Mental Health and Wellbeing Tookit

What can managers do?

This section of the toolkit provides managers with practical advice, for managing and supporting employees with mental health problems in the workplace.

Good Management Practice

The benefits of good management practice can lead to a healthier, motivated and a more productive workforce. Establishing and maintaining these key principles will help you to manage and promote good mental health & wellbeing of employees in the workplace.

Fairness & Consistenty

The Council’s Recruitment and Selection policy, procedures and practices aims to provide managers with a process for employing people, that is open, transparent, done on merit and free of bias and discrimination in line with our Equal Opportunities Policy.
Managers have a duty to assess whether the candidate is the best person for the job in terms of his or her skills, apptitudes and experience, fairly assessing the capability of a person with a disability, taking into account the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments.
Learning & Development Recruitment & Selection training is available to any member of staff who will be undertaking the role of Lead Officer or who will be a member of an interview panel.

Applying Council Policy & Procedures

The Council is committed to working in partnership with the Trade Unions to develop and review all of our People Management policies. Here are the main policies and procedures which offer guidance and support for mental health & wellbeing.

Management Engagement & Support

Managers are encouraged to promote positive mental health and wellbeing for employees by engaging with staff and providing supportive interventions at the earliest opportunity:

Trained and Informed Managers

Learning & Development provide many training opportunities for line managers in relation to managing staff . Trained and informed managers can use the tools available to them effectively, consistently and with confidence.

All line managers are required to complete Mentally Healthy Workplace training and are encouraged to undertake other related traning courses, before they are called upon to manage and support an employee with mental health problems:

Creating a Mentally Health Workplace

Work Positive

The Health and Safety Executive have identified eight key risk areas that can produce or exacerbate stress at work. These are referred to as the HSE Management Standards and are summarised below:

Demands - employees workload, working hours and targets.
Control - how work is allocated, monitored and controlled and how much flexibility an employee has.
Relationships - this refers to relationships at all levels, between line managers and staff as well as team working.
Change - how organisational change is communicated and managed in the workplace, this includes consultation or involvement in change.
Role - this covers the extent to which individuals understand their role and responsibilities.
Reward & Contribution - review salaries and the provision of benefit packages for employees, this includes flexible working, annual leave and performance feedback.
Indicators - monitoring of sickness presence, sickness absence and employee turnover.
Support & Training - this relates to support that employees receive from managers as well as appropriate training.

Create a Positive Working Environment

Creating a positive working environment is key to removing any risks in the workplace.

When employees are healthy and motivated they are more likely to be doing their best for the Service / Team, this can lead to effective service delivery and better outcomes for Services and the Council.

10 ways you can create a mentally healthy workplace

An Effective Induction. Clarify responsibilites, procedures and work standards.
Effective Leadership. Supportive management based on trust, honesty and fairness.
Positive Working Relationships. Have a socially inclusive environment which is free from bullying and harrassment.
Effective Communication. Give feedback and be open to receiving feedback. Keep employees in the loop. Frequent communication reminds employees that they are part of the team. Adopt an "open door" policy at work.
Be Flexible. Employees may have additional personal and family pressures which can affect work / life balance. Promote use of the Highland Council's Policies e.g Flexible Working
Clear Expectations. Provide clarity of role, responsibilities and targets to achieve.
A Safe and Healthy Physical Environment. Carry out stress risk assesments for the job based upon HSE management standards and consider reasonable adjustments where required for physical health and mental health.
Train Employees. Carry out regular Employee Review and Development Meetings (ERD's) to identify and meet training needs. Provide effective supervision for employees.
Consultation. Early consultation on key changes with staff and our Trade Union partners.
Work Recognition. Acknowledge and value employee's efforts and contributions.

Supporting an Employees Mental Health

How will I know? Spot the signs

Spotting the signs of mental ill health will allow you to support employee's with mental health problems, so that they can remain in work and be productive. This will enable you to minimise any impact in the workplace.

Each individual reacts differently to stress, anxiety and depression, which may make it difficult for you to spot the difference between an employee's normal response to a pressured few days and the symptoms of an underlying mental health condition.

As their manager, you may notice signs of a change in typical behaviour. The earlier you do notice the quicker you can take steps to offer support.

