Guidance on mental health in the workplace

Guidance to help small firms manage mental health and wellbeing in the workplace has been published by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) with MIND.  Download it here.

Conditions such as anxiety, depression and unmanageable stress affect one in six British workers each year, but simple, cost effective and non-bureaucratic changes can help to manage mental health issues in the workplace and promote the wellbeing of staff which could save firms up to one third of the associated costs.

The FSB worked with MIND to adapt its existing guide, ‘Taking care of business’give recommendations, such as:

• Talking to the employee to see what adjustments they might need to their working environment
• Promoting a supportive working environment with regular catch-ups or peer support
• Considering an informal mentoring scheme where suitable to help members of staff understand the business faster and support them in their role
• Flexible working and involving the employee in the planning of their workload where possible

You can also download a copy of the guidance, ‘Taking care of business’, here.