Next week is Mental Health Awareness week, so in light of that, we are asking how you are?
At Access 2 Comfort our area of expertise is the physical effects of work on the body and what we can do to provide a healthy and safe working space. However, we acknowledge the importance of also supporting colleagues with their mental health. Physical and mental health can very rarely be viewed in isolation from each other. If someone is experiencing physical pain and discomfort, this is likely to affect their mental health too. Similarly mental health issues can lead to people not looking after their physical health.
Creating a culture of talking in the workspace
As the saying goes ‘it’s good to talk’. Have you taken the time recently to ask your colleagues how they are? If you are a business owner or HR have you tried to create an environment in which colleagues feel safe to talk and without fear of discrimination. The Mental Health Foundation suggest an essential building block for workplace mental health is the ability to have open, authentic conversations about mental health in the workplace.
Putting Mental Health on the agenda
Checking in with staff on a regular basis and putting policies in place that promote mental health for all staff, is something companies can do, regardless of their size. Encouraging staff to take regular breaks, structuring workloads, running incentives, which encourage activity and healthy eating, giving staff time to talk and listen to each other will all help create a healthy workspace.
Reasonable Adjustments
Access 2 Comfort offer workplace assessments to enable companies to meet their obligation to provide reasonable adjustments to staff experiencing physical disabilities. If someone has a long-term mental health condition, they too could be defined as disabled under the Equality Act (2010) and entitled to reasonable adjustments in the workplace. Letting employees know that this help is available to them could be invaluable and giving staff the tools to help themselves, empowers them to feel they can manage their condition whilst continuing to work effectively.