Dilemma
The Week of Mental Health took place at the beginning of June. Research shows that this theme is rarely discussed in the workplace, while the influence of work on mental well -being is very large. Only 19 percent of employees dare to encourage the subject to managers. Should managers facilitate this conversation? And how can they do that best?
Intervene if you can
Talking about mental health in the workplace is still taboo, it turns out From recent research Commissioned by OpenUp, a platform for mental well -being in the workplace. Although 91 percent of employees say that work has a negative influence on their mental well -being, only 13 percent feel supported by their supervisor and almost half do not dare to talk about it if the manager asks about it. On the other hand, the vast majority of the managers think that they do offer that support.
According to Gijs Coppens, health care psychologist and founder of OpenUp, the solution from both parties is to ensure that the conversation gets better.
Formally, facilitating conversations about mental health is not in the employer’s job description, says Coppens. “Of course, employers have a duty of care, for example to guarantee healthy air quality and arrange a good chair, but there is little in the legal framework about mental health. Besides that the employer must prevent psychosocial labor tax as much as possible.” But that does not mean that employers don’t have to do anything with it, says Coppens. “You can also respond from value and vision.
“The English word for responsibility shows that well for me,” says Coppens. “Response-agility. If you have the opportunity to respond – and have that employers, because they see the group every day – why would you not do it? ” In addition, a practical advantage comes, says Coppens: “Mental challenges are related to absence, course and productivity. Certainly in this overstrained labor market it is therefore very important to take good care of your people.”
Ashmita Krishna Sharma, adviser diversity, equivalence and inclusion at Sparkling Gems has been coming to organizations for years and regularly sees the taboo on mental well -being. She considers attention to mental health as a shared responsibility. “It is not only a task of managers, but also from each other. Colleagues often speak to each other, they can also check in together. A simple question like” I haven’t seen you for a while, how are you? ” Can already help, then someone else feels seen.
Be vulnerable
Starting the conversation is not easy for many people, says Coppens. “People find conversations about mental health scary, they avoid and do not always have the words for it. That applies to both employees and managers.”
Krishna Sharma advises to start small. “Greet each other on Monday morning, drink coffee, ask how someone’s weekend has been, invite a colleague who speaks less for lunch. This creates more connection.”
Managers can stimulate conversations by giving a good example themselves, says Krishna Sharma. “The more vulnerable they dare to be, the more you lower the threshold to talk about mental health.” She argues to include competencies such as listening, empathy and reflection in the job description of managers.
There are also more structural measures, says Coppens. For example, he refers to training for managers. “It can also work well to include questions about mental health in standard progress interviews or evaluations, then you normalize the subject and you prevent it becoming too big and too heavy. That is not necessary either, because it is often small challenges that we all know.”
“For example, you can also three or four Mental Health Days Entering that people can take if they need it, “says Krishna Sharma.” This shows that you find mental health important and you create room for a conversation. “
Ultimately, the goal is that people make the conversation more easily, says Coppens. Managers must put the subject on the agenda and learn to actively ask for it, but employees must also learn not to avoid the conversation. “It is good to emphasize that you are not always on the spot has to answer. You can come back to something and name that you find it exciting. And of course the conversation does not have to be with your supervisor, you can also start with someone you trust. A colleague, someone from the HR department or a confidential adviser. ”
So
Conducting conversations about mental health is wise for employers. This way you can guide people who do not feel comfortable in their skin on time and prevent the absence from getting up. Those conversations are not always easy, but training can help. And it doesn’t have to be complicated: asking an employee or colleague what his weekend was like or why he has not been to the office for a while is already a good start.