Open up
Healthy minds.
Healthy business.
Mental wellbeing affects us every day. Especially at work, but we don’t often make it a priority or understand the connection with our physical health, which needs to change.
Did you know people with a long-term physical condition are two to three times more likely to develop a mental health problem?1
That’s why we want to share our commitment. It’s time we all opened up and made mental health a normal topic of conversation in the workplace. Listen to our business leaders share their experiences for a heads up on mental wellbeing so you can get the conversation started with your team.
Mental health issues like stress, anxiety and depression are common
Only half of people who struggle with mental health issues speak to their managers about it.2
still consider mental health to be a taboo subject in the workplace.3
employees think that they are better off suffering in silence.3
Mental ill health is now the primary cause of long-term sickness absence for one in five UK organisations.4
How organisations are promoting mental wellbeing in their workforce
Business in the Community’s (BITC) 2020 Mental Health at Work report, commissioned by YouGov, has been sponsored by Bupa. From this, we’ve brought you four case studies with businesses who are members of BITC’s Wellbeing Leadership Team, showing how they’ve supported their employees to promote positive mental health and wellbeing.
Lloyds Banking Group – Supporting employees experiencing domestic abuse
This video features Charlie Godolphin, the Domestic Abuse Lead at Lloyds Banking Group. She explains how they help employees who are experiencing domestic abuse, or who may be at risk.
Anglian Water Supporting all employees, whoever and wherever they are
Susannah Clements, Director of People and Change at Anglian Water, talks about helping employees through particular challenges, often by adapting their roles. She's joined by Sarah, a maintenance manager, who explains how this helped her and how she uses it with her team.
The past year has transformed the way we live and work.
Businesses have had to adopt new ways of working,
and a startling finding of Business in the Community's
in partnership with Bupa,
is that 41% of employees have experienced poor mental health
caused or worsened by work.
However, on a positive note,
the report also found that the number of employees
who feel that their organisation
supports their mental health is on the rise,
from 55% in 2019 to 63% in 2020.
Today, we'll hear from
Anglian Water's Group Director of People, Susannah Clements,
about their approach
to ensuring their people are equally supported,
regardless of their location or work role.
We'll also hear from employees,
and what it's meant for them.
- We are key workers,
so our whole workforce was out
making sure people had clean water.
Mental health has been a huge focus for us.
It's about keeping our people safe and well and happy.
We have something called our Life Programme,
and our little mantra is happier, healthier, and safer.
And our perspective is that you need to be all three
to be satisfied and a successful member of the team.
But obviously,
the pandemic really threw a lot of curve balls
at people's mental health.
The first thing that we dealt with was
how can we keep people connected
talking to our frontline employees,
who may be out and about in their van, and actually,
whose day-to-day jobs change very little,
majority of the time, was a huge, huge challenge.
So, trying to do something which we call active management,
which is getting our managers physically out and about
in a COVID-safe way is really, really important.
The key thing for me was linking it to safety,
because we are
a very health and safety conscious organisation.
If you talk to them about safety,
you do tend to get people's attention.
So, we have done a whole series
of what we call stand down events,
where actually we take people offline.
We give people half a day,
and they come along to a whole series of online sessions.
There's been a number of things that we've done.
One thing is just to get out and about
again, in a very COVID-safe way,
and a lot of our activities are outside,
so that has helped with the frontline staff.
We've used video
so much more than we've ever used it before.
We've used texts on WhatsApp,
so people can easily access videos
on their phones or on their device.
Things have gotten much more personal,
and people have been less frightened
to talk about, as leaders,
the fact that they're also vulnerable,
and they're also struggling.
So I would say the key lessons that we've learned is,
communicate, personally and honestly.
We recognised that a lot of people
would be financially struggling,
not because of the wages that we paid them,
because those were secure,
but because of the impact of unemployment
or furloughing on their partners
and other members of their families.
We set up an employee assistance fund,
and actually, we gave out grants.
