0:02
Welcome to Health and well-being in the workplace.
0:05
My name is Kate Wood and I'm the Work Health Hub manager and my name is Jen Bakley.
0:09
I'm the project coordinator.
0:11
So this 2 hour session will provide you with a really good general understanding of the importance of prioritising health and well-being in the workplace.
0:21
It is an interactive course, so please get your pen and paper ready and we will just share the screen.
0:53
So just before we begin, a few quick trigger warnings and there will be some mentions of suicide, self harm, and obviously poor mental health.
1:00
So we just want to say that during the session, it's really important that you're looking after yourself.
1:04
So if at any time you don't want to watch any of their content, then please just feel free to take a break and step away from your screen.
1:12
Maybe let somebody know how you're feeling if there's anybody around that you feel safe talking to.
1:16
And yes, also reach out to us if you feel like you need any support as well.
1:22
So just before we begin as well, the aims of the session.
1:25
So as we said, it's going to be a really good interactive session.
1:29
So through the session, we want to explore how attitudes towards mental health have changed in the workplace, explore stigma and discrimination towards mental health and explore the current landscape.
1:40
So where we are currently in terms of mental health in the workplace and well-being, understand the importance of psychological safety in the workplace.
1:47
I know that's the word that's talked about a lot the minute.
1:49
So we're going to have a quick look at that and then provide an overview of our course that is that you can gain access to through the Work Health Hub called Leading well-being in the workplace and then of course the Work Health Hub as well.
2:03
So yes, fantastic.
2:06
OK, so first of all we are going to show a short video which really encapsulates what mental health is.
2:23
Mental health is about our cognitive and emotional well-being.
2:27
It is just as important as physical health.
2:30
Mental health does not mean mental illness, although sometimes the term is used in this way.
2:36
It's best to think about our mental health as existing on a continuum rather than people being either mentally ill or mentally well.
2:44
Our mental health exists on a continuum and we move along the continuum according to various coinciding factors such as our genetic make up and upbringing, particular life circumstances and the pressure we are under at any given time.
2:58
At one end of the continuum we have mental illness or ill health such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, and at the other end we have mental health or mental Wellness.
3:10
When we are thriving, content and fulfilled, we should all aim to recognise and notice changes in mental health and support each other to move along the continuum to return to positive mental health.
3:24
The World Health Organisation describes mental health as a state of well-being in which every individual realises his or her own potential and can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.
3:41
Being mentally healthy can include being resilient and able to cope with difficult times, feeling in control, being confident, feeling good about yourself, managing and expressing your emotions, building and maintaining good relationships.
3:58
We all experience times when we feel under too much pressure, are worried, anxious, sad, afraid or angry.
4:04
These emotions contribute to our usual state of mental health and are an expected part of our make up.
4:10
However, if these emotions are persistent over time and begin to interfere with our ability to do what we could, should, or want to be doing as part of our daily functioning, this could be described as a mental health issue.
4:22
With the right support, treatment, and adjustments, we may well return to a state of restored mental health.
4:27
Without these things, mental health issues can develop into a mental illness.
4:32
There are different types of mental illness.
4:34
These can be diagnosed by a healthcare professional such as AGP or psychiatrist.
4:40
A mental illness can significantly impact on a person's daily functioning, interfering with family interests, social and work commitments, but it doesn't define them any more than a physical illness would.
4:52
There are many ways we can support someone to understand and manage the symptoms of a mental illness and signpost to the help needed.
4:59
It's important to pay attention to your own mental health, too.
5:03
It can be difficult to ask for help or to know how to offer support when you're concerned about someone's mental health.
5:09
This may be due to barriers such as the stigma associated with mental health, lack of understanding around mental illness, uncertainty of how to get help, the fear of disclosing a mental illness to others, or concern about saying doing the wrong thing.
5:23
Research shows that stigma remains one of the biggest factors preventing people from raising concerns about their mental health or seeking help early to get the support needed.
5:33
It is important to remember that just like physical health, we will experience ups and downs in our mental health.
5:39
It exists on a continuum.
5:41
Together, we can challenge stigma, seek parity with physical health, and develop our confidence to start a conversation about mental health.
5:49
If you'd like to find out more, visit us at mhaw.uk.com, follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, or e-mail us at team@mhaw.uk.com and join us on our journey to embrace positive mental health in the workplace.
6:10
OK, So I always think that's a really, really good video to show because mental health is on a continuum and it can.
6:16
We all have ups and downs.
6:18
And I think if there's only one thing you take from the session today, it is that it's just like physical health.
6:24
We've all got mental health and that can fluctuate, you know, under any sort of circumstances.
6:29
So it really does depend on what's life's throwing at us.
6:33
But we should be able to talk about mental health in exactly the same way as we talk about physical health.
6:38
So if we think back to before the pandemic, mental health, we were aware of it and mental health in the workplace, there was lots and lots of research being carried out.
6:49
So the Farmer Stevenson review, Deloitte did a lot of research around mental health in the workplace.
6:56
And back then there was, it was affecting around one in six workers each year and it was the leading cause of sickness absence.
7:04
It was costing the UK economy around 45 billion.
7:07
And I think one of the most alarming statistics on this slide is that 300,000 people with a long term mental health problem were losing their jobs every year.
7:17
And that is certainly when we started sort of 2019 was when we first started working with workplaces and looking at mental health, looking at how to reduce absence, presenteeism and stigma within the workplace.
7:30
But it was still very much productivity was the main priority, sort of business as usual.
7:36
And mental health was seen as something quite fluffy, even though it was costing the UK economy a tremendous amount.
7:45
Fast forward to the during the pandemic and all of a sudden mental health became a priority for everybody.
7:52
Now, you could argue that was because everybody was going through the pandemic.
7:56
So all of a sudden we all wanted to focus on our well-being and that was obviously a contributing factor in terms of government messages being allowed out for an hour a day for physical exercise when we were all in lockdown measures.
8:09
So were lots and lots of factors playing a part.
8:12
And there was a tremendous increase in feelings of loneliness, isolation, depression, anxiety.
8:18
We all know if we had the joys of home schooling during that time that our young people definitely suffered.
8:26
Our relatives who were perhaps in care homes or residential homes couldn't have visitors.
8:32
So there was a tremendous impact to not only physical well-being but also emotional and mental health.
8:38
Then Fast forward to after the pandemic or you know, Life now and the Mental Health UK have just published the burnout report for 2025.
8:47
And as you can see here, 45% of UK workers do not think that their organisation has plans in place to help them manage stress and prevent burnout.
8:58
So that means that they don't feel adequately supported by their employer, which is extremely worrying.
9:05
And something we've noticed since the pandemic is we had a real drive on.
9:09
Yes, we'd like some mental health workshops being delivered.
9:12
Yes, we want you to come in and help us really engage employees and find out what they want in terms of well-being provision.
9:19
Now that's starting to Peter off again and business and targets, KPIs, all those sorts of things are becoming more and more important when actually what we should be doing is moving towards a more human powered economy and not losing sight of our biggest asset, which is our people.
