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Health & Safety www.thefis.org 27 Tell someone Finding the courage to recognise your feelings is one thing, it’s even harder to talk to someone about how you feel. If you can, start small within your network of family or friends, or a work colleague that you feel you can talk to in ameaningful way, not just workplace chit-chat. Everyone’s situation is unique to them and therefore each person’s journey to recovery will differ. There are many ways in which we choose not to address poor wellbeing, but by taking some simple steps to look after yourself or with help making a recovery plan, gives individuals hope of getting better. At work, Deborah emphasises the importance of explaining how you feel and allowing your employer to help you perhaps make adjustments in your role, or give you time and space to address what’s causing you to feel the way you do. She said: “Encon has invested in training a team of people to qualify as mental health first aiders who can approach people who show signs of distress and provide support when individuals ask for it. A good employer will listen non-judgementally and help direct employees to get the right support.” Encon uses the services of an employee assistance programme to encourage colleagues to seek suitable help, such as counselling or, sometimes the company can refer an individual in a similar way to using occupational health for physical health concerns. Mental health first aid training This was created to extend the concept of first aid training to include mental health issues, so that people felt empowered to provide initial support to people who may be developing mental health issues or are in a mental health crisis. A qualified mental health first aider is trained to follow a plan to help someone to recognise they have a mental health issue or crisis and then help them to find the support they need. Just as standard first aid training, mental health first aid training teaches how to help in situations while protecting the first aider and not putting themselves or others in danger. Be tactful Evidence shows that a kind word or non-judgmental listening to someone in need can really help to improve a situation. As wemove in to a second year of living with COVID-19, looking after our own wellbeing andmental health as well as those around us is evenmore important. It’s a challenging time for everyone and we should be kind to ourselves and others. We don’t knowwhat is going on in people’s lives and a bit of extra support or a kind word goes a long way to help all of us to get through the difficult days. Keeping in touch with those working remotely We need to keep communication flowing and find ways to keep talking and involving people inmore daily interactions over Teams or Zoom calls. It’s also important to spend 1:1 time with employees to chat about how they are, what they are doing to look after themselves and to ensure they aren’t feeling under pressure to overwork or not take breaks. Managers need to work even harder to keep in regular contact and encourage discussions about mental health topics. Giving flexibility to help people to work in the way that works best for them can relieve some pressure. Deborah concludes: “Remote working and on-linemeetings have had a positive effect of putting everyone on a level playing field in virtual meetings and has improved communication across my company. It’s great to see somany different faces on our morning calls and everyone has the opportunity to get their views across in an informal manner without barriers of seniority.” www.encon.co.uk Cundall cares Carole O’Neil, HR and Training Partner at Cundall, explains how her company has addressed mental health. “We’d been ramping up our focus on mental health prior to the pandemic, as it’s well-recognised that this is an area where the construction industry needs to do better. The additional pressures that people have been facing due to COVID-19 have led to us re-doubling our efforts to support our people further during this tough period. As well as trained mental health first aiders in all our offices, we offer an external ‘employee assistance programme’, through which our team (and their families) can access help, support and advice 24/7. This provides a safety net when things may be starting to go wrong, and we’ve supplemented this with resources to help people proactively maintain their resilience and good mental health during this period, as well as webinars for managers to help them better support their teams.” www.cundall.com The value of humanity Knauf is a family-owned business and aims to treat all employees as a member of that family, which is why the value of ‘menschlichkeit’ (translates as ‘humanity’) is so important to them. Knauf’s Taryn Weeks, said: “Throughout our whole business we have created an inclusive culture, where we treat each other and those that we interact with, respectfully and responsibly. “When the pandemic started the business relied on its stringent health and safety protocols to keep employees physically safe and we used the menschlichkeit principles to try and ensure everyone’s mental wellbeing.” Knauf gives all its UK employees access to a qualified counsellor, who offers coaching across a diverse range of topics and there are 16 trained mental health first aiders on hand for those who need support. “As the pandemic showed signs of a change to ways of working (isolation, home working and physical absence from colleagues) Knauf helped employees through the tricky transition. Taryn said: “We recognised that some colleagues returning to work after a period of furlough might find it challenging, so managers were given training and offered ideas on how to help them reintegrate into the business. “We launched an internal social network last year to facilitate wider colleague interaction. In the UK, the MD and members of the senior leadership team publish a weekly company-wide email touching on the news in general and business operations and performance. It reinforces the ‘we are in this together’ message. “Microsoft Teams has enabled a flurry of quizzes, coffee breaks and lunchtime chats. These non-business related calls often involve laptops safely positioned in kitchens where colleagues can chat while making lunch and discussing whether The Serpent is a better watch than Bridgerton. “Walk’n’Talk” meetings have been encouraged wherever Government restrictions allow, where colleagues co-ordinate their daily walks so they can take a break from the screen while conducting business meetings by phone. “Blocking out time in the day to get away from the screen and ensure lunch breaks are taken has also been encouraged throughout the business, this helps keep the workforce physically active and provides respite from the home office.” These gestures and the compassion of the business undoubtably contributed to Knauf being recognised at the recent 2020 Employee Engage Awards, where it won the silver award in the Best Employee Wellbeing Strategy category. www.knauf.co.uk There you go, pick out what best suits your business and your employees. It’s tough out there and everyone needs support. i FIND OUTMORE For more advice and guidance visit the FIS Mental Health hub at www.thefis.org/mental-health-hub