World Mental Health Day 2021 takes place on 10 October, and this year the theme is ‘Mental Health in an Unequal World’, highlighting that access to mental health services remains unequal.

In line with this theme, this briefing by Sita Douglas discusses how employers can create a culture of equality and understanding around mental health in the workplace.

The scale of the problem
As many as one in six employees experiences mental illness. The most common types are:

• Stress, which may be work-related
• Depression
• Anxiety

This means that every day, thousands of employees will attend their workplaces with mental health challenges, often wholly unknown to their employers.

Every employee is different; some may be happy with their employer not knowing about their mental health condition, preferring to manage this themselves whilst at work and not feeling it necessary to make a disclosure.

However, other employees with mental illness will benefit from intervention and so employers should ensure that there are no barriers to employees disclosing their condition and getting the support they need.

Barriers to support
Let’s take a look at some of the most common barriers around ensuring equality for people with mental health conditions in the workplace.

Environment /culture
It’s important to remember that the opposite of a positive culture is not a neutral culture, but a bad culture, where mental health is treated as a weakness, something to be hidden or suppressed, a target for prejudice and bullying, a pretext for dismissal. That’s why it’s so important that a positive culture is not just created but nurtured and reinforced by deeds as well as words. If managers don’t create a positive culture of mental health awareness, employees will not feel able and confident to seek help when they need it.

A positive culture can be achieved by:

• Increasing awareness about mental illness in the workplace
• Encouraging open dialogue with employees (an appropriate forum may be within team meetings or one-to-ones)
• Including mental illness in any equality, diversity and inclusion staff strategies

Managers should get into the habit of talking to team members about their worries and concerns and create an environment where employees feel it’s acceptable to be honest about their mental health and not face any consequences.

Fears around confidentiality and privacy
Many employees would be comfortable with their line managers knowing about their mental illness but fear this information will be relayed to others in the organisation, either deliberately or inadvertently. There is still a stigma surrounding mental illness and not everyone in a business will be as enlightened as others.

As part of creating a positive environment around mental illness, managers should make it clear to employees that any disclosure of mental illness will be kept strictly private and confidential.

Managers must only disclose information to others about an employee’s mental illness on a strictly need to know basis; for example, if the employee agrees that HR can be informed so that support measures can be put in place.

Feeling unsupported during absences
In many cases, an employee’s mental illness can be managed in the workplace, but there are some occasions where employees may go off sick, sometimes for an extended period of time, perhaps unexpectedly.

If these employees do not have contact with their manager, they can feel isolated and unappreciated. This can make any form of return to work much harder to organise.

An exploratory meeting should be scheduled before their first day back. This should include a discussion about any supportive measures or reasonable adjustments needed so that they can remain in work.

Managers can also allow employees an opportunity to visit the workplace ‘socially’ before their official return to work date.

Missing the early warning signs
It’s important not to make assumptions based on fragmentary evidence, but small signs can give managers valuable clues that something is amiss. For example:

• a change in behaviour and mood;
• interacting differently with their colleagues;
• changes in performance levels;
• appearing tired, anxious and withdrawn;
• changes to an employee’s appetite or an increase in smoking or drinking; or
• days off sick or timekeeping issues.

The earlier a mental health problem can be identified, the easier it is to treat. Early warning signs should act as a trigger for a supportive discussion.

Lack of training
In some cases, untrained managers can unwittingly exacerbate an employee’s mental illness and expose the employer to unnecessary risk.

Anyone with line management responsibility should have access to training which:

• increases their awareness of employee mental health;
• covers legislative requirements under the Equality Act 2010;
• enables them to spot the signs of mental illness within their teams;
• equips them with the knowledge they need to build a positive culture and to support employees who are mentally unwell; and
• enables them to understand how their management role can go towards preventing mental illness at work.

Not seeking professional advice
In some cases, medical opinion will be needed regarding an employee experiencing mental illness, to consider how they can be best supported in the workplace.

Most line managers aren’t medical experts and will need guidance in this area. Failing to consult an occupational health provider, the employee’s GP or the employee’s specialist may have serious consequences; the employee may go off on long-term sick leave or even resign from their post, claiming they had no choice due to feeling unsupported.

Many employees with mental illness are experts in their condition; however, some are not, particularly if their condition is newly diagnosed. These employees may not know what supportive measures could assist them in the workplace and so a medical opinion will be necessary.

Equality legislation
As well as concerns about individual wellbeing, managers also need to keep an eye on their obligations under the Equality Act 2010, specifically the duty to ensure that reasonable adjustments are made in the case of an employee who has a disability. Whilst not all mental health problems will be counted as disabilities under the Act, employers need to be aware of the legislation and seek medical advice if they are in any doubt about how to support their employee.

Action plans
If the employee has not chosen to share information about their mental illness with colleagues other than their manager, a sudden absence will have to be explained to them, if only to prevent unfounded speculation and gossip. This may be difficult for a manager if the absence has not been planned for and there are no protocols in place as to what the absent employee would be happy being revealed. Contingency plans should be discussed with the employee either beforehand or as soon as contact can be made once a period of absence has begun.

If an employee has experienced mental health issues in the past, they will be the best placed to develop a plan for handling recurrences. Working with their manager, they can devise an Action Plan that can be used by the manager to identify:

• Aspects of work that can trigger recurrences of mental ill health.
• Symptoms and early warning signs that can enable the employee’s mental health to be managed proactively.
• The effect that mental ill health may have on the employee’s performance.
• The kinds of support that they will need from their manager in order to manage their mental health.
• What to tell colleagues if a mental health condition recures, requiring absence.

Sita Douglas, HR Advisor at rradar
www.rradar.com