Some signs of mental ill health might include:

An increase in sickness absence levels
Unexplained sickness absence
Performance issues
Poor decision making
Problems with thinking, concentration, memory or logical thought and speech
Having difficulty following a conversation
Poor timekeeping
Lack of energy
Sleeping at work
Appetite changes
Uncommunicative behaviour
Uncoperative or argumentative behaviour
Mood changes, low mood
Angry or violent outbursts
Lack of interest in colleagues
Social withdrawl
Increased sensitivity to sights, sounds, smells or touch
Apathy, loss of initiative or desire to participate in any activity
Nervousness, fear or suspiciousness of others
Lack of care for personal appearance and personal responsibilities
Increase use of alcohol or other drugs
Experiencing recurrent physical symptoms such as aches and pains or unexplained illnesses
Talking about not wanting to live

If an employee is experiencing symptoms that are impacting on their ability to work, it may be an idea to encourage them to make an appointment to see their GP. Alternatively you may wish to discuss an Occupational Health referral.

Employees with suicidal thoughts or intent, or thoughts of harming others, need urgent help.

If you would like to know more about a specific mental health condition and possible impacts in the workplace, you can go directly to this page in the toolkit: Types of Mental Health Conditions .

Talking at an Early Stage

If mental ill health is suspected or disclosed, it is important that an early conversation takes place with the employee to identify appropriate support. Regular ERD meetings or informal chats provide neutral and non-stigmatising opportunities to start the conversation.

Learning & Development run a range of courses, all of which can be found on the Learning and Development training courses section.

Five steps to a successful conversation

Prepare

Consider the ideal outcome
Practice what you are going to say
Think about the likely reaction
Think about the location, meet in private without interuptions
Allow sufficient time, and a bit more for the meeting to take place

Communicate

Set the tone as professional and non-threatening, speak calmly
Focus on the person, not the problem
Be aware of their body language and your body language

Listen

Listening allows you to gather information
Maintain good eye contact
Afirm regularly throughout the meeting to show you are hearing what is being said
Show empathy and understanding through words and tone
Be prepared for some silences and be patient

Explore

Ask simple questions that are open and non-judgemental
Encourage the employee to talk
Give the employee plenty of opportunity to explain in their own words
Encourage the employee to suggest their own solutions
Whilst respecting employee confidentiality establish precisely what they wish collegues to be told and who will say what.

Agree Actions

Agree support and reasonable adjustments and who will take what action
Check for understanding, ask the employee to summarise agreed action points
Agree timescales to allow for support and adjustments to made
Agree a review date
Summarise what you have agreed and your ongoing support

Effective Questionning

You may find it helpful to use open questions that allow the employee maximum opportunity to express concerns in their own way, for example:

How are you doing at the moment?
Are you okay?
How long have you been feeling unwell?
Is this an ongoing issue or something that can be supported with immediate action?
Has work contributed to your distress?
Are there any problems outside work that you may like to talk about?
Are you aware of possible sources of support? confidential services such as occupational health, scottish counselling services?
Is there anything I can do to help?
Have you spoken to your GP or looked for help elsewhere?
Is there any aspect of your medical care that would be helpful for me to know about when considering making reasonable adjustments? (i.e side effects of medication that may impact on work)
Do you have any suggestions about adjustments to your work that may be helpful? either short term or long term
Do you have ongoing mental ill health that would be helpful for me to know about? if so, can we discuss your established coping strategies and how I can support them?
What solutions do you think there might be?
What would you like to happen?, how?
What support do you think might help?

Performance Issues

If you have concerns that there are performance issues, it is important to talk about these at an early stage. The performance management toolkit and supporting work improvement guidance will help you to deal with any performance issues quickly and effectively.

Learning & Development run training courses for managers in performance management, coaching skills and courageous conversations. Please go to the Learning & Development Course Planner for future dates and details about how to book a place on one of these courses.

Effective Interventions

Work related stress

There is guidance for managers on Managing Stress at Work 2017.

The Health and Safety Stress Risk Assesment tools can be completed by managers in any of the following circumstances:

If you identify that an employee is experiencing stress at work
If an employee perceives that they are feeling stressed at work
An employee returning to work following a period of absence due to stress
A line manager and employee during part of the annual review.

Managers can also direct employees to the Stress & Self Assesment page of this toolkit and the self help section: how can I maintain positive mental health & wellbeing- workplace wellness.

