Keeping an eye on your own mental health and that of others around you has always been vital. But with the additional pressures the sector is facing, it’s easy to drop this to the bottom of the list. Having a robust wellbeing policy in place for your organisation is vital especially now, in the current climate, where pressures from the pandemic will be having a greater effect on your employees.

Here are a few statistics:

• 676 million people are affected by mental health issues worldwide.
• 1 in 4 adults in the UK will experience a mental health issue per year – this figure is the diagnosed number, so the true statistic will be far higher.
• According to a survey from the Mental Health Foundation, 54% of the adult UK population have felt anxious, worried or stressed over the last few months, specifically because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As well as the current pressures from the pandemic, as with any job there are pressures that can cause stress that come along with working in the Social Care sector. People rarely become front-line care staff for the money, it is often more about the purpose, passion and making a difference. It is this type of mindset that makes a really great employee at any level in Social Care, but it is also this kind of mindset that can leave you open for consistent and high levels of pressure and stress, as being able to walk away at the end of the working day becomes very difficult.

What are the steps you can take to improve mental health within your organisation?

Mental health must be treated the same as physical health. An employee who bravely states they are struggling with a mental health condition should be treated the same as the employee with a cold or broken leg.

As part of your organisations wellbeing strategy, there are four main areas to focus on: spotting change, talking, listening and acting:

• Spotting change – changes in behaviour, attitude, appearance, signs of difficulty
• Talking – ensure you take the time and space to have conversations, sensitivity and compassion are key
• Listening – listen at least twice as much as you speak, listen non-judgementally, your opinion is not important but hearing what they are saying is
• Act – your role is to support, give the person some time off, provide additional resource, signpost them to their GP or counselling and therapy sessions

It is important to ensure you are shaping your wellbeing policy around the changing external factors so you can positively impact your employees.

CIPD has devised an integrated approach to health and wellbeing in the workplace through a pyramid model that; benefits employees, nurture heightened levels of employee engagement and fosters a workforce where people are committed to achieving organisational success. CIPD state that “to create a healthy workplace, an employer needs to ensure that its culture, leadership and people management are the bedrock on which to build a fully integrated wellbeing approach. When people feel a high level of wellbeing they are more engaged and productive at work. Conversely, when people experience low levels of wellbeing, they don’t perform at their best.”

What does your existing wellbeing policy look like in your organisation’s v’s the pyramid model?

We want to let you know that we are here to support you, and if you would like to discuss the above, or about how we can collaborate, please let us know. To get in touch, email [email protected]

As a specialist, family-run recruitment business, we provide a proactive and consultative approach to recruitment. We help organisations to target issues such as continuity of staffing, reducing spend where you have a high volume of agency usage and supporting those who have specific talent requirements or are in hard to fill locations. We can help with any immediate staffing requirements or longer-term recruitment projects to ultimately save you time and money on agency spend.

Click here to see what our clients say about how we have supported them throughout the pandemic.