I work in the Water Recycling in Anglian Water
as a Maintenance Manager,
and I have a team of mechanical and electrical technicians,
and we repair sewage pumping stations
and do maintenance work on water recycling works
within a geographical patch in Northampton.
It was a real challenge working through the pandemic.
We had extra safety measures to be put in.
We had to change the way we worked
very swiftly and regularly
depending on the government guidelines
that were given to us, and obviously,
we had to deal with self isolation of my team and, you know,
making sure that my team was safe at all times
and myself as well.
And during the pandemic, I was also dealing, personally,
with a divorce, which is never an easy thing to deal with,
but with all the complications
that came along with that too,
so that was added pressure as well.
Anglian Water has a great support service
called Employee Assistance Programme,
and they offer very,
all sorts of services on this they offer physiotherapy.
They offer counselling, they offer,
I used it for legal advice as well,
which was a really, really good thing.
And for my team as well, you know,
we have the whole private physio, we have,
their selves, they can use EAP, it's a free phone number,
and they can do a mental health self-referral as well.
They don't actually have to come and talk to me,
if they don't feel they want to.
And it was a very important time to make sure
that they knew that was available during the pandemic,
Because I think some of them did struggle with it.
It was a very hard time to work,
with all the extra safety measures
and having children at home all the time
that were being homeschooled
and partners that may not be, you know,
that might be the only person
they see that day as well, physically.
Men, traditionally,
are very reluctant to often talk about their feelings,
and I run a very open door policy.
I spend a lot of time now I know my team.
I tend to know their triggers and their characters,
and I can often tell if one of them is feeling stressed.
And, I'm very lucky that they will come and talk to me,
if they they do feel that they are getting in that way.
So, there is an element
where it might just be a cup of tea with me,
and we can adjust working times or, you know,
it might be that, actually,
I suggest they go and seek some more help
and give them the numbers and refer
and make sure I catch up with them
that they have done it as well.
It's very easy to walk out of an office
and say, "I'll do that."
And then get caught up in day-to-day life
and not have that little bit of self care.
And also, if they are entering into that kind of support,
make sure that we allow the time for them to do it as well,
and that they get the most out of the support
that is there offered to them.
But, sometimes it's as easy,
as much as going out to see them and having a cup of tea
and, you know, sitting onsite and, you know,
talking about the day's events
and just making sure that actually they are okay
and offering that handout.
And, you know, maybe making them think it's their idea too.
Thank you to Susannah and Sarah
for sharing their experiences.
They've demonstrated the importance
of listening to employees and responding to their needs,
as well as encouraging conversations between teams.
If you haven't already,
I strongly advise you
to make the Mental Health Work Commitment,
wherever you are on your journey,
and implement the six standards that underpin it.
That link's appearing on the screen right now.
Royal Mail – Support for employees affected by bereavement, including suicide
Dr Shaun Davis is Global Director, Compliance & Sustainability at Royal Mail. Here, he and his colleagues Charlie Ryan (HR Director) and Emma Hogan (Head of Advice and Support) discuss how they support employees through bereavement.
10 years ago, mental health had a stigma attached
to it and people avoided talking.
Now thanks, in part to large businesses
taking mental health seriously and
organisations such as Business in the Community
campaigning for mental health
in the workplace to be a boardroom issue,
employees are getting the support that they need.
10 years on COVID-19 is causing huge repercussions
for business and the world.
A third of workers with mental health problems
unrelated to work stated,
this was because of COVID-19.
19% cited family bereavement or long-term illness.
The impact on employee's wellbeing is huge
and is absolutely at the forefront of employer's minds.
But despite hearing the staggering death rates
well-publicised in the media, we're still not talking
about bereavement and its impacts openly.
Why is this?
And what can we do about it?
In this video we hear from Dr. Shaun Davis,
Global Director of Health and Wellbeing at
Royal Mail to get a leadership perspective
and the views from the people at Royal Mail,
that have been supporting employees throughout the pandemic.