9:37
From this report as well, you can see 91% of UK adults report they've experienced high or extreme levels of pressure or stress in the past year, 91%, which is absolutely startling.
9:52
And one in five working adults admit that their productivity or performance is impacted by high levels of pressure or stress, but they didn't adjust the hours or take time off work.
10:04
So that's still indicating even under pressure, there's a lot of presentees.
10:08
And still and in New Insights, less than 1/3 of UK workers say they feel fulfilled at work and almost one in four say they feel bored at work.
10:20
And nearly 1/5 of workers, so around 17%, say they feel lonely at work.
10:27
And something that we focus on a lot here at the University of Derby are those feelings of belonging, those feelings of psychological safety.
10:35
And we'll be exploring that a little bit more in this course.
10:38
OK, Just before you go on, I was wondering, you mentioned the term presenteeism worth just given a quick definition.
10:45
Yeah.
10:45
So presenteeism is when we, when I'm sure we've all done it, we can all relate to it.
10:50
We've sort of dragged ourselves to work even though we don't feel in the right space, whether that be physically well enough to go to work, but we still drag ourselves in or indeed emotionally, mentally, we're not in the right space to be going to work, but we still do it.
11:05
And this is particularly problematic when you work from home because we think, oh, we'll just put the laptop on, turn the camera off and we can still be at work.
11:14
Actually, are you producing the best quality work there?
11:16
Are you being kind to yourself by showing up, but actually when you shouldn't be?
11:22
Yeah.
11:23
So definitely no.
11:24
Thanks for that gem.
11:27
OK, OK, so attitudes towards mental health, let's have a quick look at this.
11:32
So this is now a quiz and we're going to show you some statistics and we want you to say whether you think you know either to yourself or write them down or whatever, whether you think it's higher or lower the statistically we show you.
11:44
So first of all, 30% of people said that a lack of line manager skills and confidence was a significant challenge to promote positive health and well-being in that organisation.
11:55
So reading that and also after seeing the burnout report, do you think it's higher or lower?
12:00
I'll give you a quick second to think about it.
12:04
Okey dokey bad.
12:05
Thank you.
12:08
So 43% actually said that a lack of line manager skills and competence was a significant challenge to promoting how positive health and well-being in the organisation.
12:17
So that's almost, you know, almost half of people think that, which is quite a lot, fab.
12:22
So 40% of these managers have received training in mental health.
12:26
What do we think?
12:26
Do we think managers have more managers have had training based on what Kate said or less post pandemic as these statistics quite recent, fab.
12:39
So only 30% of managers have received training in mental health, which is quite shocking really when we consider that it needs to be a priority in the workplace.
12:47
But actually if managers don't have the skills in training, then it's putting a lot of pressure on managers to be able to look after that staff and promote positive health and well-being.
12:58
So 30% of UK adult lists, now this is a terrible 130% of UK adults wouldn't hire somebody living with depression even if they were the best candidate for the job.
13:09
What do you think, higher or lower?
13:13
Fab So actually 56% wouldn't hire somebody living with depression even if they were the best candidate for the job, which is again over half, quite a lot over.
13:23
Really shocking.
13:26
So 40% of the UK population believes that there is still a great deal or fair amount of shame associated with mental health conditions.
13:35
What do you think?
13:36
Higher or lower considering as well just how many people would have admitted to actually the fact that they wouldn't feel comfortable hiring somebody living with depression for the job?
13:46
What do you think?
13:50
So at 51% feel that there is still a great deal of stigma.
13:54
So.
13:55
Yeah.
13:55
And then more than one in 10.
13:57
So 12% believe that individuals living with mental health illness should be ashamed of their mental health problems, which is just, yeah, crazy.
14:07
So 20% of people say they're affected most by stigma in the workplace.
14:12
So out of anywhere that any setting they might be in, it's actually with the workplace that they find most difficult to be open about their mental health or poor mental health or mental health conditions.
14:23
What do you think, Higher or lower?
14:28
So actually 54% say they're affected most by stigma in the workplace, which again is over half of people feeling like they can't be honest at work.
14:39
So and then this might be the last 1.
14:42
So 40% of employees have discussed a recent mental mental health problem with their line manager.
14:49
Higher or lower.
14:50
How many people feel like they can discuss this?
14:53
What do we think?
14:56
So only 11% of workers in so one in six workers in the UK have has a mental health problem.
15:04
But actually how many people have discussed it?
15:06
Do we have a statistic for that?
15:08
I don't know.
15:10
Oh, sorry, that's a bit of a weird one.
15:12
Anyway, so 5% of people said that their work had a negative impact on their physical or mental health.
15:20
Only 5.
15:22
What do we think?
15:25
What's your gut?
15:27
So 25% of people said that their work had a negative impact on their physical or mental health.
15:37
Well, I hadn't said that's the last one clear enough.
15:39
So 50% of people say that their manager has more impact on their mental health and their therapist or their doctor.
15:47
So actually, if you think about the time that we spend at work, it's do we say it's a third of our, yeah, a third of your life really spend at work, don't you?
15:57
So what do you think?
15:57
Is it more or less than 50%, 70% of people think that their their manager has more impact on their mental health than their therapist or their doctor, Which actually when you think about it and how much time we spend at work, of course our manager makes a big difference to how we might be feeling.
16:15
Everybody agrees with that.
16:16
But you can see how that statistic, where that statistic comes from.
16:21
Really.
16:22
Fab, thank you.
16:23
So as we can see from that quick quiz that we've just ran through quickly, stigma in the workplace is still absolutely there.
16:30
People still feel like they can't be open in the workplace or can't talk to their line manager about it.
16:36
And equally, maybe knowing that their manager might not have the adequate training or skills can also be a massive barrier.
16:45
So now we've got Tim.
16:46
So we're going to hear from Tim quickly about his story with his mental health.
16:51
The only thing that ever gets anything done anywhere is people.
16:56
And so how those people are, how they feel, their energy, their well-being really, really matters.
17:03
My name is Tim Munden, I'm chief learning officer here at Unilever.
17:06
My job is all about human beings, about helping people be the very best they can be.
17:12
When it comes to stigma, I think people feel that sometimes having challenges with your mental health is a sign of failure or that it's something that doesn't happen to people like me and what we have to do is to try and help us all to understand that it can happen to anyone.
17:31
I started to realise a couple of years ago that things that I was experiencing myself might be signs of needing to get support.
17:40
I'd experienced nightmares for quite a number of years following an episode early in my life which which I almost died, but I didn't realise they were connected and so I'd gone through life experiencing these nightmares and thinking I was just part of who I am.
17:58
I was just a bit of a funny fellow in that way.
18:01
I was responding disproportionately to situations, particularly at work, and it would trigger a very strong emotional response.
18:09
I started to realise that I'd been hearing about post traumatic stress and maybe that's what I was experiencing.
