How can I improve mental health and wellbeing within my team?
If you’re a line manager, you play an important role in supporting your team’s mental health and wellbeing. But it can be hard to know where to start. The suggestions in this section should help.
You might also find it helpful to think about how things are in your team at the moment and what affects our mental health at work.
We also provide information on supporting employees with mental health problems.
-
Ask for support and raise awareness.
Over half of managers surveyed by Time to Change did not feel they had been given enough information, support and guidance themselves. Many reported that they were not given enough time to appropriately manage their team. If lots of managers ask for additional support and training, senior management are more likely to take your needs seriously.
-
Ask for training.
You should have received training on mental health and stress management. You should feel confident about dealing with disclosure and managing and supporting an employee with mental health problems. Talk to your own manager about your training needs.
-
Familiarise yourself with policies.
Make sure you understand any policies your organisation has relating to mental health and wellbeing. This may include sickness absence and health and safety. Make sure your team understand where to find these, what they include and what will happen if they ask for support.
-
Make sure you have a good knowledge of common mental health problems and signs of poor mental health.
Our information on signs of poor mental health also explains how you can run a team session to talk about this in more depth.
-
Show staff that their wellbeing matters to you.
Encourage them to work sensible hours, take full lunch breaks and attend wellbeing initiatives in the organisation. Take a look at our information about how employees can look after their own mental health and wellbeing. You may sometimes have to prioritise staff wellbeing over targets and deadlines. Keep in mind that this will lead to a more productive team in the long term. Keep in mind that long working hours are associated with symptoms of depression. Wellness Action Plans can be a good way to start regular conversations about mental health and wellbeing. Take them seriously and review them regularly.
-
Make sure you’re available.
Prioritise regular one-to-ones and catch ups with your team. Make sure you use this time to check how they are and talk through any difficulties at home or work. This can help to improve your working relationship and gives employees plenty of opportunity to ask questions and raise issues. Knowing your team’s ‘normal’ outlook and activities will give you a frame of reference to spot changes in these early. This will make conversations easier if problems do arise.
-
Keep asking questions.
It might help to add staff wellbeing as a standing item on your agenda at team meetings. Give staff an opportunity to talk about how they’ve been doing and anything that might be affecting their wellbeing. Make sure you are honest and open too. Ask your team for feedback about your management and any additional support you could provide. You may have to adjust your management style to suit individual team members.
-
Help your staff prioritise their workloads and feel confident to work effectively.
Do your employees have low control over their work, a high workload and regular time pressure? They may be more at risk of mental health problems and reduced wellbeing. It may not be possible to offer staff complete control over their workload and hours. Think together about areas where they could make their own decisions and manage their own time. It might also help to think about how they can be involved in wider decisions about how the team is run. Make sure your team are trained to do their jobs. Look for development opportunities and make sure you’re available to offer support and suggestions too. Be as flexible as possible. Research has found that flexible schedules increase employee productivity and lower absenteeism.
-
Praise staff and show you appreciate their efforts.
Employees who don’t feel properly rewarded for their efforts are more at risk of common mental health problems and increased stress. It’s also important to distribute praise and benefits fairly and make sure you don’t show favouritism within the team.
-
Deal with bullying and conflict.
Workplace bullying and conflict can increase symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress-related problems. ACAS provides more information on dealing with bullying, harassment and conflict in the workplace.
Highly Commended in Wellbeing in the 2019 BMA Patient Information Awards
-
Sources
- How to promote wellbeing and tackle the causes of work related mental health problems. Mind. www.mind.org.uk [accessed May 2017]
- Creating mentally healthy workplaces, what employees say and how employers can improve. Time To Change, www.time-to-change.org.uk [accessed May 2016]
- Mental wellbeing at work. NICE Public health guideline PH22, published November 2009
- Harvey SB, Modini M, Joyce S, et al. Can work make you mentally ill? A systematic meta-review of work-related risk factors for common mental health problems. Occup Environ Med 2017; 74: 301–310
- Beauregard TA, Henry LC. Making the link between work-life balance practices and organizational performance. Human resource management review 2009, 19;9–22
-
Author information
Produced by Clare Foster, freelance health editor, and Nick Ridgman, Head of Health Content, Bupa UK, September 2017
Next review due September 2020Bupa UK expert reviewers:
- Naomi Humber, Psychology Services Manager, EAP
- Stuart Haydock, Resilience Lead, Health Clinics
- Sarah Deedat, Head of Behaviour Change
-
Tell us what you think
We’d love to know what you think about what you’ve just been reading and looking at – we’ll use it to improve our information. If you’d like to give us some feedback, our short form below will take just a few minutes to complete. And if there's a question you want to ask that hasn't been answered here, please submit it to us. Although we can't respond to specific questions directly, we’ll aim to include the answer to it when we next review this topic.
About our health information
At Bupa we produce a wealth of free health information for you and your family. This is because we believe that trustworthy information is essential in helping you make better decisions about your health and wellbeing.
Our information has been awarded the PIF TICK for trustworthy health information. It also complies with the HONcode standard and follows the principles of the The Information Standard.
 |
 |
|---|
Legal disclaimer
This information was published by Bupa's Health Content Team and is based on reputable sources of medical evidence. It has been reviewed by appropriate medical or clinical professionals and deemed accurate on the date of review. Photos are only for illustrative purposes and do not reflect every presentation of a condition.
Any information about a treatment or procedure is generic, and does not necessarily describe that treatment or procedure as delivered by Bupa or its associated providers.
The information contained on this page and in any third party websites referred to on this page is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice nor is it intended to be for medical diagnosis or treatment. Third party websites are not owned or controlled by Bupa and any individual may be able to access and post messages on them. Bupa is not responsible for the content or availability of these third party websites. We do not accept advertising on this page.
For more details on how we produce our content and its sources, visit the 'About our health information' section.
^We may record or monitor our calls
