Work To Live Or Live To Work?

It's undeniable, work can have a serious and often lasting effect on our mental health. It can bring the highest of highs, whether it be that project you completed, that sale you made, even just a bit of recognition for your efforts.

The down side is that it can bring the lowest of lows. An unmanageable workload, unsupportive colleagues, workplace isolation, especially in the current COVID pandemic. It's how we manage these issues and often how our employers assist in these instances which dictate how severely and for how long we're affected.

I've experienced a broad range of support (or lack of) in the workplace through various spells of poor mental health. Previous employers have ceased all communication with me, removed me from group chats with my peers, spoken about me and my issues to contractors, businesses and even to customers. To the contrary I've had employers who look in advance at any mental health concerns, who put in place mechanisms of support and ask a sincere question of "do you need to talk?".

The latter are surprisingly rare, even in an HR era where there is an increased focus on mental health awareness. Sadly, in my experience, more often than not, it's not taken seriously or you're judged. I've heard comments in instances of people leaving jobs along the lines of "she couldn't hack it" or "he obviously wasn't the right person for the job", even as far as "they just wanted to skive for 6 months".

I often think that in these cases it's projection of their own failings as employers. Their own knowledge that they more than likely didn't do enough to support the staff member or that they simply didn't care.

Flip the switch.

So what should you be looking for as employers?

First and foremost, early intervention is key. Being observant as an employer and as a manager is vital. Is your staff member a bit dejected or jaded? Are they showing signs of fatigue? Do they seem disengaged with their role, peers, colleagues and customers?

Are they the opposite? Are they abnormally full of enthusiasm? Are they hyper and full of chat at work? Do they bounce around the office full of life?

These are all signs.

Once a period of poor mental health sets in, how do you react? Do you signpost to an employee assistance service? Do you talk to the person? Do you set aside time (real time, not 10 minutes) to ask what's wrong or if you can help?

These little steps can stop the person getting to the point of no return and ending up off work for a period of time. Interesting fact that the average length of time to be off work with a mental health condition in the UK is 18 weeks. Just over 4 months! Often taking these little steps which show support and provide an opportunity to seek help are all that's needed.

Unfortunately there are times when those small steps don't happen or that level of intervention isn't quite enough. The member of staff is signed off work and the real hard work begins, not just for them but for you as their employer. Again, those next steps are vital. You have a member of staff who is already feeling low, potentially feeling disengaged, cut off from the world, during this time its vital to ask them what level of support they want from you as an employer. Do they want to still be included in work group chats? Do they want weekly catch up sessions? Do they know how your organisation can assist in these circumstances? You need to ask these questions.

Making assumptions can be damaging. I had an instance where in a previous role I was abruptly removed from a work group chat on social media. I'd been off work for a few days into a period of absence and a decision had been made to remove me. The motives may have been honest, it may have been to lighten the stress and to allow me to switch off from work, to not worry about what was going on in the office. The effects were far worse... I instantly questioned my value, felt isolated and rejected by my workmates, felt as if nobody wanted to talk to me, instantly had a feeling of not being welcome back at work. How could this have been avoided? Simple... ask a question.

"Ryan, you've been off a few days, do you want me to remove you from the group chat? We don't want you to be worrying about work, just worry about getting better. You can still message everyone outwith the group chat, I'm sure they'll be happy to hear from you."

The effect of hitting one little "remove" button was almost catastrophic. All of which could have been avoided with a simple message or phone call.

I'm conscious of the message I'm trying to convey here. It's really a message of early support. Being observant. Asking the right questions. Caring about the person. We know that business needs are important, but your workforce are your most valuable asset, if you can keep them working, happy at work, valued at work, cared about at work, you'll retain staff for longer and in turn, increase job satisfaction and productivity.

I'm lucky, I've gone through bad spells with bad employers and bad spells with good employers but I've found myself in a good spell with a good employer and because of some early discussions, I know that I have a safe space to discuss my mental health with my manager and even with their manager. I've already found support from my peers and those higher up the ladder. It's brought a great sense of calmness and security knowing that if I feel a low spell coming, I can reach out and we can work together to put measures in place to rectify the situation or to stop it happening at all.

The key point of reflection for this lies with employers... do you really care about the mental health and wellbeing of your staff or is it a "ticky box exercise" to make your business look better? Have a think about it.