‘Time to Talk’- Tips for managing mental health in small businesses
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Thursday 6th February is ‘Time to Talk’ day which is an awareness day championed by Time to Change who are a social movement group trying to change the way we all act and think about mental health. Their statistics suggest that 1 in 4 people are affected by mental health at some point in their lifetime, which means there is a pretty high probability that at least one, and probably more of your team have, or will have experienced some sort of mental health issues.

As a business providing HR support to small businesses and charities, we support our customers on how best to help their staff when they have problems, but also with ideas on keeping their teams healthy too.

 

Our top tips for managing mental health in small businesses are:

  1. Talk about it – days like ‘Time to Talk’ day, are a great opportunity to get people talking about mental health and demonstrating that you have an understanding about the importance of mental health and well-being for everyone.
  2. Don’t delay – If you suspect an employee is experiencing symptoms of mental ill-health, have a sensitive private conversation without delay
  3. Provide support – a wellness action plan is a useful way of recording a conversation during which you have agreed on supportive steps with your colleague.
  4. Encourage employee wellness – when budgets are small it is easy to just firefight- only dealing with things when they are a problem, but you can take small steps that won’t break the bank. Spend time encouraging staff to take their allocated breaks, and lead by example.
  5. Regularly asking staff how they are and taking an interest in their lives outside work is more likely to build trust and effectively prevent and manage stress at work. Be prepared to adapt management style as appropriate to each employee and be aware that some people will be less comfortable sharing details of their personal life than others.
  6. Praise and say thank you – small touches like saying thank you, and recognising a job well done will go along way to show that they are appreciated and valued
  7. Recognise the signs – become aware of the symptoms. Increasing your understanding around the subject will help you manage any issue you have much more effectively.

 

At citrusHR we can provide you with all the tools you need to manage your staff effectively, and we can also save you time and money on HR admin too with our refreshingly simple HR software.

Get HR support

If you need advice about managing mental health in your small business get in touch on info@citrushr.com or give us a call on 0333 014 3888 to find out more about how we can help your business with friendly, expert HR support.

The content of this blog is for general information only. Please don’t rely on it as legal or other professional advice as that is not what we intend. You can find more detail on this in our Terms of Website Use. If you require professional advice, please get in touch

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