January 18, 2021
Over the past 10 months, concerns around mental health issues have increased, with the impact of the pandemic greatly affecting people’s mental health both in their personal and working lives.
With many employees continuing to work remotely, employers should consider additional measures to ensure you support your workforce mental health.
Employment lawyer, Fflur Jones outlines some key steps to support and maintain the wellbeing of your staff, especially when they are working from home:
Make sure that you have a Stress and Mental Wellbeing at Work policy in place, share it with your staff, and train your managers on its contents.
Encourage a positive work/life balance and set a good example for your staff. For example, ask them to take rest breaks and lunch breaks away from their desks, finish the work day at a reasonable time, and switch off from work on the weekends.
Carry out regular performance reviews on a 1-2-1 basis, checking in with your staff on a personal level as well as a professional one.
Create a workplace mentoring programme to support your staff who are working from home. Allocating junior or new employees an existing staff member as a mentor can help reduce stress by creating a more supportive working environment.
Consider what resources you can put in place to support your staff’s mental wellbeing; for example, an Employee Assistance Programme, mental health first aiders, mental health champions, and/or a toolkit with the names and contact details of relevant organisations that can provide support.
