27 September 2023

Mental as everything: How support is the key to a mental health policy

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Emma Mamo* says that having a policy for dealing with employees’ mental health is useless unless fully supported by managers and colleagues.


Having the right policies in place is an important stage in developing a successful approach to creating a mentally healthy workplace.

Sometimes an employee may be so unwell they need time off work to recover.

The way organisations manage a period of sickness absence is the key to shaping how well and how quickly people are able to get back to feeling healthy and able to work again.

Your sickness policy should provide clear guidance to people managers on how to support staff who are struggling with their mental health.

This includes managing any periods of sickness absence, supporting a successful return-to-work and offering in-work support.

Results from our Workplace Wellbeing Index found that 96 per cent of organisations had a sickness absence policy in place.

However, only 50 per cent encouraged staff to be open with their line manager or HR team about any mental health problems.

Even more concerning is that only just over half of employees surveyed (54 per cent) said they were encouraged to take sick leave when needed.

This needs to change.

One way to achieve this is by ensuring that managers are role models for positive behaviour.

This would boost the number of staff who feel able to take breaks when they need to, including taking time to recuperate after busy periods at work or taking sick leave when they need it.

The Thriving at Workreport revealed those with a long-term mental health condition lose their jobs every year at around double the rate of those without a mental health condition.

It is also at a much higher rate than those with a physical health condition.

It amounts to around 300,000 people falling out of the workplace annually.

Therefore, sickness absence policies need to be adapted, so that organisations are able to support individuals with a mental health conditions to thrive.

This can be done simply by acknowledging throughout the policy that people experiencing long-term mental health problems may need more time off than others.

It must also recognise that this does not necessarily burden the organisation but instead brings value and expertise due to the contribution that each staff member makes in terms of their skills, knowledge and experience.

It is especially important that operational business needs do not come before the needs of an individual, and this must be made explicit around long-term sickness absence and dismissal procedures.

If an employee fears that they may lose their job due to having to take sick leave for a mental health problem, this may result in lower disclosure rates and higher levels of ‘presenteeism’, which is when people come to work when they are unwell.

HR teams should take responsibility for providing advice and support to managers and employees.

They should also lead on reviewing employee wellbeing and monitoring sickness absence across the organisation.

How often staff take sickness absence, and the reasons they give for it, can provide some useful clues about mental health.

However, don’t make assumptions without getting the whole picture.

If you are a small or micro business that has no HR function, responsibility may need to be split between different representatives across your organisation.

Senior leaders should also take responsibility for staff sickness absence and respond to any organisational factors that are contributing to people’s ill health.

You could also think about requiring senior leaders to include supporting employees’ mental health as one of their performance objectives.

To make this happen part of their performance review could include measurements like sickness absence, staff survey results, take-up of employee assistance programs or occupational health services and disclosure rates.

Take the opportunity to review your sickness absence policy and consider the following questions.

Does the policy relate to both physical and mental health-related illness?

Was your policy written in consultation with staff members from all levels in the organisation?

Are staff members encouraged to take time off if they are too unwell to work?

Does it clearly define return-to-work procedures in the event of someone taking sickness absence?

Does the policy take into account reasonable adjustments for employees with mental health problems in the return-to-work procedure?

It is important that employee mental health is at the heart of all organisational policies.

Employees should be familiar with your organisation’s mental health policies and practices and the ways in which they can seek confidential advice and support.

Having clear policies and practices in place for managing the mental health of staff helps organisations ensure consistency in approach and provides reassurance to staff.

*Emma Mamo is head of workplace wellbeing at Mind United Kingdom, leading Mind’s program to influence employer policy and practice in relation to mentally healthy workplaces. She can be contacted at mind.org.uk/work

This article first appeared on LinkedIn

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