Whilst improvements have been made in the past decades around support for mental health and well-being, there’s still improvements to be made in the workplace when it comes to mental health. Research from Bupa found 47% of business leaders report they feel like they tread on eggshells around staff who have experienced a mental health condition, and not addressing it only makes it worse.
It’s incredibly important that you consider this as part of your business strategy, as 77% of employees report having experienced poor mental health symptoms at some point in their lives. More definitely could be done by employers to support their staff’s health and well-being. Along with the advice contained in our other blogs, here we look at the ways to help support your team during difficult times through employee benefits.
Be Flexible – Flexitime, Hybrid Working
Flexitime working allows employees to fit work around their schedules in a way that works for them. Particularly if you can engineer it so they don’t feel as pressured to fit all their tasks in the traditional working hours.
One other thing you could look at is allowing some time out of the working environment. Allowing staff to work in a hybrid way can go some way to mitigating little things that contribute to staff worries and concerns. Such as hectic commutes and costs to get to work, how they think other employees will behave towards them, and anxieties about their output or attitude being judged.
Holiday Purchase Schemes / Unpaid Leave
Buying extra annual leave allowance or taking unpaid leave is a great opportunity to help staff experiencing poor mental health take time to get the support they need, spend time with their family, or reflect and manage the stresses of work outside of the office. A bit of extra time off can boost morale, increase productivity and can even reduce absenteeism in the long-term.
Encourage people to take care of themselves physically
There is a great benefit from a well-being perspective to encourage your staff to make changes to their lifestyle. Particularly getting out of the office and exercising has shown to have positive health benefits. The connection between the mind and the body shouldn’t be underestimated.
Employers can support the initiative to get people on their bikes by offering cycle to work schemes as part of their employee benefits package or setting up running clubs or subsidising gym memberships or workout classes. Why not let your staff have a slightly longer lunchbreak to attend classes, or start later after attending the gym? You could even provide shower facilities for those who cycle or run to work and ergonomic and standing desks to promote good posture.
Exercise such as working out at the gym can have a positive impact on stress levels, with research finding employed adults who are more active tend to have lower stress rates, compared to those who aren’t as active.
Support Financial Well-being
Employers also need to support staff with their financial well-being, as many are affected by cash concerns. Citizens Advice revealed that 74% of people with debt worries found it had affected their mental health. While the recent rises in cost of living and energy prices are aspects of life that many people are concerned about at present.
Offering discounts to help with employees’ financial well-being can have a big impact on mental health. There are many schemes available from cashback on shopping, medical expenses (like medicash) or just employee discount schemes. One in four UK employees say money worries affect their productivity, according to research from CIPD. So, employers who can offer savings wherever possible through their employee benefits scheme can help massively. Why not provide access to financial advice as part of your benefits scheme?
Well-being Days – Both Planned and Unplanned
A duvet day is an unscheduled day off because you don’t feel like working. It’s a ‘just because’ day, a day to unwind and take the burden of responsibility away for one day. Some organisations include a few days a year where their staff don’t need to give notice, and can merely use one of their well-being, or duvet days.
Why not think about scheduling a well-being day? I have one client who organises an event like this each year where the whole company gets together and enjoys talks and demonstrations from practitioners that can assist them with their well-being. Experts in meditation, reiki, acupuncture and reflexology could be invited along with speakers on mental health and the importance of a work-life balance.
Offer Direct Mental Health Support
Of course, sometimes the most effective way to support the well-being of your employees is by helping them to access to mental health services. For example, including employee assistance programmes within your benefits scheme or access to counselling services and promoting mental health advice lines and charities.
But first, talk to your staff…
Employee benefits can provide plenty of solutions to positively impact mental health but putting something in place that staff might not want is not the answer. Talking to staff to understand what they would like to help them is a great start, meaning your benefits package can be more tailored to your employees’ needs.
Written by Amy Watson, Associate Director and Legal Recruiter for Yorkshire and the North East.
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