Employers must combat the stigma around mental health in the
workplace and encourage flexible working as part of measures to
improve mental wellbeing for employees.
That was the message from
the National
Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in guidance issued
today to help cut the estimated 13.7 million working days lost
in the UK each year through work-related mental health
conditions.
The guidance said employers should integrate the promotion of
mental wellbeing into all workplace policies and practices,
including those related to employment rights and working
conditions.
Tackle stigma and discrimination
Processes for job design, selection, recruitment, training,
development and appraisal should reduce the potential for stigma
and discrimination, while systems should be in place for assessing
and monitoring wellbeing, such as staff surveys, it added.
Staff experiencing stress should be identified early and offered
support, such as counselling, with primary care trusts and
occupational health services helping to deliver this in smaller and
medium-sized organisations, Nice said.
It added flexible working could help enhance employees' sense of
control and promote job satisfaction, and managers should seek to
accommodate appropriate requests from staff.
Strengthened role for line managers
The guidance also called for a strengthened role for line
managers in promoting wellbeing through a supportive management
style, and said this should be a factor in the recruitment,
selection and training of managers.
Nice said that by following the recommendations an organisation
with 1000 employees could save an estimated £250,000 a year through
reduced absenteeism and increased performance.
The guidance was welcomed by mental health charity Rethink,
which has developed a toolkit for councils and the civil service to
help managers support their staff that it wants to extend to the
private sector.
Openness key
Policy manager Antonia Borneo said: "We urge employers to
recognise that everyone has the potential to develop a mental
illness and to challenge stigma in the workplace so that
individuals feel they can be open about their mental health.
"We also want employers to realise that every mental health
problem is different and reasonable adjustments need to be personal
to each individual."
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