I think whether it be mental health
in the more general sense or bereavement
or grief or experiences of suicide, I think the role model
and the importance that senior leaders can play in terms of sharing their experiences, talking
about how it might have had a personal effect on them,
creating a culture and an environment where
people will feel comfortable to talk
about it and to disclose
and share their own experiences is really important.
As a leader, it's really important that you
kind of try and show that human side of you and
that you are visible and, and human in who you are.
Building that trust and building that relationship then
will predispose people to want
to talk to you about health issues
be that physical health or mental health.
And so it's all about
I think showing that human, that human side.
I've been really proud of the work that we've done
with the BITC, Business in the Community
and the suicide prevention and postvention toolkit work.
We talk about mental health in a positive way.
So I try and talk about positive mental health and
the things that you can do to help your own mental health
and the tools that we have got.
Things like our employee assistance programme
our health and wellbeing ambassadors, our overarching
"Because Healthy Minds Matter" campaign.
We've been really clear to our managers what the role
of a line manager is in terms of signposting
and not fixing in inverted comments
because managers can get very reluctant then to
have an intervention if they think, "Well, I don't
know how to fix this person."
That's not your role,
Your role is to help, advise, support and signpost.
My team of business partners are there to
support the managers to ensure they signpost them
to that practical support, but also to
highlight the additional support that's available
whether that be counselling, onsite support,
particularly where a work colleague has passed away.
I think it's part of the culture
of the organisation and having a very
open culture to be able to talk
about these things.
Primarily it will be line managers and colleagues
and talking to each other, but the role of HR is to ensure
that we are advocating that and giving people spaces
to be able to have those conversations
and ensuring that people know where there is
additional professional support available for them as well,
when it goes beyond just being able to talk
to your manager or colleagues.
We've done a lot more and more communications
whether that be via email, we have a dedicated SharePoint
with information around support,
we're doing a lot more telephone calls and video calls
like this to make sure we're keeping in touch with people.
We're also encouraging people just to check
in with each other.
In terms of my role, I lead teams who support managers
with all types of situations involving employees.
We will help managers to understand how to apply policies
for example, for time off in a bereavement situation
And also do lots
of signposting for managers to make sure that
they understand what resources are available for employees.
So, for example, making sure they're aware
of our employee assistance programme.
I also have a team who manage applications
to our in-house charity who provide financial support
to lots of employees.
And that may, again, come as a result of the bereavement.
I lost my younger brother very unexpectedly
last year, he was only 44.
He had a six year old daughter.
He died during the pandemic, but not
because of COVID and died without any warning at all.
So a very difficult situation.
For me personally, the best way to
manage that situation was to
be able to work when I felt I needed to
or when I wanted to
and to have that flexibility.
We have a number of provisions that are available to
support all our colleagues in, in that type of situation.
What we would encourage our employees to do is to
discuss their particular situation with their manager.
Every situation is different, and that makes sure
that we can provide as much flexibility as we possibly can.
Within the first 18 months of me joining Royal Mail Group
we very sadly lost two team members from my team.
One of whom, as you rightly say
took his own life, an extremely upsetting
an emotional time for the whole team.
Two senior members of the team agreed
that they would take the responsibility
of informing team members.
They did it amazingly well with real authenticity.
We made sure that people who wanted to, took some time
out that they were able to go for a walk,
sit and chat between, you know, between themselves.
There were a couple
of individuals who really felt they would struggle to remain
in work for that whole day.
And so that was fine, we were able
to allow them to take the rest of the day off.
And again, it's that flexibility
and allowing people to react
and deal with their own feelings and
that situation and the way that works for them.
And I, I truly believe that's really important.
More practically we access some onsite counselling support.
So, we had to counsellor available a couple
of days after the event.
Just in a room and if individuals felt
that they wanted to go and share
whatever they wanted to share
with that counsellor, then then that support was there
for them to be able to do that.
Thank you to all of our speakers and for their openness
and bravery in talking about their personal experiences
of bereavement.
