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May/June 2023 issue

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Human factors
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Mental health
Wellbeing

Why a 'prevention first' approach to managing mental health at work is key

Open-access content Tuesday 19th March 2019
From the archive:  Just so you know, this article is more than 3 years old.

It is insufficient merely to give line managers responsibility to act. They must be equipped with the right knowledge and skills to identify and help to address common mental disorders effectively before they reach crisis point for the individual.

IOSH believes better equipping line managers will result in organisations taking a preventive approach to building and maintaining positive, destigmatised workplace cultures. Early supportive action can make a vast difference in averting any issues or detecting them early. Line managers are vital in creating workplaces that foster a positive environment for people's mental health and wellbeing.

Some organisations may be tempted to dismiss thoughts of helping an employee on the ground of it not being their liability. This is shortsighted. The employee's productivity is still diminished, and absence may still result. Studies such as IOSH's Return to Work after Common Mental Disorders with Tilburg University in the Netherlands show that good work is an effective rehabilitation tool for employee recovery (bit.ly/2gBkdLK).

There is strong evidence that creating a work culture that seeks to manage stressors, works to destigmatise ill health, and helps to deal with anxiety and depression will deliver the benefits of a more productive and loyal workforce. The right advice and training for managing mental health and wellbeing can deliver a significant return on investment, as outlined in IOSH's business briefing, The Healthy Profit, which highlights the financial and moral benefits of creating a healthy workplace (bit.ly/2F448L8).

The right advice and training for managing mental health and wellbeing can deliver a significant return on investment

IOSH and Management Today recently conducted a survey of more than 400 employees from a range of UK businesses The goal was to gain a clearer understanding of what was being done in the workplace to support people with mental health problems.

Some 57% of respondents said their organisation offered no mental health and wellbeing training or support for managerial staff. Those that did have training and support in place reported that in most cases it was optional (79%) rather than mandatory (22%). Not unusually, the findings underline the key role that line management plays in responding to this risk issue.

The results indicate there is still much to be done to convince businesses of a "prevention first" approach to managing mental health and wellbeing. Workplace environments and company cultures need to be fashioned so that employees can divulge any issues they may have without fear of harming their career prospects or being stigmatised.

Employers are already required by law to provide training on physical health and safety, and IOSH believes it is time the same requirements applied to mental health.

The UK's health and safety law demands the prevention of both physical and mental harm. To this end, the chair of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) board, Martin Temple, has announced that the HSE is updating its advice and enforcement capability for mental health. Now it is down to organisations to review their mental wellbeing management systems to ensure they are focused primarily on prevention and their line managers' ability to implement them effectively.

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 The business book club: Seth Godin’s Tribes offers a practical perspective on improving performance through people

Tuesday 19th March 2019
Best-selling author and speaker Seth Godin argues that everyone is a marketeer. The advent of social media has caused us all to have the ability to present ourselves as a product. But more than that, everyone is now also a leader. For the first time, everyone in every organisation – not just the boss – is expected to take responsibility, to lead. And our job as leader? To unite tribes.
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 Striking the right balance at work

Thursday 7th March 2019
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 The business book club: key lessons from Simon Sinek’s, Start with Why

Tuesday 19th February 2019
Simon Sinek’s TED talk from 2009, based on his book Start with Why, is the third most watched of all time with more than 42 million views.
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 How OSH professionals can get involved in the human capital conversation

Wednesday 17th April 2019
On 3 April 2019, the Center for Safety and Health Sustainability (CSHS) held its fourth Human Capital workshop in Paris. Created in 2011, the CSHS is a collaboration between IOSH, the American Society of Safety Professionals,  the American Industrial Hygiene Association and the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering.
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 Table talk: Key stressors

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 Health and Wellbeing at Work 2019

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