Cost of Living Crisis – How Can you as an Employer Help Support Your Staff? Part 3
We have previously discussed how you might financially support staff and considered concerns regarding staff having additional jobs, in this article we discuss the impact on the mental health of your staff and how you can help staff to manage any financial stress and anxieties they might have and the affect of this on your business.
Mental health concerns
A recent survey by ACAS has found that 47% of workers’ mental health has suffered due to the rising cost of living. That’s nearly half of your workforce whose mental health has been or is likely to be affected. With the cost of living crisis only getting worse this percentage is likely to increase.
Why should you take action?
Mental health is no longer a taboo subject and if your business is not supportive and understanding of staff and their mental health you risk losing valued members of staff to employers who are.
If a member of staff is suffering with mental health problems this could affect their quality of work, their availability to work and their attitude at work. This could lead to long term sickness absence and even you seeking to manage them under your capability procedure.
What can you do?
Chief Executive of ACAS, Susan Clews said, “Employers that create an environment where staff can openly talk about their mental health are better equipped to support them at work”.
Provide an open and confidential environment where staff can speak to you about their struggles and feel listened to. It might be that you’re unable to help in that moment but being able to understand their struggles and for staff to feel as though they can speak openly and honestly without consequences is an important quality of a good employer.
Signpost staff to organisations who can help. Sometimes people need and want expert help, you might have employee assistance programmes who offer counselling or GP services. In addition, there are charities who can help such as Andy’s Man Club and Mind. Simply having contact details readily available and placed around the workplace may assist those members of staff who may not feel comfortable in directly reaching out for help. Consider putting posters up and signposting to services that can assist in the bathrooms, kitchens and employee breakout areas.
Can you change an individual’s working arrangement if this will ease some pressure for them? It might be that an employee is worried about heating their house and the rising cost of this, could you allow them to work in the office all week to lower their energy costs at home. Maybe an employee is worried about the costs of traveling into the office, you might allow them to work from home to limit these costs.
Our previous articles in the series also provided alternative ways in which you may be able to assist your staff during the cost of living crisis, which may have a positive impact on their mental health.
It is important to realise that mental health and promoting good mental health is not a one size fits all matter, nor is there a quick fix for everyone. A solution that may improve one individual’s mental health may well have a detrimental impact on the mental health of their colleague. Perseverance, empathy and openness are essential to get the most of your workforce in such trying and worrying times.
What if there’s nothing you can do?
It is unlikely that as a business you are not able to offer some sort of support, although you might not be best placed to offer exactly what an individual needs. In these cases, simply acknowledging the impact on your member of staff and their feelings and keeping open communication and dialogue between the business and them can be enough to support.
Remember to be cautious of simply telling a member of staff what they need to do to improve their mental health, this can cause more detriment than benefit. Instead, remember that every individual is different, and all mental health problems are different, so instead focus on the member of staff involved and discuss with them openly about ways in which they feel the company could potentially assist them. Often, simply having someone sit and listen can be more beneficial and helpful than you realise.
Take home points:
Considering not all staff will want to speak with you regarding their problems and some members of staff might not even be aware of the extent of their own struggles and how it might be impacting them at work for example, it is important that your business values communication and flexibility regardless of the problem and are willing to help in seeking a solution.
If you want to hear more about employment law updates and changes including details of our mental health special HR Forums, you can find details of our upcoming events here: Events | BRM Solicitors, Chesterfield (brmlaw.co.uk)
For further information or advice regarding how to support your staff and/or any employment matter, please contact our Employment Law Team on 01246555111 or contact:
Amy Hallam
Head of Employment
t: 0114 3496989
e: amy.hallam@brmlaw.co.uk
Ellie Leatherday
Associate
t: 01246 564002
e: ellie.leatherday@brmlaw.co.uk
Jade Taylor
Trainee Solicitor
t: 01246 560587
e: jade.taylor@brmlaw.co.uk