And also the many ways in which they and their teams
support their colleagues through difficult times.
Business in the Community website, has valuable resources
available for business leaders, including the report
on death, bereavement and grief, and the impact
of COVID-19.
The report provides actionable guidance
on developing an empathetic, compassionate
and inclusive response.
Thank you for watching
Santander – Everyday inclusion: promoting a culture of openness
Here, Santander’s Head of Culture and Inclusion, Damien Shieber, describes how the company helps employees to feel they belong, have a voice and feel valued. He’s joined by colleagues who share what they see as the key ingredients for building an inclusive, thriving workplace.
The world has been presented with a unique
opportunity to adopt new ways of working
that enhance wellbeing for all.
with many employees working from home during the pandemic
and with hybrid ways of working, employers have glimpsed
into the lives of their employees, increasing awareness
of the variety of pressures, responsibilities, environments
and conditions that they are working within.
Today we hear from Santander employees,
who advocate different support networks
within the business to promote inclusivity
and to create a safe space for all.
Our culture promotes inclusion and belonging,
prioritises and supports wellbeing,
and develops our people's skills.
The role of leadership is crucial
for promoting wellbeing and inclusion
and is a key factor in ensuring mental health
and wellbeing for our colleagues across Santander.
In 2020, we set out our next three year inclusion
and belonging strategy called Everyday Inclusion.
A key ingredient to our inclusive and thriving workplace
is our 8 employee lead diversity networks.
They consider intersectionality, providing a safe space
for colleagues to share their lived experiences
and received targeted communications
within a digital community space,
that is a vital source of support.
Managers have seen the benefit of working in a more human,
relational way, appreciating the intersectionality
that each employee brings to the role.
We have implemented new ways of working
and supporting practises around mental health
and training to employees in partnership with Mind
allowing mental health to become part
of a normal conversation, and also encouraging managers
to discuss it in their one-to-ones.
We have reduced stigma by creating a culture of
open, honest communication, empowering colleagues
to speak up when they aren't feeling their best
and to get the support that they need.
We are proud that we have a culture of wellbeing
that is recognised by colleagues at all levels.
Last year, we increased our key wellbeing engagement metric
in our global engagement survey by 13 points
for our commitment to ensuring that colleagues feel
that wellbeing is valued,
as well as they are supported each day.
To measure our approach to wellbeing, we have in place
a monthly wellbeing dashboard,
which shows us the key wellbeing metrics
across the organisation.
This takes into account our preventative measures,
such as our mental wellbeing gap or wellbeing hub,
and interventions like our chat counselling,
or employee assistance programme, and also looks at things
like suicide prevention and also our employee assistance
programme counselling measures.
It also looks at the overall mental health absence
across the organisation.
This dashboard really helps us to understand the sentiment
of wellbeing as well as the uptake of our key initiatives so
that we can really identify focus areas for improvement.
It's important that we also listen to the voice
of the colleagues, so we also run regular surveys
to give our employees the chance to tell us
in their own words, how we can best support them.
And we've held regular pulse surveys to really
understand our employee sentiments on wellbeing,
where we're doing things well and where we can improve
our support. It's been even more crucial to use this data
to create action plans to offer additional initiatives
and interventions where it would most be impactful
to support our colleagues.
Our embrace network exists to provide leadership
and support and insight on LGBTQ+ related matters
for our colleagues and our members
because we believe that everyone should be able to
be their whole selves at work.
We think that that's not possible
unless you're able to create a fully supportive
and inclusive work environment.
You talk to people
about their preschool and kindergarten experience,
we all sort of learn these same rules, right?
Like speak up when someone's doing something
that you don't like, talk straight, be kind to people.
These same behaviours that we talk about in Santander,
making sure that you're actively listening
to your colleagues.
And if somebody comes to you and says, you know
I've got a problem or I've got a challenge,
not just saying, "Oh yeah okay. I, I hear you fine."
but actively listening to that, supporting your colleague,
and we've got a number of channels that you can go
to for support through your line management, through HR.