Occupational Health (OH) and reasonable adjustments

Occupational Health professionals can advise managers on an individual's health status, their ability to perform their role and how to safely and effectively rehabilitate them back to their full working potential. OH does not provide treatment and diagnosis, this role remains with the employees GP.

If ill health is suspected or identified you may wish to consider a referral to the Council’s occupational health provider.

If mental ill health affects an individuals ability to carry out their day to day activities, then they are likely to be covered by the Equality Act 2010. As a supportive meassure, the Council is required to make reasonable adjustments / workplace adjustments for the employee.

Managing an employee who becomes tearful and upset

An employee experiencing mental ill health may become tearful and upset in the workplace. This can happen for any number of reasons and may be connected to work or outside of work.

Here are some useful tips to help deal with the situation:

Reassure the employee that it is okay to be upset and that you are listening.
Ask if there is anyone they would like to be contacted or if they would like to choose someone to be with them.
Offer the employee an appropriate space where they can express emotion freely and compose themselves in privacy.
Alternatively you may suggest that you both leave the building for a short time to go and have a hot drink or a short walk. They may wish to go alone, if the person is very distressed they should be accompanied.
Reassure the employee that they are valued and that you support them, as they may feel embarrassed about what has happened.
You may feel pressure to do something now, it may be better to take some time to consider the options.
Try to distinguish with the employee, between what is urgent and what is important.
If the conversation is not helpful at this stage, it may be an idea to rearrange in the near future when the employee is less upset.

Keeping in touch during sickness absence

If there is little communication between a manager and an employee, barriers can quickly arise and this may exacerbate mental ill health.

Here are some useful tips for supporting an employee who is off sick:

Inviting the employee to social events to show that they are part of the team
Give reassurance about practical issues, such as job security
Ask if there is anything you can do to help
Visiting in hospital, flowers, cards can be appreciated, but ask first.

The Attendance Management guidance provides more detailed information to managers about contacting an employee during periods of sick leave.

What to do if an employee requests no contact

An employee may request no contact during sick leave, accepting this request may hinder their recovery and reduce the chances of a successful return to work.

An employee might request no contact because they feel embarrassed or ashamed about their mental ill health. Showing understanding and having a sympathetic manner can help to overcome this.
A request for no contact may arise because the manager is perceived to being a factor for becoming unwell. In such circumstances, options may include offering the support of another manager and/or a person who acts as a link, such as a colleague, family member or trade union official.
To keep communication open between managers and employees, it may initially help to change the contact type to email until the employee is well enough to make contact by telephone or receive a home welfare visit.
If there are work issues it is important that these are addressed or it will likely delay a return to work.

Supporting a return to work

Most people with mental health problems recover completely and have the capability to resume work successfully. Effective planning between the employee and the line manager and where appropriate, involving other sources of support such as their GP and Occupational Health could increase the chances of a successful return to work.

Here are some factors to consider in supporting a return to work:

At the return to work interview, use the return to work interview checklist
Consider with the employee any factors that contributed to their absence that could realistically be changed or accommodated
Discuss whether any adjustments need to be made to ease their return to work
Set achieveable goals
The support arrangement form can be completed to document agreed support and adjustments. Example of completed support arrangement form
Try to ensure that the employee does not return to an unachievable backlog of work and emails
Brief the employee on what has been happening socially as well as work developments
Take time to have frequent informal chats to discuss progress
Give positive and constructive feedback
Make the employee feel welcomed back by everyone in the team

Be aware

If the employee is taking medication, they may be experiencing side effects which may impact on work duties temporarily . They may or may not feel able to discuss with you.
An employee with a longer term condition may take time to establish the correct medication and dosage.
Consider any side effects against job requirements particular in jobs where there may be a health & safety risk.

Managing an ongoing illness while at work

People who have an ongoing mental health condition can continue to work successfully with, without or with only minimal support. The following points provide examples of support that managers may offer to employees:

Encourage employees to develop coping strategies, the Wellness Recovery Action Plan is a self assessment tool to help individuals take control of their own wellbeing and recovery.
Ask employees to provide an advance statement which relates to the workplace. The statement could include information such as: signs to look out for that indicate when the person is becoming unwell, who to contact, what support is helpful and what support is not helpful.
Review and update the Support Arrangement form with ongoing agreed support and adjustments.