18:16
The first thing I put on myself was not really wanting to think that I could have a thing that needed treatment and the second was being told to step out of work, which for me is, you know, it was a huge thing.
18:28
I had to do the right thing for me because I want other people to do the right thing for them.
18:32
And as someone responsible for managing well-being in a company, I also had to set an example.
18:40
The support I got coming back to work was fantastic.
18:44
I then was able to deal with the triggers in the workplace and I'm now in a really great place.
18:51
It was a journey I had to go on.
18:52
I of acknowledging that I needed to get help getting it, facing my fear of what people would think.
19:00
I'm coming through that much stronger, much healthier, much happier the OK.
19:16
So the role of the workplace in mental health and well-being is what we're going to start having a little look at now.
19:22
So why should you care as an employer?
19:25
Well, as you mentioned right at the beginning, there was a lot of care and attention around health and well-being, especially when we were going through the pandemic.
19:33
But what we find is that a lot of employers will sort of it's business as usual until something happens.
19:40
And what we where we come in is we want to try and get that preventative approach.
19:44
So put all the different mechanisms in place, nurture a really sort of positive and psychologically safe culture within which people then can come forward sooner if they feel that they are struggling.
19:57
And that could be with a, with physical health, mental health or both.
20:00
Because we do know that there is a tremendous link between the two.
20:05
But there are still quite a few employers that don't see this as a priority.
20:10
And we, if we think back to the first set of slides, when we looked pre pandemic, it was costing the UK economy around 45 billion.
20:19
That's estimated now to be around 64 billion each year, according to Deloitte.
20:24
And people in work spend a sort of the majority of their lives in their place of employment.
20:31
Now, that could be working from home, but it's at work and colleagues and line managers can provide a tremendous amount of support, whether that be just talking to somebody, adjusting how they work, you know, depending on what people are going through.
20:48
And stigma is reduced.
20:50
If we share those experiences, we show that little bit of vulnerability, but that vulnerability is still seen, sadly, as a weakness.
20:58
So as an employer, we really want to be nurturing those environments within which people can show up as their true selves and actually raise their head above the parabit and say, do you know what, I'm struggling at the moment because I don't think there's anybody in their life that never needs support from somebody.
21:15
You know, we always need, all of us need a little bit of support at some point in our lives.
21:20
And employers can really help in creating that environment where employees feel safe and confident enough to speak out a band where they're struggling and know then that they're going to get the right support without fear of discrimination, which is really, really important.
21:39
Now, if we look at the cost of not acting and not taking any of these measures, these are just a few on this slide, but you could actually the list is endless.
21:49
So there is lower productivity.
21:50
If you're not supporting your staff, you're not going to get the the productivity from them.
21:55
You're not going to get the loyalty.
21:57
You'll get an increased conflict of work.
22:00
You will get a higher turnover of staff.
22:02
You'll have lots of sickness days, or indeed, like we mentioned at the beginning, presenteeism.
22:08
And then the standard of work might suffer.
22:11
There's going to be poor morale in the team.
22:14
People are not going to feel motivated.
22:16
They're not going to want to contribute at work.
22:18
So the costs are tremendously high.
22:21
And if you think about people being your biggest asset with take your people away and you're not going to have a business because who's going to do it for you?
22:29
So it's super, super important that we look after the people that are working for us.
22:36
Yes.
22:36
Now moving on to the importance of psychological safety in the workplace.
22:40
This is our favourite topic.
22:41
It is certain.
22:44
Am I doing this birth?
22:45
I, I can do it.
22:46
So we'd like you to ask yourself these questions.
22:50
Have you ever witnessed something at work that just didn't sit right with you?
22:55
Did you voice your concern or keep it to yourself?
22:59
And how easy is it sharing feedback with your colleagues?
23:04
Just have a think about those questions for a moment.
23:14
So how you answered those questions will be largely dependent on the amount of psychological safety present in your team.
23:22
So if you voice concerns that that would hopefully demonstrate that you do feel psychologically safe within your team to raise concerns to share feedback with your colleagues.
23:34
If you don't feel able to do that, it might be the level of psychological safety that is at play here.
23:42
So psychological safety, it was around for years, It has been around for years and years and years.
23:49
And it's Amy Edmondson that actually linked it with sort of performance and productivity at work and how teams interact.
23:56
And it is a shared belief that I can bring my full self to work, that I will not be humiliated or made to feel less good about myself if I speak up with ideas, with questions, with concerns, and yes, even with mistakes.
24:10
So psychological safety in a nutshell, is being able to show up as your true self without the fear of any sort of repercussions if you put an idea forward or if you make a mistake, or if you want to contribute some different solutions and ideas to help solve a challenge.
24:30
Or indeed, if you're not in a good place that day, you know, being able to share that with your colleagues and your team really does play into the amount of psychological safety that you feel.
24:42
And psychological safety is super, super important for that feeling of belonging as well, which we'll go into in a little bit more detail.
24:51
So why is psychological safety so important, so rooted in the core of workplace culture?
24:56
Psychological safety plays a pivotal role in shaping employee well-being and fostering an atmosphere of collaboration and innovation.
25:06
So yes, psychological safety in the workplace is one of the most important drivers of employee motivation, engagement and productivity.
25:15
Employees who feel psychologically safe are more likely to have good really relationships with their peers and managers tend to go the extra mile to achieve great results of better team players and are unlikely to demonstrate quiet quitting behaviour as well.
25:30
When employees feel psychologically safe, they experience reduced stress levels, increased job satisfaction and a higher sense of belonging within their workplace community.
25:40
Furthermore, building the cultural psychological safety is a critical component for promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.
25:49
So now we just want you to say this is your first interactive exercise.
25:53
Actually, I should say, so we're wanting you to take some time, we're going to go away for about 5 minutes in a minute.
25:59
So we would like you to draw a circle on your pen and pen with your pen and paper, draw a circle and have a think about your team.
26:07
So what behaviours nurture psychologically psychological safety in your workplace at the moment?
26:13
Put those in the circle and then any behaviours that you don't want in the workplace or you've seen demonstrated that, you know, don't nurture that psychological safety, put outside the circle as well.
26:26
Yeah.
26:26
So I'll give you 5 minutes to do that.
31:40
OK, Fab, I hope you enjoyed just taking some time to think about how you can nurture psychological safety within your team.
31:48
So we thought we'd come back and feedback some of our ideas around what we think nurtures psychological safety and what doesn't.
31:57
So I'll start, I've always found that out easiest bit.
31:59
So the out behaviours, the things that we don't want to see within the workplace as much as possible, I think a massive 1 is gossiping.
32:07
So obviously going behind people's backs and starting rumours and things like that is never going to nurture a psychological safe, safe environment just because you never, you know, you feel as though there's no trust there and things get spread around.
32:21
So something else we talked about quite a lot is unpredictable behaviour and that inconsistency in management.
32:27
So by that we kind of mean, I know sometimes, often managers can be really stressed and actually they aren't, they aren't maybe they aren't aware of how kind of some days can be.
