Psychologically safe workplaces, where people feel like they won’t be penalised or embarrassed for asking for help, are essential to creating healthy organisations. Yet, far too many wellbeing topics remain taboo. Creating a culture of health requires normalising conversations about wellbeing, writes Louise Abbs.
According to research carried out for PAM Wellbeing’s Health at Work Report, 46% of employees feel uncomfortable discussing financial health challenges with their manager, despite the rising cost of living being set to cause one in two households to fall below a socially acceptable standard of living. Many employees will be forced to choose between food or heating, which will also impact physical and mental health.
A similarly taboo issue is neurodiversity challenges, which 24% of employees are uncomfortable talking about, even though Access to Work funding – worth up to £62,000 per person per year – can help pay for the cost of reasonable adjustments. For example, the funding may help them to avoid using public transport, pay for headphones to reduce noise, or text-to-speech software if someone with autism is overwhelmed by some elements of their role.
By contrast, Covid, which of course didn’t even exist a few years ago, is now the least stigmatised wellbeing topic. More than seven in 10 employees feel comfortable discussing Covid challenges with their employer, in no small part due to society-wide conversations about this.
But despite more conversations about mental health in the media, this still remains taboo in the workplace, with just 53% of employees saying they feel comfortable discussing this with their manager. This is often due to managers themselves being reluctant to discuss mental wellbeing with their team.
Occupational health’s role in wellbeing strategies
Getting the most out of your occupational health provider
OH needs to be creating wellbeing strategies fit for the future
Normalising conversations
Managers have a vital role to play in helping employees feel safe admitting they need help with wellbeing issues ranging from menopause to mental health and cancer. They need to help humanise the workplace in a way that might have been sadly lacking pre pandemic.
This isn’t about asking managers to become counsellors or advisors. It is about encouraging them to notice when people are out of sorts, ask them how they’re feeling, and signposting them to any wellbeing support services in place – be this occupational health, an employee assistance programme, a mental health first aider or a charity helpline.
Unfortunately, most managers are appointed into their role based on the strength of their technical skills, rather than their empathy or people skills. This will mean they will also need some kind of training to give them the tools and insights needed to manage the more human aspects of their job.
Fortunately, most managers are very keen to have this support, recognising that, to bring out the best performance, they also need to support their people. Not least as the current exodus of employees is in no small part due to feeling like their employer doesn’t care about them.
People look to their leaders for reassurance and direction, so it’s essential that leaders let people know that feeling anxious is a normal reaction to the abnormal times we’re living through.”
Openness from the top
Another important aspect of normalising conversations about wellbeing is encouraging leaders to let people know it’s okay to admit when they’re not okay.
One in three people have developed high levels of anxiety, compared to one in five before the pandemic, according to data from the Office for National Statistics, making anxiety close to overtaking stress as the main cause of absence.
At times like this, people look to their leaders for reassurance and direction, so it’s essential that leaders let people know that feeling anxious is a normal reaction to the abnormal times we’re living through.
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Occupational health also has a role to play by providing the education people need to stay healthy, instead of just the resources they need to recover when they get sick. When it comes to managing anxiety, for example, tips ranging from limiting negative news consumption to talking about your feelings, can be very effective at protecting people from falling unwell.
The same goes for other wellbeing issues, be it financial health or menopause. Employees need to know it’s okay to ask for help from time to time, so they have ‘permission’ to use the support services in place. Every organisaiton will want utilisation levels to be high, so that people get the help they need to stay healthy and productive. This will cost far less than a strategy that only focuses on helping them once they get sick.