I like that there's choice
in how you want to raise an issue.
And honestly, if I felt I wasn't being listened to
the world would know about it.
The mental wellbeing network aims to help colleagues
develop and maintain positive mental wellbeing
and empower them to speak up and talk openly
about their wellbeing.
Through my own journey and involvement in the network,
it has allowed me to be more open
and honest about how I feel on a day-to-day basis,
and reach out to the support that is available
to colleagues.
Through the network, we've been able to implement
many more virtual events, host safe space sessions
where colleagues can come together
and openly talk in a confidential environment.
We aim to promote wellbeing from all sorts of aspects,
such as making use of the quiet hours
that have been implemented
to encouraging colleagues in taking a break
and getting some fresh air, and most importantly,
logging off at a reasonable time
so colleagues can get some downtime.
One thing I have learned is that it's okay to not be okay.
And if you can recognise the type of day you are having
and if needed are able to get the support you need
or just want someone to talk to
you're already heading in the right direction.
The aim of the families and carers network is to
bring together anyone who feels they want to share or learn
from the experience of others in a similar situation,
and it's for parents, grandparents, partners,
those looking to adopt or foster,
those struggling with fertility,
along with colleagues who have caring responsibilities,
most importantly, listening to feedback
from colleagues to understand where our
family friendly policies can be improved
to help support them in their careers.
The networks at Santander are run by colleagues
for colleagues, and that helps people feel they belong
by being part of a community and providing a safe space
for people to share their experiences.
Our networks aim to bring colleagues together,
and they help us work towards that everyday inclusion
and making it a workplace where all colleagues
feel they're supported, they belong and they can succeed.
Our networks also play a key role
in helping colleagues to connect
around the moments that matter in their lives,
and give us all a chance to share our stories.
Three of our behaviours that Santander are
speak up, talk straight and truly listen.
And that actively encourages colleagues
across the bank to do just that.
There's also a whistleblower hotline
with a dedicated team to support investigations
into misconduct.
I have to say throughout the pandemic
that bank have been really good at surveying colleagues
regularly to understand the effect that lockdown is having
on us and understanding our mental wellbeing.
And in response to that
they have provided some really great support.
Santander takes a flexible approach to working
and encourages everyone to speak to their line manager
so they can work the way that best suits them.
Thanks to all of our speakers from Santander.
This case study really demonstrates the value that
employees feel when businesses take an inclusive approach
supporting everyone to thrive.
Check out "Business in the Communities Everyday Inclusion:
What Really Works Report"
which promotes evidence-based actions employers can adopt
to create inclusive working cultures
where everyone can speak up
and be actively listened to without the fear
of negative repercussions.
That link's appearing on the screen right now.
We believe being open about mental wellbeing in the workplace is crucial. Everyone has an individual mental wellbeing story and we want our teams to feel that they can share theirs. Here are some of our employees sharing theirs – together we can break the silence.
Encouraging your employees to talk about their mental health might feel tricky at first, but creating an open and honest atmosphere will help your employees to feel comfortable to #OpenUp.
#OpenUp
“A huge part of my recovery is owed to my manager and my colleagues. At first I wasn’t sure if I should be open with them but in hindsight I shouldn’t have worried. The support was incredible.”
Joshua’s story
How are we encouraging our teams to #OpenUp?
1. Education
Our online learning and development area is home to information around the signs of mental health issues, suicide awareness and the top five mental health problems that affect colleagues.
2. Conversation
We run company-wide campaigns that encourage employees to freely express their feelings and speak openly about mental health.
