Mental Health “…it’s not my responsibility”.

As I go about my work, it’s not unusual to hear employers and employees say that it’s not their responsibility to care for mental health at work… and, yes, some people really do say that!

Of course, far from wanting to be critical, I would encourage people to take responsibility. You see, as employees, we have a duty to manage our own response to the pressures of work, just as much as it is our employer’s duty to ensure that appropriate care is taken to minimise the potential for stress and other mental health difficulties.

This is an enormous topic and one that is increasingly familiar to organisations, particularly as the incidence of stress in the workplace continues to escalate. How can that be allowed to happen, I hear you say. Well, it appears to be quite simple really; what we tend to do is to become reactive to issues as opposed to being proactive to them. Managers are often highly pressured and their capacity to prioritise may be heavily compromised as they seek to meet the demands of the business and staff welfare may not always be at the top of a list of priorities as a result. Employees are often struggling to keep up with the demands of their work, becoming so overwhelmed that their capacity for self-care may be heavily compromised too. The difficulty arises when these issues are not addressed.

Whilst, of course, stress is a natural human response in our desire for survival, it seems to me that we increasingly appear to accept that living with the adverse effects of it is normal. How often I hear people say that they are so very stressed, yet appear to take little or no action to address their response. However, that sense of feeling overwhelmed tends to prevent people from taking a physical and emotional step back from the issues that continue to fuel the problem.
Well, something has to give here, does it not? You see, if we continue to maintain a reactive response then nothing will change. So, today, I would encourage you to take one small step back, literally, and ask yourself these questions: Am I experiencing the effects of stress? Do I want to do something about it? Do I need some help to do that? If the answer to any of those questions is yes, then I also encourage you to visit the following website: www.getselfhelp.co.uk and search for the guide: “Self Help For Stress”, which is free to download. However, I must add that this document is not just for bedtime reading, (actually I wouldn’t recommend you read it at bedtime) as it requires you to engage with it as a working resource.

If you are a manager and you are struggling to discern how to respond to employees who are experiencing stress at work, you might wish to consider performing a Stress Risk Assessment and relevant information can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards. This is an opportunity to work collaboratively, to assess how your employee is responding to the pressures of the workplace and how they might be best supported. Oh, and don’t forget to care for yourself in the process!
I wish you well in your exploration and please do consider accessing our services here at JR Corporate Health should you feel that some professional support might be helpful! https://jrcorporatehealth.co.uk