Firstly, before exploring how mental health awareness can help businesses, we need to understand what is meant by mental health? It is a stumbling block in every training course I deliver as, without fail, at least one participant will state, “I don’t have mental health.” I feel that in part the media could be to blame as the term is often used to describe someone who is unwell, mentally.
What is meant by mental health?
We all may have a slightly different way of describing what the term means to us. According to the World Health Organisation’s definition, ‘ Mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community. Mental health is fundamental to our collective and individual ability as humans to think, emote, interact with each other, earn a living and enjoy life. On this basis, the promotion, protection and restoration of mental health can be regarded as a vital concern of individuals, communities and societies throughout the world.’
So, simply put, mental health is about how we think, feel and behave. Anxiety and depression are the most common mental health problems and most of us will probably know someone to have experienced this, if not ourselves. They are often a reaction to a difficult life event, such as moving house, a change in circumstances, illness, bereavement, but can also be caused by work-related issues.
Were you aware that one in four people in the UK will have a mental health problem at some point in their lives?
It’s important to point out that mental health problems are common, most are mild, are likely to be short-term and are normally successfully treated, with medication, by a GP.
Now that we understand what mental health is, how does mental health awareness help your business?
How mental health awareness training helps your business
By increasing knowledge in your organisation about mental health and the issues surrounding it, you will be able to empower people to care both for themselves and others. There are many factors that have an impact on mental health and wellbeing both personal and societal that are discussed during my courses.
So the more people that are aware of these factors and how they can affect us all, then better support and prevention measures can be put in place in your workplace.
Education is key, as with gained knowledge you can begin to break down the stigma through better understanding. This will enable people to not fear seeking the support that they may need to manage their symptoms, address the cause and help make complete recovery more likely.
Breaking down the mental health stigma through better understanding
If your organisation actively encouraged regular conversations about mental health, and normalised these, then things are less likely to be hidden. When problems surrounding mental health become hidden away, they are not addressed, early intervention does not take place and matters can escalate. This could mean the difference between a half day absence to see a GP, or a meeting with occupational health support or an eventual two week sick leave absence from work, or more!
If an employee came to work with an obvious injury, would it be ignored? Chances are that they would be advised to go and seek either immediate help from A&E, or at least arrange a GP appointment to get the injury looked at before it gets worse and causes a longer period of absence.
By rethinking this situation with the employee coming to work with an obvious mental health struggle, the same advice should be applied. In both cases, their welfare is paramount and extended absence is avoided, saving your organisation the cost of covering the work due to the impact of a missing and valued employee. Mental Health Awareness helps businesses to achieve this frame of mind through the course I deliver that educates and also challenges misconceptions of mental health and addresses lack of knowledge and empathy about it.
Mental Health Awareness helps businesses by shifting the focus to prevention rather than cure
With the right support network in place at work, with understanding and communication through Mental Health Awareness, there is no need for a situation to spiral seemingly out of control. In some scenarios, with the right measures in place, mental health is positively supported immediately and a working day is not lost. Employees will feel valued and heard, which is incredibly positive for morale.
Identifying and reducing stress, where possible, is also beneficial. How people deal with stress, no matter the source, are often related to their environment, responsibilities, stigma and discrimination. Stress is the demand on our body and brain that can stem from demanding circumstances. It could be physical stress, emotional stress or acute life events – even positive ones!
Personally, I experience stress the most when preparing to leave to go on a holiday by plane (remember those days?!) as I organise what we need to take, particularly the passports and relevant essential paperwork. It’s a positive life event causing me stress and feelings of anxiousness.
The Mental Health Awareness course helps businesses to understand more about the complexities of different influences that can impact their staff and, therefore, their performance at work. If every person in an organisation had even basic knowledge to recognise the potential signs of different mental health conditions and their related behaviours, they can be more supportive. When a person feels understood and supported, they are more likely to reach out for help. If staff seek help early on when experiencing mental health challenges, the quicker they can recover and it is less likely that they will lose excessive days to sickness.
Will mental health knowledge help businesses financially?
So, how does this type of training help your business?
It helps financially in many ways. By reducing days lost to mental health related illness and also by retaining your experienced staff, who feel valued and supported, whatever they are facing. Then as staff feel they can communicate better about stress and other factors that could influence their mental health and wellbeing, morale and productivity increases, positively.
Therefore, it is vital that businesses create an environment that supports mental health. Find out more about the achievable steps you can take in your business in my previous blog ‘How to Build a Mentally Healthy Workplace’ and begin to make changes straight away.
When an organisation as a whole can understand what situations and attitudes can make matters worse, steps can be put in place to try to avoid these. For example, when we consider what is acceptable language and behaviour towards mental health in the same way as physical health, then improvements are inevitable. There are many topics that require appropriate, non-judgemental and acceptable terms to use or avoid that must be kept up to date within our modern society. It is our responsibility as individuals and organisations to keep up with non-offensive language.
By increasing the mental health knowledge in your business, a clear understanding can be established of how our behaviours impact our colleagues both positively and negatively. A mentally healthy organisation is both creative and productive and, no doubt, that is what you expect in your workplace as it is best for business both financially and for positive morale.
Employers are increasingly concerned about both absenteeism and presenteeism due to mental ill health and the financial impact it has for their organisation. It can be difficult to spot the signs of mental health in the workplace and particularly difficult since many of us are working from home. You will find that Mental Health Awareness helps businesses like yours by learning the tools to create a culture where employees can recognise wellbeing and mental health as a critical issue and spot work-specific signs of mental health. Skilled line managers play an important role in promoting wellbeing and deserve the right training to apply this.
As mentioned before, we all have mental health as we do physical health, all the time, every day. It is constantly changing and impacts how we behave towards others. It’s the first important fact for participants in my training to have that understanding and it’s important for when they are working in your organisation.
It is my recommendation that all of your workforce have the opportunity to train in Mental Health Awareness to form a solid foundation of knowledge and support for each other. In addition to this training, empower 10% of your workforce to become Mental Health First Aiders. Why not take time to read my previous blog ‘Why Your Business Needs Mental Health First Aiders.’
What is the next step for you as an organisation to address mental health in your workplace?
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