Mental health at work – leading by example
By Dr. Natasha Hirst on 24 September 2024
Recent discussions around the right to disconnect from work are increasingly important in a world of hybrid and remote working which often merges work and home life. Policymakers are stepping in. August saw the introduction of Australia’s ‘right to disconnect’ rule allowing workers to ignore out of hours contact from their employers. The new UK Labour government is exploring workers’ right to switch off from work outside of their contracted hours. So what does this mean and how can employers get ready for these policy changes?
Acas Senior Policy Adviser Morgan Teeple Hopkins said, “the rise in remote working and the increased use of technology in the workplace have brought many benefits to both employers and workers, but these trends also mean there is a risk of blurring the boundary between work and home life. It’s critical that all workers get the rest that they are entitled to by law. If staff are not able to rest and recharge, this could have a detrimental effect on their physical and mental health, and may lead to mistakes or accidents, potentially impacting on an organisation’s reputation and productivity.
“The government has committed to introducing a right to switch off, although the detail and timing of this is not yet known. Acas will engage with the government and use our expertise to help inform the government’s thinking on this issue.”
Mitigating risks
Whilst there are clear benefits to home working, including flexibility, saving on commuting time and costs, and being able to fit family life in more easily, some workers find it harder to switch off and take adequate rest and recovery time.
This especially impacts on those new to work who miss out on the opportunity to become embedded in a team culture and learn from others. This isolation impacts on career development and mental wellbeing. Many such mental health risks are structural, and not due to individual shortcomings. These risks can be mitigated, and employers have a duty of care to identify and address causes of stress.
Abigail Hirshman is the Director of Charlie Waller Workplace, the workplace training arm of the Charlie Waller Trust, which offers specialist mental health training and consultancy to employers, managers and staff.
Hirshman said, “with poor mental health costing employers £51 billion a year, staff who are not able to take a break from work are more likely to experience stress and be at greater risk of burnout. Implementing a “best practice” approach around effective boundaries for non-working time rather than waiting for legislation is a step forward in protecting the mental health of staff.”
This requires training and leadership from the top to implement cultural and behavioural changes. Hirshman explains, “the key to real change is training managers in how to support their staff with work demands and ensuring adequate rest periods and holidays are taken. The significance of the manager in impacting staff mental health cannot be understated. A manager who prioritises their staff’s mental health and provides proper boundaries is most likely to see better engagement and increased productivity.”
Showing leadership
Kate Carr runs Arc: Making the Difference, supporting organisations and individuals towards sustainable growth. She’s served in senior roles across public, private and third sector and is a trainee Psychotherapist. Carr highlights how problematic it can be when leaders who tell staff to take their lunch breaks and not to regularly go over their hours, then don’t model that behaviour themselves. She said, “people don’t trust that message then, if you’re not actually role-modelling that yourself. They think, ‘if they’re not doing it, is it safe for me to do it?’
She also calls on leaders to consider the dynamics that are playing out in the office, “are you proactively creating an inclusive environment?”
As well as the obvious culprits of excessive workload and job insecurity, discrimination and inequality contribute towards poor mental health. As with many aspects of work, one size doesn’t fit all. Intersectional approaches to inclusion are vital for creating safe workplaces that build positive mental health. Leaders seeking to support staff wellbeing, need to look after their own mental health too.
Carr explains, “leaders aiming to build anti-oppressive practices need to be self-aware, paying attention to their own issues and how they might impact on others. It’s about knowing yourself well enough to understand what works for you when it comes to your own well-being. It’s important to understand the point at which you’re not effective as a leader, because you’re not stepping back and having any processing or reflective time. All too often organisations don’t create the space for reflective practice, or to think ethically and inclusively. Quite often when diversity and inclusion is done at speed, is when it goes wrong. Well-intentioned leaders feel they need to do something on an issue and push ahead without checking in or exploring what those actions might mean for the very people they are seeking to include.”
Addressing discrimination
Intercultural Therapist Aminah Teague works privately as Teague Therapy and delivers workshops that help organisations embed anti-oppressive practice into their everyday work. Teague also agrees that leaders should take the time to reflect and that “good anti-racist practice in the workplace starts with leaders developing more awareness of their own values and beliefs and providing an opportunity for others to do the same. This involves recognising their unconscious biases and racist ideologies and how they’ve been influenced by their upbringing, experiences and society.”
Although many employers are keen to address diversity and inclusion, Teague is concerned about the risk of “bulldozing themselves into ethnic minority spaces with tick box projects without having put in the groundwork first. This can be damaging both to their own staff and the very people that they’re trying to engage with as they unintentionally perpetuate discrimination.
You can’t begin to encourage racial diversity in any workspace without there being some acknowledgement of the ways in which that space and the individuals in it contribute to oppression, even in a minor way. It’s the more subtle, questionable discriminatory experiences that chip away at a person and sow seeds of self-doubt. They leave a feeling of discomfort and confusion ultimately erode mental health.”
Top tips
Managers need to provide an inclusive environment and opportunities for people to readily disclose they are struggling without fear of judgement and have in place effective pathways for people to get support.
Here are some top tips from the Charlie Waller Workplace to create a culture where people are encouraged to talk about their mental wellbeing:
- Create an active and implemented organisational strategy, endorsed by senior staff
- Recognise and respond to job-related stressors and where possible, provide extra resources when the organisation is going through a stressful period
- Managers have regular 1:1s responding to issues around both work and wellbeing
- Ensure managers are trained in mental health, and staff aware of the common signs and symptoms and frequently promote the support available to staff
- Provide information, workshops, and training to support staff on an ongoing basis with tailored support for those in most need, including services that help staff deal with challenges outside work
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