32:40
Well, they are aware of the fact that some days may be more stressful than others and actually it's affecting their mood.
32:46
And actually for you as an employee and you feel like you're walking on egg shells some of the time and you're not sure what kind of manager you're going to receive that day, which can be really difficult, especially if you are struggling or needing some support and then you feel unable to approach on my line manager to receive that support.
33:06
So actually that inconsistency can be really challenging.
33:11
Another really kind of I guess quick win we as we like to say is so a lack of visibility with managers.
33:20
So actually not senior manager very often can also be another barrier to feeling psychologically safe and able to approach them If to even it like say, admit you've, you've made a mistake and you need some support or actually you're struggling with your mental health and not seeing your manager very often obviously doesn't nurture a relationship together with the team.
33:42
And then another thing that we see all too often is poor communication within teams.
33:47
So I think sometimes, yeah, we just forget to communicate things.
33:53
And then actually the rumours start of people jumping to their own conclusion.
33:57
So things like if there's a redundancy scheme and actually making sure that the message is clear.
34:04
And also often I think it ends up that we find out about something after the fact rather than being included and our voices are heard around the changes that have been implemented.
34:16
How can they approach us and how can in within an organisation, how can we share our opinions that might actually help inform the changes?
34:25
And oftentimes, you know, we'll become with questions.
34:30
So the actually the management haven't even thought about that could actually make the change and transition a lot smoother some of the time.
34:40
So yeah, I would say core communication is one of the biggest ones that we see.
34:45
And it's the lack of communication or even if you've got as a management team, even if you've got nothing to communicate, communicate that, especially if you're going through a change and that's lack of communication.
34:59
And like you said, Jen, sort of putting a main message out to the whole team via e-mail rather than consulting with those that it's going to directly impact first can really sort of undermine that psychological safety.
35:13
So communication is absolutely key, I would say.
35:16
Yeah, absolutely.
35:18
So in the ends, we've now got emotional intelligence.
35:22
So sometimes I think be you know, people being able to read the room as a manager or as a, you know, somebody seeming a bit different or it's quite quiet and reserved one day being able to just pick up on those signals and kind of adapt accordingly really and feeling able able to share ideas with your team.
35:44
So at team meetings and feeling able, everybody as well, no matter who they are within the organisation, feeling, feeling able and like they won't be shot down if they bring ideas and it's a team meeting around that as well as kind of that equal voice.
36:02
Obviously we all bring different perspectives.
36:03
So actually being mindful of how with each different perspective we might learn something new or think about something differently, something else around sharing those ideas.
36:12
So to create an environment where you feel able to share ideas is we would talk about ways of working.
36:18
So at the start of team meetings, how can we create a good environment in a team meeting?
36:25
So I know sometimes we do it when we're running workshops where we'll get everybody to contribute how they will create a psychological safe environment.
36:34
What are the ground rules for the meeting?
36:37
How do we share feedback well and how also how do we challenge as well on the back of that as well and can be a really good way to start.
36:45
And so for those ways of working as well, another in is actually having team meetings, having regular check in with your team and creating that time where you can have an understanding of every everybody's workload, what's going on for everybody as well.
36:59
And then I think as well something that we often is easily forgotten and work is actually taking time away from the day-to-day work and actually getting to know each other better.
37:10
So with the way days and socials as a group, inclusive socials as well, and just yeah, getting to know each other and then that investment into the team as well.
37:22
Another thing as well is having different ways to suggest ideas.
37:25
So actually say, if you are in a team meeting and there's going to be a time where you're going to discuss specific ideas around something new, perhaps let people know ahead of time before they come to the meeting.
37:37
So they have time if they want to, to think and prepare what they want to say.
37:41
And also different ways of collecting those ideas, making it clear that, you know, people can send teams message or an e-mail if they don't feel comfortable speaking up in in front of everybody, if that's just not their preference as well.
37:55
And then really importantly lastly is that ability to listen.
37:58
So being able to listen to and everybody and actually using active listening skills, and I know we're all guilty of it of kind of sometimes we'll be sit tapping away on our computers and we're trying to listen, but actually sometimes it's better just to close your laptop and give somebody a full attention.
38:16
And they'll definitely notice the difference if you do.
38:20
Yeah.
38:20
Being more present in the workplace.
38:23
And this is a really good exercise that you can do with your teams as well.
38:27
So you can ask them to sit down as like Jen says, looking at those ways of working.
38:31
What behaviours do we want to nurture within a team that really helped to create that psychologically safe environment?
38:38
And which behaviours do we want out?
38:40
And this can be a really nice exercise to do with everybody.
38:42
So it's like a bit of a team agreement around ways of working.
38:46
And Jen and I do quite an interactive workshop around psychological safety as well, so we can delve a little bit deeper and give you lots more practical tools as well into how you would nurture psychological safety within your your team.
39:02
OK, so the four stages of psychological safety now as with culture within an organisation, it's really, you can't change a culture overnight.
39:14
It takes time.
39:14
It's like a dripping tap.
39:17
And likewise, psychological safety cannot just be created.
39:21
So the four stages of psychological safety were developed by Doctor Timothy Clark and he's, he's got a really, really well, good couple of books actually around the four stages of psychological safety.
39:32
And this really defines the path to innovation and inclusion.
39:37
And you'll notice here that it's, it isn't all built at once.
39:43
So employees have to sort of progress through the following four stages before they feel that really comfortable to make a valuable contribution.
39:53
Now these aren't linear stages, you know, you can go back.
39:56
So what's, you know, when we go through these 4 stages, what's really important to understand is actually you could really get to stage 4 where everyone's feeling really, really able and safe to challenge and to give constructive feedback and to put ideas forward.
40:10
But then sort of one wrong move can undermine all of that hard work.
40:15
And take you back to sort of inclusion safety or learner safety.
40:18
So you know, all those behaviours where we put an out circle outside the circle.
40:23
So things like gossiping could completely undermine this.
40:27
So just keep that in mind as we go through.
40:30
So stage 1 is that inclusion safety, Can I be my authentic self at work now?
40:37
Inclusion safety satisfies our basic human need to connect and belong.
40:44
So if we think about Maslow's hierarchy of need, or indeed Patrick Relencioni's dysfunctions of a team, or we like to say the effective components of the the components of an effective team included, it's all about that feeling of belonging.
41:02
It's an intrinsic human motivation.
41:05
And when you get inclusion safety, this is where you feel safe to be yourself and you're accepted for who you are.
41:13
And that includes your unique attributes and characteristics.
41:18
So if you've come from a workplace, a different workplace, and it's about getting those skills, your team, learning about what are your specific skills and characteristics that add to the, the sort of the rich nutrients of the team.
41:32
So that's inclusion safety.
41:34
Then we move on to learn a safety and that satisfies our human need to learn and grow.
41:40
And in this stage, you would feel safe to exchange in the learning process by asking questions, giving and receiving feedback, experimenting with things and yeah, making mistakes.
