INTHEBLACK October 2021 - Magazine - Page 27
Below: Rachel Clements,
Centre for Corporate
Health.
something about mental health in the workplace were
suddenly propelled into that space, because mental
health was such a high risk that they were trying to
mitigate last year.”
Dr Mark Deady, post-doctoral mental health
research fellow at Black Dog Institute, says many
managers can miss the signs that suggest employees
are distressed.
“With more people working from home,
it’s important for managers to keep lines of
communication open, because it is easy to miss signs
when you’re not seeing someone on a daily basis,” he
says. “Changes in work performance, in motivation, in
appearance, in mood and in social connectedness can
be signs that someone may be struggling.”
Mental health first aid officers in the workplace
are trained to see these signs. Clements says the
evidence base behind the training is its peer-to-peer
methodology.
“People may not wish to disclose something to their
manager, but they may feel very comfortable sharing
that with a peer,” she says. “Businesses need to
have people who are trained appropriately. Other
considerations include gender split and having people
at different levels of the hierarchy.”
Mental health support requires leadership buy-in,
adds Clements.
“We have been saying to managers that they need
to understand the psychological risk profile of their
teams, because they can’t afford not to,” she says. “That
means knowing who has got three children under
the age of seven whom they are homeschooling and
trying to work a full-time job at the same time. Who
has a partner who has just lost their job and is under
financial distress? Who in your team lives alone?”
EVERYDAY CONVERSATIONS
Clements encourages leaders to have “everyday
conversations” with their teams about wellbeing.
“That doesn’t mean just jumping in there and having
a conversation when you notice someone is not OK,”
she says. “It’s about having everyday conversations,
and that could be something like, ‘I’ve noticed you’re
working online really late. How about we talk about
some ways that we can assist you to get a little bit
more balance in your life’, or ‘I know you’ve got family
overseas. I’m just calling you to see how you are going,
as I know that’s been on your mind lately’.
“It doesn’t have to be ‘mental health’ conversations,
because that’s what can make managers feel
uncomfortable,” adds Clements. “I think it’s about
changing the dial on the language and having everyday
conversations with people about their wellbeing.”
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intheblack.com October 2021 27