This week is Mental Health Awareness Week and it is the 21st consecutive year that the event has been staged. Over this time period businesses have embraced the importance of mental health in the workplace to the benefit of both staff but also the positive impact this has on employee attendance as well as the performance and reputation of the business. Is your business ready to embrace the success of Mental Health Awareness Week?
Employment law and human resources (HR) have always been a focal point for how a good business operates and getting this right is an integral part of supporting the mental health and wellbeing of your workforce.
Employers should take an individualist and holistic approach to support employees with their mental health as wellbeing is often impacted by a mixture of home and work issues, however, the extent to which the company should concern itself with an employee’s personal life can be less than straightforward.
Managing mental health in the workplace
The increase in home and hybrid working has further blurred the distinction between work and personal life. This can make it more difficult for employers to identify when an employee requires support and how that support should be provided. Employers should be alive to the fact that as a result of home working there may be an increased risk of employees experiencing loneliness, isolation and missing the daily interaction and social side of the workplace.
Over the last few years most of our clients have had to adapt their business due to Brexit, the pandemic and economic change. To help a business manage change whilst minimising the impact on staff wellbeing, is it important that companies have well drafted policies that will assist in the management of workforce issues, such as:
- Equality and Diversity
- Recruitment
- Redundancy
- Homeworking
Policies that address the above issues will help avoid or minimise the impact of a change process on staff welfare. Mental Health Awareness Week is an opportunity to focus on achieving good mental health in the workplace and finding ways to both support employees and prevent issues getting worse. The week of events includes talks and seminars, expert discussions, fundraising events and other events aimed at raising awareness of mental health issues in the workplace.
Our HR and employment law experts
At Ison Harrison we are looking forward to fully supporting Mental Health Awareness Week by promoting the importance of mental health awareness in the workplace. Our team of employment law and HR experts can speak to you about our range of services we provide to our client to ensure that they have robust HR systems that focus on supporting staff wellbeing. Find out more about this service here.
IH supports Mental Health Awareness Week and promotes the benefit of supporting mental health within the workplace and the benefits it has for both employees and the business.