41:53
So it's OK to make mistakes.
41:55
We're all human and that's where we're in that learner's safety zone.
42:00
We then move on to stage 3, which is our contribute to safety.
42:04
And this is where we ask ourselves, can I really create value here in my place of work?
42:09
And that satisfies our need to make a difference.
42:12
You know it when you ask a lot of people why they do the job they do, it's to make a difference or to make a change or to make this more effective.
42:19
It's a real human need.
42:21
And during this phase, you would feel safe to use your skills, your abilities, your knowledge to make those meaningful contributions to the team.
42:29
And that would then obviously once you've got their belonging, you've learnt, and then you're actually creating value.
42:36
You're going to feel so much more motivated, loyal, feel like you've got a voice, all those sorts of things which actually are all components of an effective team and will give you results.
42:47
And then finally, stage 4 is the Challenger Safety.
42:51
So Challenger Safety satisfies the need to make things better and this is where you would feel safe to speak up and challenge.
43:00
And that means challenge anybody.
43:01
So quite often what we see is in organisations with a hierarchy, there is a fear of challenging, perhaps a suggestion or an idea from the top or there is a fear of questioning that when actually that's really, really healthy and that helps nurture that feeling with psychological safety.
43:19
So what we want to do is actually agree ways of working again, but a great and effective and constructive way of how do you challenge each other?
43:30
How do you challenge so that it's not seen as a personal attack as once you get to that stage, that's you working as effectively as you possibly can do as part of a team.
43:41
But like I mentioned in in the beginning, and I'm thinking of a situation where perhaps a company might be going through a significant change.
43:49
Everyone feels that they can be open about it, they can make mistakes, they can give feedback within a team, but the senior leadership team decide to release some comms to the whole team before actually speaking to the team.
44:06
It directly impacts that would undermine the feeling of psychological safety.
44:11
If we think what is it impact going to be on that team?
44:14
They're going to feel like they don't really matter.
44:17
They're going to feel like they're just one in a hole with a number of employees.
44:21
There's no respect, they're not valued, they're not, you know, their ideas don't matter.
44:27
And that can completely undermine all of the great work you've been doing to nurture that psychological safety.
44:33
So it's really important to just have the understanding that even though you might feel like you're psychologically safe, if you then let those behaviours outside of the circle creeping, it can absolutely undermine that level of psychological safety within a workplace.
44:52
OK.
44:53
And that's just a slide basically resetting everything I've just told you.
44:56
So it's just a nice reference point, but it's a nice one to go through with your team as well and to check in.
45:03
And as I say, Jen and I deliver a workshop around the different stages of psychological safety and there's different interactive exercises you can do at each stage, which will help measure and at least get a baseline for where your team is starting at.
45:20
Okie, dokie.
45:21
So we've just put you some top tips here in another fabulous infographic by Jen.
45:26
So these are some top tips for creating a psychologically safe environment.
45:31
So create that open and trusting environment.
45:35
So that can include things like once, once with your manager, open forums for sharing ideas, all those good things.
45:42
Language matters.
45:44
So make sure everyone feels valued.
45:46
And this can be done by everyone, including leaders.
45:49
It can, you know, openly say sorry, sharing some vulnerability, thanking people, asking for help, initiating conversations, all those sorts of things can help to create that psychologically safe environment.
46:05
Tail your actions to your organisation.
46:08
So here, you know, you really do need to consider the specific needs of your organisation.
46:13
Understand what does your culture look like and are there any sort of specific barriers for your staff?
46:20
This also applies on an interpersonal level as well.
46:23
So have a little look at OK, how often are your staff meeting with their line managers?
46:27
Are there any barriers there?
46:30
Growth mindset.
46:31
This is something we explore a lot in our management training and it's far better to have a growth mindset than a fixed mindset.
46:40
So when we make mistakes, rather than holding somebody over the Coles and pointing the finger of blame, see it as a learning opportunity because people don't make mistakes on purpose 99% of the time.
46:53
There's always a reason for a mistake, whether that be lack of training, being left unsupervised, not feeling confident enough, all those sorts of things.
47:02
There's always something behind a mistake.
47:04
So see it as a learning opportunity and leaders really should role model this by being open about their mistakes, showing that bit of vulnerability, and then role modelling how they get over that, how they see it as an opportunity and how it's used to review a process or the procedure.
47:22
And we are big advocates for demonstrating compassionate and inclusive leadership.
47:27
This is so, so important and I would say one of the key components for creating a psychologically safe environment.
47:34
So listen to your colleagues, listen to your staff, show that you understand that you act on that feedback.
47:42
There is nothing worse than being sent a survey as an employee send completing it and then nothing happens with the results.
47:51
Or you don't hear a dicky bird about, OK, well, what's going to happen as a result of me filling that survey in?
47:57
If you're, you know, if you're open and demonstrate growth mindset yourself, then you can expect a similar pattern of behaviour from your team as well.
48:06
I guess another big one is tackling bullying and workplace harassment through education.
48:11
We see a lot of organisations where things could have been nipped in the bud a lot sooner rather than them escalating and getting to the point where people are in disciplinaries.
48:21
It's about setting clear expectations for that respectful behaviour in the workplace.
48:27
Now many might sit here and think, well surely that's common sense and we're all adults.
48:32
You would be surprised.
48:33
I'm sure we've all got workplaces where we've been previously where the behaviour's been not so great and quite a toxic environment.
48:42
You know, if that's not nipped in the bud early, that can then sort of brilliant.
48:47
And that's the, you know, completely undermine the psychological safety within your team.
48:52
Accountability is another one.
48:55
So whether you are witness to anything to bless you microaggressions or whether you see somebody acting out to somebody else and you think, well that's not quite right.
49:06
Having accountability, speaking out about that is really vital to speak up and challenge because if we don't, we're actually enabling that behaviour to continue.
49:17
So that's where allyship can come in.
49:19
So strong employee network groups that really provide a safe space for people to talk about different challenges.
49:26
Obviously policies are important, so there needs to be workplace support in place to report bullying, harassment, all of those things.
49:36
But actually what I would say is that having policies that are just on the shelf collecting dust, you may as well not have them.
49:43
They need to be lived and breathed within an organisation.
49:46
So it's really important to have a policy that's embedded within the culture.
49:51
And finally, you know, use the ABC model.
49:54
Ask, ask your staff what does it feel like?
49:56
What does it sound like?
49:58
Benchmark, where are you now?
50:01
And consider the element of difference in power in an organisation.
50:05
So we can absolutely support with that process.
50:08
And as I say, we come in and deliver lots and lots of workshops, and we'll talk more about how we might support you with that process a little bit later on.
50:17
Okie, Dokie.
50:19
So one of the biggies is starting a conversation to reduce stigma.
50:25
So as we saw by the quiz at the beginning that Jen took us through, there is still a tremendous amount of stigma around mental health in the workplace in particular.
