to-day relationships.
• Poorly defined roles - feeling unclear about your responsibilities.
• Fear of redundancy or working in an ever changing environment.
• Loneliness from home working or feeling distant from colleagues.
• Not feeling heard, trusted or respected.
• And in the charity sector, having to make ends meet on relatively low salaries.

When we feel any of these factors are out of our control, we can so easily fall into a spiral of anxiety that can be hard to climb out of.

How does stress affect us?

Our responses to stressors can be complex. Here are some signs that you might notice if you are experiencing stress and anxiety:

Physical signs:

Headaches, muscle pain, chest pain, stomach pain, digestive issues, raised blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, back pain, and skin conditions

Mental signs:

Anxiety, depression, burnout, irritability, mood swings, loss of motivation, diminished creativity, and difficulty with thought process

Behavioural signs:

Changes in social behaviuor, such as staying in often, taking more time off, arriving for work later, and substance misuse

Intellectual signs:

Unfocused or cloudy thinking, loss of concentration, and difficulty with thought process

Emotional signs:

Increased emotional reactions, being more tearful, sensitive, or aggressive, and labile emotions

Interpersonal signs:

Problems with interpersonal relationships, disinterest, and isolation

If any of these signs feel familiar to you and you think they could be related to stress from work, consider seeking support.

Tips to cope with work-related stress

First and most importantly, seek support at work. Share how you’re feeling with your line manager or your HR team. Before the conversation, be prepared to talk about what’s causing your stress at work and any suggestions for your workplace on how the situation could be improved. The response will give you a good indication on whether your workplace will help to reduce your stress levels or whether it might be time to consider a new role elsewhere.

Secondly, look for support from experts outside your workplace:

Mind have a wealth of resources to support improved wellbeing. I have taken up drawing, which distracts my mind in the evening and breaks the spell of watching too much TV. Gardening and going for walks in the countryside provide a similar distraction and I find the connection to nature is a wonderful balm to stress and anxiety.

When you’re feeling low, it can be tempting not to socialise, but connecting with people we trust is an effective way of feeling heard. If you feel like you don’t have anyone to talk to about your stress and anxiety, Samaritans provides a great listening service.

Another method to support wellbeing for ourselves is to help others. Any small act of kindness will often lift our spirits.? This could be as simple as leaving a positive online review, or offering to make someone a cup of tea, to checking in on a friend or family member or volunteering for a cause you feel passionate about.

Personally, I love these tips from Sir Anthony Hopkins…

The Academy, BAFTA, Emmy and Olivier award winner turned 86 this year and shared his own three-step strategy for happiness…

1. Stop regretting the past. That doesn’t mean forget the past, as we can learn from it and help us not repeat the same mistakes.
2. Stop worrying about the future, studies show that 85% of what we worry about on a daily basis will never happen, so devoting so much bandwidth to worrying is a waste of our time and energy.
3. Stop looking for your happiness in other people, they can’t make us happy. It is absolutely impossible. Happiness is 100% an inside job. True happiness comes from within. Happiness is about finding peace and contentment in yourself.

Wellbeing at work

Wellbeing at work is a big issue and it’s great that lots of organisations are taking it seriously. If you are experiencing work stress and anxiety it should be something that you and your workplace can deal with together. But taking time to discover what brings you joy and investing in those things - in and out of work - will help your wellbeing on and off the clock.