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Upskill managers to support mental health
As a result, managers play a pivotal role. 69% of employees say their manager has as much impact on their mental health as their spouse.1
But middle managers — who are at the frontline of workplace wellbeing — need support, too.
Considering quitting
Jon Clifton, the CEO of Gallup, which tracks workplace wellbeing and engagement, believes,
“The real fix is this simple: better leaders in the workplace. 2
“Managers need to be better listeners, coaches and collaborators. Great managers help colleagues learn and grow, recognise their colleagues for doing great work, and make them truly feel cared about. In environments like this, workers thrive.”
But this requires commitment, training and support — and perhaps some difficult decisions.
Emotional intelligence
Sir Cary Cooper, Professor of Organisational Psychology at Manchester Business School, says,
“We have about 40% of line managers who naturally have the emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills to do their job. 3
“There’s another 40% who are trainable, and 20% who are untrainable — they just shouldn’t be in a manager role.”
The Workforce Institute said, “Companies need to focus on building the emotional intelligence of their leaders at all levels of the organisations. 4
Great managers
This includes skills such as:
Stress management
Impulse control
Empathy
These skills will help "great managers to emerge and better support their teams.”
Initiate conversations
The mental health charity, Mind, prompts the need to up-skill managers. By doing so, they would be better able to spot the signs of poor mental health and know how to start a conversation.
Mind suggests that effective managers:
create opportunities for learning
help employees to manage their workloads
promote a culture of open dialogue
"All help to boost staff mental wellbeing and employee engagement levels”. 5
Organisations should also have clear guidelines on managing mental health issues. They should encourage and support positive manager behaviours.
Core standards
The UK Government conducted an independent review titled Thriving at work. It suggested six core standards to improve mental health at work: 6
Produce and install a mental health at work plan. This should encourage an open culture and promote good mental health for all.
Develop mental health awareness among employees by making information, tools and support accessible.
Encourage open conversations about mental health. Support should be available at recruitment and throughout employment.
Provide good working conditions and ensure employees have a healthy work-life balance. This includes opportunities for development.
Ensure all employees have a regular conversation about their health and wellbeing. This requires the support and training of line managers in effective management practices.
Check employee mental health and wellbeing. This can be through available data, talking to employees and assessing risk factors.
Training and Resourcing
These goals are dependent on the training, resourcing and support that line-managers receive. It also requires a top-down culture which promotes mental wellbeing.
Mind has set out a roadmap on how to achieve this in their guide, How to implement the Thriving at Work mental health standards in your workplace. 7
Advice includes:
- Signpost available support and peer support groups
- Detail how your organisation supports employees experiencing poor mental health
- Agree reasonable workloads and deadlines and include employees in workstream planning
- Encourage employees to work sensible hours. This includes taking full lunch breaks and all annual leave
- Undertake regular audits of employees’ wellbeing. This could be via anonymous surveys, HR data and other workplace metrics
- Get senior leaders on board and encourage them to speak about their own mental health
- Embed mental health in induction and training
- Recruit mental health champions
- Organise improvement or planning ‘away days’
- Set up work-stream groups that bring together different parts of the organisation
- Make effective use of internal communication channels and ‘lunch and learn’ sessions
- Communicate board decisions to all employees
- Enhance development opportunities through coaching, training, mentoring and job-shadowing
- Promote a culture of teamwork, collaboration and information sharing
- Have robust and well publicised policies on bullying and harassment
Managing absence
Harriet Finlayson, a Bupa Mental Health Team nurse, says,
“There is a lot of evidence to show that having effective policies and support will help to reduce poor mental health in the workplace, but it will never eliminate it entirely. 8
“If someone does need time off due to their mental health then this should be treated with the same openness and concern as you would when supporting someone with a physical health problem.
"Supportive contact during sick leave can help aid a smooth transition back to the workplace when done in the right way. Time should be spent preparing what will be discussed during communications helping to reduce the risk of placing undue stress on the individual."
Tailored support
"Having regular and meaningful conversations which focuses on the employee well-being is an absolute must in order to facilitate supportive planning for a successful return to work.
“Where appropriate, provide reassurance their job will be there when they return, but make it clear that you’re happy to make reasonable adjustments around flexible working, a change of role or a change or workspace.
“Have discussions about what information they would like to be kept updated with regarding workplace developments can help maintain a feeling of connection.
She adds, “Ultimately, it’s all about having positive conversations, listening to employee’s concerns and providing tailored support."
Resources and guides
Manager's guide: Supporting men's health
Explore common health concerns experienced by men and how you as a business can support them.
Men's health support
Browse our range of resources, here to support men's health. Find videos, podcasts and health information all in one place.
1UKG,2023
2State of the Global Workplace report, Gallup, 2022
3Workplace Wellbeing report, SilverCloud, 2022
4UKG,2023
5Mind (PDF, 0.5MB)
6Thriving at Work: The Independent Review of Mental Health and Employers, 2021 (PDF, 1.0MB)
7Mind (PDF, 0.5MB)
8Evidence for implementation of interventions to promote mental health in the workplace: a systematic scoping review protocol, 2021. DOI: 10.1186/s13643-020-01570-9