50:34
So imagine if somebody is struggling, how are you going to encourage them to open up?
50:41
Having a psychologically safe working environment is absolutely imperative, but also how they are received.
50:47
When they do raise concerns, that also has a massive impact and it can either support somebody or it can completely undermine and become a huge barrier for that person.
50:58
There's a lot of misconception that you need a special set of skills to be able to have a conversation around mental health when you absolutely do not.
51:06
You don't have to be a trained counsellor, you don't need to have all the answers, you don't need to know all around different mental health conditions.
51:14
Absolutely not.
51:16
All you need to do is listen and then know where to signpost to.
51:21
It's actually really, really disempowering if you do impose solutions on people because we're all experts in our own lives.
51:29
So even if we're in quite an emotional state and we might not feel like experts in our own lives, we are and it's the other person's died in there just to find our solution.
51:38
Yeah, absolutely.
51:39
So a bit of guidance, listening, sort of asking questions like what what have you tried before?
51:46
What she support network like just inquiring, listening, and then having in your back pocket places where you can signpost to is really, really important.
51:58
And as we've seen, employees are really scared to tell their manager about a mental health problem.
52:06
And we all know that if we nip things in the bud earlier, they won't hopefully escalate.
52:11
And it actually by having conversations early doors, it may prevent somebody from going off sick from your workplace.
52:19
And by supporting somebody in effective way, what does that do to psychological safety?
52:26
Absolutely.
52:28
And improves it.
52:29
It absolutely supports the psychologically safe culture and environment within which you are trying to nurture.
52:37
So one scenario could be that somebody comes to you as a manager, they've plucked up the courage to come and speak to you about an issue, something that's challenging them at the moment.
52:49
And you sit there and say, well, you've got 5 minutes.
52:52
So and I'm going to, you're going to have to be quick and because I've got a meeting to go to.
52:57
What is how that how you've responded?
52:59
What is that going to do to that person's self esteem?
53:03
What's it going to do to encourage them to speak out again?
53:08
It's just going to be a massive, massive barrier and they're going to think, oh gosh, I won't bother and straight away worry about it themselves.
53:17
On the flip side, if you're a manager that says, OK, I've got, you know, by all means, if you've got other things to do, I've got a meeting now, but let's pop some time in the diary at like 3:30 and we can go for a coffee and have a really good conversation.
53:30
That is far more supportive than being dismissive or by saying things like, oh, we're all stressed at the moment, so we just need to get our heads down and crack on.
53:41
Not helpful because everybody deals with stress and pressure very, very differently and we explore this and unpick it a lot, lot more in one of our workshops, particularly around the managers role in starting conversations.
53:55
So as a manager, as an organisation, we need to be sending a really clear signal to staff that their mental health matters and that they are going to be supported and listened to if they raise anything.
54:10
And really mental health should be treated in exactly the same way as physical health because we wouldn't think twice about putting reasonable adjustments in place for somebody who had broken the leg.
54:20
So somebody who might be struggling with anxiety, why would we not have a similar conversation?
54:26
There's still lots of myths around conversations.
54:29
So we feel like we are going to make things worse.
54:33
We feel we're going to say the wrong thing.
54:35
Ideas in people's head is another big one.
54:37
Yeah, ideas in their head.
54:39
So we want to show you now this short video by the Samaritans.
54:44
If you go on to Samaritans well-being in the workplace, there is like a mini online training which is really, really good around why it's so, so important to have those conversations.
55:02
After I had the conversation with my manager, Adrian, it was a mixture of emotions.
55:10
There was a significant amount of relief that that someone else knew what was happening to me.
55:22
There was a fair amount of fear because I think it meant that I was having to face something that I'd been ignoring to the best of my abilities was happening.
55:37
But overwhelmingly, I think it was a relief that that perhaps there was an end to this or that there was a way out, that there was a way to make it stop.
56:17
I'd work through lunches, I'd get home later, I'd work pretty much every evening.
56:23
You don't always say what the cost is, what the personal cost is.
56:30
There was this constant sensation of just trying to get by.
56:34
I was overwhelmed by everything that was going on.
56:36
I just really was wanting to keep everything under control and fix everything myself and and the reality is that I couldn't.
57:00
I think if I look back on on good things that I've done, that's probably one of the best because I was, I was in an absolute state, I was suicidal and I was really not coping.
57:18
And I think it would have been very easy to just give up at that point.
57:25
And I think what Adrian did was make me realise that there was help.
57:40
I don't know how, if he realises how important it was to me and what a difference it made.
58:02
I think that's so, so important because sadly, Jen and I, we hear and see a lot of workplaces that, you know, even though it's, you know, it's entirely that other person's decision around, you know, what action they take.
58:20
Workplaces sit there and say, oh, but we could have intervened.
58:23
We knew he was struggling or we did.
58:25
We don't want to be having those conversations with ourselves.
58:28
You know, we want to be there saying, you know, we did everything that possibly could.
58:33
I mean, ultimately it's that that individual's choice.
58:36
It's that, you know, to take whatever action they feel.
58:40
But actually as an employer, we have a responsibility.
58:42
We have a duty of care that once we're aware or we've got suspicion of somebody who's not coping or not or is struggling with something, then we've got a duty of care to sort of support.
58:53
We wouldn't do if we were made aware that somebody had got a broken leg or we have a duty of care to make reasonable adjustments.
59:02
Why can't the same be this be said for mental health concerns?
59:06
We all struggle at some stage.
59:08
And so actually having a conversation doesn't mean sitting there with a whole list of questions and diagnosing anybody or being an expert in depression, bipolar or anything like that.
59:19
Simply asking somebody, how are you?
59:22
And if you're not convinced that they are OK, even when they say I'm fine, sort of say, well, you know, I don't think you are.
59:28
You seem to be struggling, and I want to support you.
59:32
Yeah.
59:33
And some people may climb up.
59:34
They might not want to talk.
59:36
So actually having that initial conversation and you know, even going for a walk with somebody and walking side by side with them is less confrontational than sort of sitting across the desk and saying right, what, you know, what's the matter?
59:47
You don't see me self.
59:50
And we would always encourage people to just listen when people offload, rather than fire loads and loads of questions, just listen.
59:58
Let them get it off their chest.
1:00:00
Many say that they witnessed somebody like going like this with their shoulders and you can see the relief once they have got it off their chest.
1:00:09
But you know, so have that initial conversation with them, just let them vent.
1:00:15
But then Wellness action plans are a really, really good tool.
1:00:18
Do you want to?
1:00:20
Yes, And apologies, I've just noticed these slides aren't quite right.
1:00:23
We've put identifying triggers and support strategies 3 times.
1:00:27
But really important, yeah, yeah, really, really.
1:00:30
Well, it is.
1:00:30
It's kind of what Wellness Action Plan supports.
1:00:32
So they're a fabulous resource created by mind.
1:00:35
And as you can see from the little pictures we put on, there's three different kinds to suit kind of what the style of working might be.
