Employers need to step up staff’s mental health support during COVID-19 crisis

Experts are warning that employers need to act now to help prevent their staff from being at serious risk of mental ill health during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

New figures from the CIPD and Simplyhealth ‘Health and Well-being Survey at Work 2020’ report found that just 31% of respondents say managers are confident to have sensitive discussions around mental health and signpost staff to expert sources of help if needed; a figure that has barely improved in the last four years despite many more managers being trained to do so.

The CIPD and Simplyhealth are recommending employers do the following during and after the crisis:

• Support and guide their managers so that they feel equipped to have sensitive and supportive discussions with staff.
• Remind managers about the importance of communicating regularly with their team and asking how they are.
• Encourage staff to practise self-care such as a healthy routine for diet, sleep and relaxation.
• Promote their existing health and well-being benefits and support, for example signposting people to their counselling helpline.

Rachel Suff, well-being adviser at the CIPD, said, “With many workers now working from home, it can be even harder for managers to pick up on cues that their colleagues might be struggling. It’s really important that managers are regularly checking in with their team and making use of video calls, so interactions can be as personal as possible.”

She added, “Employers also need to remember that their duty of care for people’s health and safety carries on no matter where staff are based. These findings show that while more managers are being trained to help colleagues with their mental health, it doesn’t always seem to be translating into better support for staff. This pandemic presents a real threat to people’s mental, as well as physical, health and employers need to think about both when putting in place plans to protect their workforce.”

Richard Gillies, chief operating officer at Simplyhealth, commented, “During these challenging times, it is important that leaders and managers continue to ensure that people feel looked after by their employers to help them engage, be productive and continue to have the best quality of working life possible.

“Having regular, open, and two-way conversations with your team is vital to protect the mental and physical health of your employees. We are encouraging our employees to use video calling so they can still see and talk to each other on a daily basis and feel part of their normal network. We are also sharing regular company updates, general advice, and free webinars to help people adapt to remote working and manage their mental health.

“Organisations who have already adopted a proactive approach to supporting their employees’ well-being will be well positioned during the coronavirus crisis. By making good use of initiatives like Employee Assistance Programmes that offer counselling, and 24/7 remote access to a GP, employees will benefit from additional support for their health at such a difficult time.”

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