Employee mental health is a very sensitive issue and therefore often avoided by managers. How to break down the taboo and create a company culture willing to discuss mental health issues and offering help to those who suffer from them?
This question was rised by Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas), the British educational and consulting organization bringing together employers, employees and other independent members to seek ways for improving the quality of working life and business operation. The result is the just published guide for managers and employers entitled Promoting positive mental health at work.
The guide gives advice on how to recognize early symptoms of mental illness among employees. It also focuses on how to raise awareness of mental health issues among managers and employees and create a corporate culture in which employees do not have to be afraid to talk about their problems. Managers can learn in it how to communicate with employees who have mental health problems and help them overcome them.
Managers do not have to become professional counsellors. However, they may learn how to recognize what they can control and what not in relation to mental health of their people - when they or the company environment can help and where professional help is needed.
The guide is available for download online the Acas site here.
-kk-