Supporting World Mental Health day Safety Mode Ltd would like to share their free 10 top tips for creating a positive mental well-being culture in the workplace
1, Recruitment process
During the recruitment process it is a good idea to give the interviewee a overview of the company, talk about Health and Safety, Equality and Diversity but importantly how the company and the lead managers support positive mental health in the workplace. Make sure the right people are in the right roles, many people who go up through a company are merited/promoted on their knowledge of the industry they are in and what often happens is that they have not got the people management skills needed to lead a team.
2, Policies and Procedures
Makes sure you have a Mental Well-being policy which is legible and accessible to all during interview stage/induction and first day and beyond, updating staff if anything changes.
3, Environment
If you have staff working in an office, think of the following things:
>Plants clean the air and also act as sound absorbents so think about having real plants in the office
>Make sure there is enough ventilation and light
>Have some positive quotes around the office
>Look at the layout of the building and how the office is set up
>Where can the employees go for time out/time away from desk/or job
If they are working from home (WFH)
It is really important to establish that the employee has implemented a work life balance, that they finish their work at 5pm the computer/laptop closes and ‘virtually’ go home for the day. How are they managing any children that are at home, what plans do they have in place, where is their office, when is their lunch time. The above points are also important, the environment that they are working is that suitable.
4, Managing change
Make sure change is managed effectively, it is not rushed, maybe use a pilot scheme before hand. Make sure the change doesn’t happened during really busy periods of the business. Have a project manager to oversee the changes and also plan for any barriers that may arise and have solutions ready.
5, Effective Communication
Make sure all communication whether through zoom, newsletter, face to face, email, display boards are clear and legible. Get feedback from employees about the best way they receive communication
6, Training
Invest in training and CPD for your staff and in turn they will be more productive and feel valued. Mental Health training enables peers to support fellow colleagues in a timely manner and helps them understand their own mental health. Training an employee to be a First Aider for Mental Health (please use what ever title fits for that role within your business, We personally like Mental Well-being Ambassador) This role will support all employee’s but also make sure the leading/management team also have someone to go to.
7, Consistency
Make sure the positive mental well-being culture is being cascaded down from the top and is consistently used throughout the whole business.
8, Empowering your employees
If your employees feel empowered and valued, they will in turn be productive and be able to implement changes if involved
9, Employee Initiative
Plan for team building days/ lunches out/ praising other colleagues systems
10, Supervisions and 1:1’s
Make sure these are consistent, they don’t overrun, achievable targets are set, employee has time to speak and the manager doesn’t do all the speaking and that the meeting is in a confidential space.
If you would like any support implementing a Mental Well-being strategy or are interested in any First Aid for Mental Health training please contact us on 07818416448 or kayla@safetymode.co.uk
You can find all of our training courses on the link below
https://safetymode.co.uk/courses-2/