Managing mental health in the workplace

Poor mental health is one of the biggest issues in the workplace today, causing over 70 million working days to be lost each year1. This include everything from the most commonly experienced symptoms of stress and anxiety, right through to more complex mental health conditions, such as depression, bipolar disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder. As well as having a huge impact on individual employees, poor mental health has severe repercussions for employers – including increased staff turnover, sickness absence due to debilitating depression, burnout and exhaustion, decreased motivation and lost productivity. But while companies of all shapes and sizes increasingly understand the importance of good mental health, many simply don't feel confident handling and communicating these issues in the workplace. This module looks at how to encourage good mental health – by safeguarding staff wellbeing, addressing problems before they become severe, and supporting staff when issues do emerge. This is not about becoming an expert in mental health; it's about spotting the signs that something might be wrong. It will signpost the right support and resources, and offer suggestions for putting strategies in place to support good mental health. All this will help empower managers to do the same.
Source: Current Awareness Service for Health (CASH) - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news