Free mental health resources for you and your workplace

These are difficult times, especially when it comes to the work environment. Working from home is suddenly the new norm. We don't know when we'll be back in our offices. We're away from our teams, we aren't getting face-to-face time to check on each other. It's no surprise people's mental health is suffering. Which is why we've used our knowledge in the field to curate an important list. A list of seven helpful, and free, resources that support positive mental wellbeing.

Whether your company already has a mental health strategy in place, or if your business is just starting out on this journey, we hope these resources will provide a guiding light.

A comprehensive guide

For a complete but easy-to-digest guide covering all aspects of mental health in the workplace, visit the CIPD mental health factsheet. It covers everything from the legal position on mental health and employment to approaches businesses can take to make mental health an integrated part of wider wellbeing at work.

Help for managers

Managers are often the first to notice when someone is struggling with a mental health problem. Ensuring line managers are trained in mental health awareness and making sure they know where to direct people for further support, is absolutely crucial. Mind have a great free resource centre that talks about encouraging open conversations, developing steps to address issues, and helping people return to work.

Stress in the workplace

Stress-related absence is on the rise. And alarmingly, over a quarter of organisations who identify stress as a top cause of absence, are not taking steps to reduce it^[1]. It's likely your employees are dealing with increased stress and anxiety, but Mental Health First Aid England has produced a great toolkit to help 'Address Your Stress' including a range of resources and practical tips to manage stress at work.

Reducing stigma

If everyone in an organisation understands that talking about mental health is okay and can ask, 'how are you?' then you've won half the battle. Time to Change aims to end mental health discrimination. It provides several customisable resources to support mental health campaigning within the workplace, including posters, email signatures and social media posts.

Promoting positive mental health

Mental health promotion is an essential part of any mental health strategy; making sure everyone knows what help is available and how to use it. This ACAS guide to promoting positive mental health in the workplace covers creating a mental health policy, ways to improve the workplace, and educating the workforce about mental health.

For smaller businesses

Supporting employee mental health can be a challenge for smaller businesses. Often, there can be budget or resource constraints, but mental wellbeing is an essential focus for small businesses. Business in the Community, in association with Public Health England, has published this thorough mental health toolkit for employers, with small businesses in mind. It covers building your approach, promoting a positive culture, and support and training that can help.

For larger businesses

You will likely have heard of the Stevenson/Farmer' Thriving at Work' review. The City Mental Health Alliance used this review to create a framework for supporting mental health, in businesses that employ over 500 people – helping them to become mentally healthy workplaces. It includes a self-assessment tool which allows employers to benchmark their practices and initiatives against others.

References

1. CIPD/Simplyhealth Health and Well-being at Work 2020 report