Employers should give managers mental health training to enable them to facilitate conversations that help address wellbeing concerns, health bodies have said.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and Public Health England (PHE) have issued draft guidance that urges organisations to offer training that equips managers with the knowledge, tools, skills and resources to improve awareness of mental wellbeing at work.
It says organisations should also look to improve employees understanding of and engagement in organisational decisions, and improve communication between managers and the employees that report into them.
Last year, Deloitte found that poor mental health costs employers £42-45bn each year in staff absence and underperformance. This is an increase of 16% on the cost estimated in its 2017 report.
NICE and PHE’s Mental wellbeing at work guidance is under consultation and a finalised version is set to be published in March 2022. It updates guidance that was last issued in 2009.
The drat guidance says that mental health training for managers should cover:
- how to have a conversation about mental wellbeing with an employee
- information about mental wellbeing
- how to identify early warning signs of poor mental wellbeing
- resources on mental wellbeing
- awareness of the stigma associated with poor mental wellbeing
- ongoing monitoring of mental wellbeing in the workplace.
It suggests that all employers should give managers time away from their usual duties to attend training, and allow managers to make any necessary adjustments to workload or work intensity for their employees.
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“Reducing stigma and equipping managers with skills to have conversations with employees about mental health is likely to facilitate conversations between managers and employees about any concerns about their mental wellbeing. This makes it more likely that managers can support employees with mental health issues,” said Dr Paul Chrisp, director of NICE’s centre for guidelines.
“Further research is needed in this area, but providing managers with skills to discuss mental wellbeing improves the relationship between manager and employee so that they can identify and reduce work stressors.
“This is a practicable step employers can implement and adopt quickly without a huge amount of investment.”
The draft guidance also makes recommendations for creating a supportive work environment. It says employers should consider ensuring active leadership support and engagement in mental wellbeing actions; increasing “mental health literacy”; encouraging and facilitating peer support, for example buddying; promoting good communication with employees; and being aware that mental wellbeing at work also depends on external factors such as domestic relationships, financial circumstances and societal discrimination.
Chrisp said: “Even before the pandemic, the state of the nation’s mental health has been a topic of conversation at home, in the workplace and in the media.
“Our new guidelines have considered issues which were a problem before Covid-19 emerged and new issues which have presented themselves as a result of the pandemic.”
