Dealing well with mental health difficulties in your team

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all of our employees never caused us any stress or concern. However, it would also be a fantasy. Line management is hard work, especially when we feel we do not understand the issue someone is facing. 

This can be the case with mental health difficulties - we know it’s more than just a simple performance issue, but (especially if this is outside our zone of expertise - or comfort) helping them recover and thrive can seem complex and hard. We end up avoiding, procrastinating, projecting - and in doing so can make it worse. 

The good news is that supporting an employee with mental health difficulties, even one with severe diagnosed mental illness, is actually quite straightforward. There are clear guidelines and legislation that clarify whose role is whose and what adjustments are reasonable. Here are some key points to remember. 

1. At every annual review ask how many duvet-days were taken and is there anything the organisation can do to help. In doing so, mainstream the topic of mental health so it’s talked about with every employee - that way it’s easier to raise and less of an elephant in the room when it occurs. 
2. You do not have to rearrange everything for one employee - it’s about reasonable adjustments, not unreasonable ones. Ask them what would help - it may not be that hard to offer. 
3. There are people who are skilled at this. If your church/business/team is small, make sure you have access to external occupational health support. But do stay compassionate and appropriately involved - don’t delegate and run. 
4. People with mental health problems are not “broken” - they are brave and compassionate and know the meaning of deep relationships. If you can walk alongside them in this journey, they will be among your best and most creative staff. 
5. Look within - we all struggle to some degree. If you don’t think you do, then this is not true - and please speak to someone about this. If you do struggle - and do so alone - the same advice applies. 

This is expanded on and practical tips given in a longer article on our site - Mental Health for Managers.

Be a great leader - be a leader who champions and empowers. World Mental Health Day 2024 (10/10/24) is all about mental health in the workplace and could be a great time to start.