The most effective method of making your workplace healthier is to support managers in being sensitive to the mental wellbeing needs of the workforce.

A good starting place for this is the Shift Line Manager’s Resource, a toolkit for managers with guidance regarding all aspects of mental health in the workplace.

Your organisation should think about developing a stress management or wellbeing policy if it does not already have one.

Whether organisations choose a ‘well-being’ or ’stress’ policy the elements that should be contained in the policy are very similar.

The important thing to remember is that policies must be active documents that are put into practice, rather than pages in a file that gather dust on a shelf.  Involving employees and management in the production of policy around stress and wellbeing is the perfect opportunity to raise and discuss issues, including issues that may surround a mental health difficulty.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development outline the follow requirements for a stress or wellbeing policy:

The policy should:

•    begin with a clear statement which shows that the organisation is committed to developing a working environment that promotes the health and well-being of the organisation and its employees
•    be supported by senior management
•    be kept under constant review, together with other company policies, procedures and initiatives to ensure that they maximise employee well-being
•    provide for identification of and a regular review of the key well-being indicators such as productivity and sickness absence
•    ensure the provision of effective advice, support, counselling and training to enhance employee well-being
•    incorporate the process for evaluating the effectiveness of all well-being initiatives.

The CIPD provide excellent advice on stress at work, including further reading and policy advice: http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/health/stress

MINDFUL EMPLOYER® is an excellent starting point for anyone wishing to both create a healthier workplace and to be able to show to the public and other businesses their commitment to employing and supporting staff that have experienced mental health difficulties.

Led and supported by employers, the MINDFUL EMPLOYER® initiative is aimed at increasing awareness of mental health at work and providing support for businesses in recruiting and retaining staff.

Employers can sign up to the MINDFUL EMPLOYER® charter, which outlines that they are doing their best to be positive about metal wellbeing and about employing people with mental health difficulties.

Over 600,000 people in the UK already work for MINDFUL EMPLOYER®  Charter companies and organisations.

See The MINDFUL EMPLOYER® Charter for Employers Who Are Positive About Mental Health for a good guide to ways of thinking about policy and practice.

Tags: mental health in the workplace, mental wellbeing, stress at work, stress management