Mental Well-being in the workplace
As employees return to the workplace after many months of working remotely, it is essential that employers consider the mental well-being of their workforce.
A small amount of stress might make an individual work harder or pay closer attention to detail employers needs to be mindful of the impact that stress can have on an employee’s well-being. A period of poor mental health can make it more difficult for an employee to think, feel and respond to situations which can affect their performance in their day-to-day role. As an employer, it is important to have policies and procedures in place so that you can respond appropriately and provide support as needed.
Employers can take positive steps to support individuals experiencing poor mental health, through actions such as implementing and maintaining a strong and clear mental health policy. By supporting employees experiencing mental health challenges, employers can see real benefits within their organisation.
These include the following:
- Retaining valuable staff
- Reducing sickness absence
- Assisting staff members in reaching their full potential, leading to increased productivity
- Enhancing health and safety within the workplace
- Encouraging a healthier and more tolerant workforce
The first step to aid positive mental health in the workplace is to encourage an understanding of the importance of mental wellbeing. Employees who feel understood by their managers and colleagues are more likely to stay at work or return after a period of absence, which can help reduce long-term absences caused by mental health.
Ways employers can aid positive mental health in the workplace:
- Offering flexible working
- Invest in mental health training
Employers should be mindful that there are many other reasons why an employee may be struggling within their daily roles. Reasons such as a personal situation, physical illness, impact by the cost-of-living crisis, or the situation in Ukraine can contribute to why an employee may be struggling.
To help those who are struggling employers may consider an open workplace culture to encourage open conversations about mental health. This should make employees feel comfortable speaking openly and without fear or judgement about their mental well-being to their manager or colleagues. Organisations may also consider using an Employee Assistance Programme that can offer ongoing, anonymous assistance to all workers.
In conclusion, any person can suffer from mental illness and identifying if there is an underlying problem can be challenging. It is possible at any time for an employer to have an employee who is suffering from poor mental health. It is important for the employer to know how to support employees who need extra support.
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New Legislation is Being Brought to Cabinet this Week
New legislation is being brought to Cabinet to allow parents to take up to five days off work to care for sick children. The new work-life balance laws will introduce unpaid leave for any employee who needs it to care for a family member.
Furthermore, any parent of a child under the age of 12, or a person caring for a relative, will have the right to request reduced or flexible working hours under the proposed new legislation Children’s Minister Roderic O’Gorman is bringing the legislation to Cabinet outlining the new workers’ rights which will give employees more options.
Under the legislation, employees must give their employer six months’ notice if they need more flexible working arrangements to take care of a child or relative. The employer must respond within four weeks.
Employees will not have to give notice to their employers when seeking unpaid leave to care for a family member. The employer will be able to request evidence of the medical need for the leave.
The legislation will be debated by the Cabinet this week.
What You Need to Know About Employee Burnout
The switch to remote working in response to the coronavirus has seen a rise in employees reporting that they are working longer hours from home. Whether employees are on-site or working remotely, it is important for HR professionals and management to remain vigilant for signs of burnout among staff.
The term “burnout” is commonly used to describe a situation in which an employee experiences a period of mental or physical fatigue because of high-intensity pressure at work.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that burnout can have a negative impact on someone’s long term health. They also describe burnout as a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been managed successfully.
Impact on employees
Burnout can have a negative impact on employees’ output, reducing their productivity and quality of their work. Individuals often display a drop in morale or low mood, prolonged periods of burnout may even result in the development of mental health issues such as depression or anxiety.
Impact on employers
For employers, burnout can come at a huge financial cost, the drop in productivity and work quality may disrupt the ability to meet customer demand. A lack of employee engagement can also occur as a result which can often influence a company’s culture. Retention rates are likely to worsen if staff begin looking for preferable employment situations elsewhere.
Causes of burnout
There are a variety of factors that may cause an individual to suffer from burnout and it is important to understand that each situation will be different. Burnout will often be attributed to factors at work however there may be outside influences from an employee’s personal life that contributes to burnout.
Common causes of burnout in the workplace include:
- excessive workloads
- unequal distribution of work
- prolonged working hours
- inability to take rest breaks
- unrealistic managerial expectations
- toxic company culture
- bully and harassment
- health and safety concerns
Spotting the signs
It’s important that you are prepared to spot the signs of burnout amongst staff when they present themselves. This can only be achieved by keeping a close eye on employees’ behaviour and performance. It may be difficult to spot but you should be looking out for employees who are arriving early to work or staying late after their contractual hours.
Failure to meet deadlines or an uncharacteristic drop in performance is also usually clear signs that an employee may be struggling with the pressures of work, as well as a sudden change in mood or excessive displays of emotion towards colleagues and third parties.
Responding to staff suffering from burnout
If an employee is showing signs of burnout, it is up to you to address the situation. Due to the nature of burnout solutions may vary for everyone.
- There are several methods that are likely to prove effective:
- removing any unnecessary causes of stress or agitation
- assessing and redistributing workloads where necessary
- providing extra training on areas of weakness
- encouraging staff to make use of annual leave and rest breaks
- investigating and resolving any allegations of bullying or harassment
- providing access to medical support e.g., EAP
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The Great Resignation
Many employers are dealing with the issue of the ‘great resignation. Employees are casting a critical eye on their employer and what they are receiving from their organisation. As a result of this employers are looking for ways to attract and retain their best staff.
The pandemic has placed workers in a position where they could stop and revaluate many aspects of their lives, specifically when and how they work. Employees are becoming more aware of what organisations can offer in the form of benefits and career development opportunities. Employees want to feel personally valued within their workplace.
As an employer, you know how important it is to piece together a winning team. But it’s also important that you retain your great employees and do what you can to avoid losing talent.
Tips to help attract talent to your organisation
1. Develop an employer brand and promote your business as a desirable place to work and progress. Use social media to create brand awareness and publish job vacancies
2. Corporate social responsibility: by recognising and identifying your organisation’s corporate and social responsibilities you can demonstrate to employees the values that matter most to your organisation.
3. Create an employee-focused workplace culture. Employees value their personal time and appreciate it when their employers are considerate of this.
4. Offer benefits that can add value when trying to attract new employees. Offer something that other companies don’t offer. E.g., gym memberships, performance bonuses, team-building activities, free food etc.
To find out how to retain talented employees read our previous blogs:
Don't Forget About Your Valuable Retention Tool - Stay Interviews
10 Tips for Employee Retention
Don't Forget About Your Valuable Retention Tool - Stay Interviews
Exit interviews are common amongst many Irish workforces. They are used to determine what prompted an employee to leave and to provide a final chance to persuade them to stay. Stay interviews give an organisation an opportunity to assess what improvements can be made now to avoid further resignations. They provide a more personal platform than what is currently in place from engagement or satisfaction surveys. It also allows for the building of trust between employees and managers, where both parties can discuss ideas.
A stay interview conducted between a manager and an employee can give an overview of what encourages the person to stay, the improvements that can be made, and what caused them to look for external opportunities. Identifying these issues early and acting on them contributes to long-term retention, increased motivation, improved productivity, and overall success for both the business and its people.
What should a stay interview look like?
Interviews don’t need to be long; they can be completed in as little as 20 minutes. Key questions to cover in the meeting could be what employees look forward to and what they dread about work each day, whether they would recommend the company to others, what would make their role more satisfying and how they would like to be recognised and valued.
What happens after a stay interview?
Organisations that decide to conduct stay interviews should remember that their workforce will expect an outcome so be prepared to implement positive changes. Failure to do so can increase frustrations amongst staff and make them feel that their voice is not heard.
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