Why have a Mental Health strategy?
“Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets with planning.” – Thomas Edison
Why propose that businesses have a strategy or policy? Currently, reported health issues are on the rise. One in 4 people report having problems, but since the Covid 19 pandemic these figures continue to increase. Never before has it been so important that businesses seek professional advice if they are to support staff and maintain, or increase staff productivity.
A Health, Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy is no longer a nice to have. It is essential to provide appropriate support and also, to protect both the employee and employer should the need arise.
There are many people offering their services to provide mental health support, but many are simply trained to deliver courses rather than being trained to provide science-based psychological support and understanding. The difference between the two is worth bearing in mind because whomever you choose to address the deeper issues of mental health, please ensure that they themselves, through inexperience, are not going to trigger any members of your workforce.
Coming back to the strategy; many companies already have in place health and safety policies. A Health, Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy is a further health and safety policy which addresses all aspects of health including psychological health in the workplace.
Many companies provide gym membership, EAP, Health Insurance etc. but really have not yet brought all strands into a clear policy. Whether or not, as an employer, you currently provide these ‘benefits’ we now understand that keeping people in work benefits everybody. The work we invest to do this should not be considered as part of the benefit pot, but rather, as essential when it comes to attracting the best people.
As personal expectations increase, and companies vie to offer additional remuneration, to help them stand out amongst their competitors, those businesses that thrive understand that the younger workforce more than ever before, demand better work and life equilibrium.
When we create a strategy, we have a plan to cover all the life events that our employees might encounter. There is no need to react, or to come up with a new wheel, instead the strategy leads the process. Instead of relying on individual managers there is joined up thinking across the business and employees notice this consistency just as they notice inconsistency when support often depends on whose team you’re in rather than on company policy.
The strategy brings together all the strands you currently have and assesses them for value and impact. Are they being used? Is the employee experience of them a happy one? Do they cover what you think they cover?
A strategy is based on data. We assess and evaluate the health, mental health, and wellbeing of the employees. We listen to them and understand their views. We take the pulse of the company and then we take this data, and we provide support based on need rather than on ‘nice to haves’ with little or no scientific evidence.
This approach has multiple benefits. It saves money as we are no longer spending in non-effective areas, it focuses attention on things that are important to our teams and when people feel listened to it improves employee satisfaction at work. Productivity rises by up to 12 percent.