1:00:42
So for working remotely hybrid and then in the workplace as well.
1:00:47
So, and the whole idea of a Wellness Action Plan actually is.
1:00:51
So say after you've had that initial conversation with someone, it could be, you could bring up, have you seen a Wellness action plan before?
1:00:59
And it's a tool that they can then use actually to take away and have a look at it.
1:01:05
And it's got questions like when do I work best?
1:01:08
What are my preferred communication styles?
1:01:11
How do I like to receive feedback?
1:01:14
It's kind of all different questions around how, what is that optimal kind of performance at work and how can we help them perform the best?
1:01:23
And then actually as well, on the flip side of that, what could be those signs that they're struggling and in the workplace and who is their support network?
1:01:32
So it's kind of like to help you understand as a colleague what you can do to help them work well and then how to support them if they are struggling.
1:01:43
So the way that we tend to suggest using these I've just touched on is around kind of having that initial conversation with somebody and then saying, well, actually would you be interested in kind of completing a Wellness action plan?
1:01:54
And then you can, you could say to the person, you know, why don't you go away with that Wellness action plan?
1:02:00
We can print one off together and you can take a look at those questions and then when you feel ready and like you've had some time to look at it, then we can come back together and actually complete it together.
1:02:09
If that's the easiest thing for you.
1:02:11
And if you've got some initial ideas, absolutely write those down and then we can look at those together.
1:02:15
And then you have a copy of that one is action plan and their manager should have that copy too.
1:02:20
And, and normally it is the manager that does this actually.
1:02:24
So as their manager say, and you can you say, is it all right if I have a copy of your Wellness action plan, you can have a copy too.
1:02:31
So you've both got a copy of that and then you can kind of bring that in and be mindful of say how they had want feedback and the kind of their preferred ways of working.
1:02:44
And then actually when they've written that, say well why don't we see how this goes for say two weeks or a month and we can come back together and then set a date in the diary whilst you together and say we'll come and review it at this point to see how you're getting on.
1:02:58
And if there are things that are working at that next meeting or if there are things that aren't and actually adapting that and saying what can we try instead that might work better?
1:03:07
And then you can go away and with those new changes and then have that meeting later on once they've made those changes and see if they work.
1:03:15
There's a few bits really important.
1:03:17
So important because I think what we do is these remind me a little bit of back to work interviews.
1:03:22
So we stick, we think, oh, you know, it's a form filling exercise.
1:03:25
We'll just do it and then it's forgotten about.
1:03:28
So I think what I like about Wellness Action plans is that it's a live document.
1:03:33
And like you said, Jen, that the individual completes it and then gets back together with the manager to talk about the support.
1:03:40
One thing I would say as well is if you've got AHR department, and this is entirely up to you, if the individual is happy for a copy to be kept on file.
1:03:50
Because if ever you as the manager weren't there, you'd still want that support to be continued.
1:03:55
And you'd want the sort of new manager if you'd like to be aware of what support and Wellness action plan was in place.
1:04:01
But as I say, it's not, it's not mandatory.
1:04:04
It's just another thing that just came to my head.
1:04:06
But I think I like the fact that it's a live document and it's a good way of monitoring that person's mood level and knowing when to perhaps intervene a little bit more or get additional support in for them, refer them on to an occupational health or cancer or anything like that.
1:04:24
But it's done together.
1:04:26
That's what I really like.
1:04:29
OK, so with that in mind and conversations and you know, trying to get information out of people and then be able to support them effectively, we've got 2 case studies that we would like you to have a look at.
1:04:44
So the first one is Emma.
1:04:47
Do you want me to read?
1:04:48
Yes, please do say my voice.
1:04:50
But yeah.
1:04:51
So Emma has been working in an office based company for two years as an administrative assistant.
1:04:57
She's 21 years old and still lives at home with her parents.
1:05:00
She is a conscient consciousness worker, conscientious worker, always arriving at work on time, very much team layer and her work is to a high standard.
1:05:12
The company have recently won a big contract which has increased her workload and hours considerably for several staff, including Emma.
1:05:20
She's saving for a deposit on a house with her boyfriend and therefore welcome the extra hours.
1:05:24
However, the demands at work have been going on for approximately 2 months now and over the last week Emma's line manager has noticed that she doesn't appear to be herself.
1:05:34
Emma seems tired and lethargic, not her usual bubbly self, and is working through her lunch breaks.
1:05:39
So, as her line manager, you've picked up on these changes and So what are your main observations of Emma?
1:05:46
What are your main concerns?
1:05:48
How would you approach an initial conversation with Emma keeping in mind that Wellness action plan maybe And what support could you offer her as well?
1:05:58
So I'll give you 5 minutes to have a think about those questions.
1:11:34
OK.
1:11:35
So hopefully you've had enough time to think about that first case study.
1:11:39
So we've just captured a few things that we would do.
1:11:41
Yes.
1:11:42
So main observations.
1:11:43
So obviously the changing in working patterns, skipping lunch and then the change, Emma's was it Emma?
1:11:50
Yeah, yeah, Emma's change in mood and energy as well, yeah, were quite significant to us.
1:11:57
And then the main concerns were obviously it's, it's not a sustainable way of working and it's, you know, without changing mood and energy, She's, she doesn't seem like herself and how she would normally be in presenting work as well.
1:12:13
So having that initial conversation we've put as a manager, you know, you could schedule a check in, discuss how she is managing the extra work.
1:12:22
And, you know, if she doesn't come forward and say she's not, she's struggling and not doing very well, then actually you're able to share kind of your observations, talking about those main observations that we've noticed around those changes in her herself and the working pattern in the mood and ask, you know, is that any way I can help?
1:12:42
Is that anyway I might be able to take some work from you?
1:12:46
What is it, That's what is it you're struggling with and work?
1:12:48
Is there any specific tasks that are more challenging than other than others?
1:12:53
And could we delegate those out to other people's kind of share that workload more evenly and really reiterate in that she's a valued member of the team and you want to help where possible as well.
1:13:04
And then like we mentioned earlier with the Wellness action plans, actually it's really important to not just have one meeting and that's it, but maybe whilst you're together with MSA, let's schedule a later meeting to check in how you're doing in two weeks, once if we've delegated some work, see how that's going and seeing if actually redelegating that to other people has improved, has improved how you're feeling as well.
1:13:29
I think another good one as well, one that's just come to mind is to sort of, I think as a manager, to reiterate the importance of taking breaks, having lunch.
1:13:38
And I think that then throws up the fact that as managing we need to be in that as well and taking our lunch.
1:13:45
And which can sometimes be easier said than done.
1:13:48
But I think with with Emma, you know, she's so conscientious.
1:13:52
She's yes, she's trying to earn more money, all the rest of it and get the work done, but re emphasising to it, not to the detriment of her health and well-being.
1:14:03
And that's really important.
1:14:05
And it's about sort of reiterating the fact that she's not she's not failing.
1:14:09
It's not that she can't cope or anything like that, but actually let's have a look at how we're managing this workload.