3. Training
- Mental health first aid
- Line managers guide
- Performance energy training
4. Support and treatment
- 24/7 telephone counselling
- Online cognitive behavioural therapy
- Face-to-face counselling
Discover more information about workplace mental wellbeing
The most extensive business mental health insurance†
We’ve opened up our cover to help more people get the support they need. It’s called the Business Mental Health Advantage
†As of February 2022, this comparison to other products in the market is based on Bupa’s and Defaqto’s interpretation of the differences between Bupa’s SME Select and Corporate Select health insurance products and other health insurance products offering mental health cover. The comparison excludes any special offers or promotions which may temporarily alter the cover offered. Cover comparison information is for personal use and guidance only and does not constitute any contractual representation, warranty or obligation by either Bupa or Defaqto about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability of the comparison. Neither party accepts any liability for errors, omissions, direct or consequential loss in relation to this comparison.
See PDF How we compare: Small business (PDF 0.3MB)
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Listen to our podcast today
What it means to be a mental health first aider
Discover how our employees have become mental health first aiders and what the training involves.
Supporting your team’s mental health: 10 tips for managers
One in six of your team members are likely to be affected by a mental health problem at any given time.6 So as their line manager, how can you tell which of your staff might be in need of your support?
Each of us has a responsibility for looking after our own mental health, but managers can make a big difference by being aware of how their team might be feeling, and looking out for signs that someone might benefit from assistance.
Having a conversation with a colleague who might be struggling
Stress, depression and anxiety are responsible for about 14 million days of sick leave each year in the UK. And this just goes to show how common mental health problems are in the workplace. All of us can make a difference by looking out for our colleagues, and being there for them if they seem to be having a hard time.
Cover for your team’s mind and body
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References
- 1. Mind - Mental health in primary care, June 2016
- 2. https://www.mind.org.uk/news-campaigns/news/half-of-workers-have-experienced-poor-mental-health-in-current-job/
- 3. https://www.michaelpage.co.uk/advice/management-advice/development-and-retention/mental-health-all-managers
- 4. CIPD Health and Wellbeing at Work, Survey Report, May 2018.
- 5. Accenture. It's not 1 in 4; it's all of us: why mental health touches everyone. (PDF, 7.4MB). Published 2018.
- 6. Managing and supporting mental health at work: disclosure tools for managers. Mind. www.mind.org.uk. Published December 2011.
- 7. Business in the Community. Mental Health at Work Report 2017. National Employee Mental Wellbeing Survey Findings. https://www.activehw.co.uk/uploads/bitcmental-health-at-work-report-2017.pdf (PDF, 4.1MB), published 2017
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- The Offer is available to UK registered small or medium sized corporate entities (including, for example, companies, partnerships, and associations) covering between 2 and 10 Members inclusive (“SMEs”) who purchase a new Select Policy directly from Bupa.
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- c. existing Bupa clients who hold a policy for any Bupa product or service for the benefit of their employees.
- The Fixed Price Offer guarantees the price of the Select Policy for 2 years. However, this is not protected from any increases in Insurance Premium Tax (“IPT”) at the first renewal. Changes to Members on the Select Policy made during the 2-year fixed period may also affect the price at the first renewal, although the rate per member will remain fixed. Examples of changes to the Select Policy include (but are not limited to): adding or removing members from the Select Policy, complimentary babies becoming paid-for child dependants at the first renewal, and child-dependants reaching the age of 24 during the first fixed year who would then be required to pay the adult rate in the second fixed year.
- Please note, you may not be able to amend the benefit options of the Select Policy at your first renewal when choosing the Fixed Price Offer. Examples of benefit options include facility access, out-patient limits and levels of excess.
- When calculating renewal prices for a Select Policy after the Fixed Price Offer has ended, Bupa considers additional factors such as (but not limited to) claims history, age of members, the rising cost of healthcare and IPT, which will be factored into each year’s renewal subscription.
- Bupa will use any personal information in accordance with its privacy notice which can be found at bupa.co.uk/privacy
- To the fullest extent permitted by law, Bupa and its group companies shall not be liable to the SME client or any of its employees for any claims, damages or any other losses whatsoever under or in connection with the operation of the Offer.
- These terms & conditions shall be governed by English law and the parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