1:14:16
And if you're having to skip lunch and it's having an impact on your mood and your energy, then something's not right because that cop that's not sustainable.
1:14:24
So I think it's about having that really open conversation and and then like Jen said, if actually been like a week or two weeks time, you know, and then if you feel, I think at that stage of Wellness action Club might because it might be not what you've thought and Emma might come to that conversation and say, well, actually it's this, this and this that's having an impact.
1:14:46
There might be something going on outside of work.
1:14:48
So I think until you have that conversation, you can't make those assumptions and you don't know the full picture.
1:14:55
But the most important thing is to check it and listen.
1:14:59
Yeah, and listening, definitely.
1:15:02
OK, so we've got another case study for you about Brian.
1:15:07
Yeah, so I'll read it again and then we'll give you around 5 minutes to have a think about this and then we'll give you kind of our main takeaways and what we think.
1:15:16
So Brian is, is a 50 year old senior manager in a corporate firm.
1:15:20
He has been married for 25 years and has three children, one of whom, his oldest eldest daughter, has recently left home to go to university.
1:15:28
Two children still live at home and are involved in several out of school activities and his wife works part time in school so she provides a taxi service to and from activities.
1:15:39
Brian is a conscientious worker who has been with the company for 30 years.
1:15:43
He is looked up to by a number of younger managers and is ultimately responsible for contract management in the company.
1:15:51
Last week Brian worked until late every night 9:00 PM and was first in the office at 7:00 AM each morning.
1:15:57
He doesn't appear to be taking any breaks and has become short tempered with colleagues.
1:16:01
1 colleague asked.
1:16:02
One colleague asked Brian if there was anything bothering him, to which he replied I just can't do this anymore, it's too much.
1:16:09
His colleagues spoke to their line manager and passed on his concerns.
1:16:13
So as Brian's line manager, what are your main observations again of Brian?
1:16:17
What are your main concerns?
1:16:19
How would you approach an an initial conversation with Brian and what support could you offer him as well?
1:16:25
So again, 5 minutes, have a think, maybe drop some down some ideas and then feedback.
1:20:14
Okie, Dokie, we've captured some thoughts as well.
1:20:19
Yeah.
1:20:19
So our main observations was obviously, I think kind of the main concern was the kind of more Brian being more agitated and actually the way he spoke to a colleague seeming quite distressed.
1:20:33
So and so, yeah, more agitated, facing external pressures at home with, you know, changing family dynamics that are going on.
1:20:42
Also the working, you know, like 10 hours a day, so changing working hours and patterns and also not taking breaks throughout the day.
1:20:50
I mean, yeah, just not good.
1:20:53
His change in mood and energy and that response he gave to a colleague as well.
1:20:58
So the main concern is the change of behaviour and response he gave to the colleague again.
1:21:03
So as the manager, our initial conversation would be, you know, starting a casual and relaxed conversation in the right environment and maybe leaving the office and going to a coffee shop or somewhere that's where you won't be overheard perhaps by those colleagues.
1:21:20
And actually it's just casual and as a check in.
1:21:24
So and then asking Brian how he's feeling and if he doesn't open up, say again that some people have noticed behaviour at work and seen a shift in him.
1:21:35
And that's what that that bit was.
1:21:37
Don't say that.
1:21:38
But so you wouldn't say so and so is coming.
1:21:41
Oh, sorry.
1:21:41
Yeah, don't worry.
1:21:43
So you wouldn't go and say, oh, so and so has just come and said that.
1:21:47
You seem a bit grumpy.
1:21:50
It's part, I think there, it's around you make that you've made observations rather than going and making somebody else, because otherwise that could think, Brian could think, oh, somebody's been talking about me behind my back, which may add to the sort of agitation and just sort of come back and say, you know, if you if you're struggling because you don't steam yourself, then you know, it's a it's a busy time at work with lots and lots of pressures.
1:22:18
We can absolutely support.
1:22:20
We can divvy up the work.
1:22:21
And I think another good way you said about starting that casual conversation, perhaps don't even go in with that straight away, but ask how his daughter is getting on at university and start some chit chat there, because that's a pressure.
1:22:34
I know what my mum and dad are like.
1:22:35
When I went to uni, my mum was crying in the car because she didn't want it.
1:22:39
And then my dad was just more worried about being able to pay the bills and God knows what else.
1:22:44
So I think starting with that and checking in rather than than going straight in with the yeah, exactly.
1:22:52
You don't want to be doing, you know, so and so said that this would be yeah, this is an issue or you've snapped with this.
1:22:59
However, saying that, I think rightly so, John, you've said the main concern is the response he gave to that colleague.
1:23:09
So if you're.
1:23:11
Yeah, When you speak to Brian and he's perhaps quite low, he may sort of be saying, do you know what?
1:23:18
I'm really, yeah, I am.
1:23:19
I'm really struggling or no, I don't feel myself knowing that how he's responded to that colleague.
1:23:26
It might be worth saying.
1:23:27
OK, So what thoughts are you having then?
1:23:29
What?
1:23:30
What do you mean by the fact you can't, you don't feel you can cope and dig a little bit deeper with that because it's not.
1:23:35
You're not going to be, as Jen says, you know, you're not going to be putting ideas in somebody's head.
1:23:40
You're not going to be.
1:23:41
But it's about asking those direct questions because when somebody turns around and says I just can't do this anymore, what does that mean for them?
1:23:49
Yeah.
1:23:49
And not to be frightened around digging for that, but making sure as well, if you are concerned for Brian that you've got, you know, that you can, yeah, get a mental health first data and get get their advice of where to signpost to.
1:24:04
There's the crisis T, there's mental health helplines.
1:24:07
There's loads and loads of different, you know, you can support Brian in making a phone call to his GP.
1:24:13
There's loads and loads of things that you can do.
1:24:15
But like, these are just two very short case studies.
1:24:18
We go into a lot more detail around what you could do as your responsibilities as a manager in a lot of our workshops.
1:24:26
But yeah, I think the response given to the colleague at that point, you may need to sort of say, yeah, somebody mentioned that you said you couldn't cope this anymore.
1:24:35
I want to understand more about that.
1:24:37
We want to be able to support you and not to be frightened to say that, you know, and to reassure Brian in that way.
1:24:45
So that's always a good one.
1:24:47
It's quite complex and and these case studies are quite so they are general.
1:24:51
So until you have that conversation, you know, more might come out, but it's just to sort of get you started thinking.
1:24:58
OK, so yeah, so we talked about the Wellness Action Plan.
1:25:02
Another fabulous resource that we all have access to is Every Mind Matters.
1:25:07
So you might not have heard of this before, but it's based, it's the first national mental health campaign from Public Health England housing kind of expert advice and practical tips to achieve good mental health.
1:25:19
And so it's an online tool and as you can see here, there's a link.
1:25:23
So that will take you straight to it.
1:25:27
And it's basically like an online quiz where it asks you a few questions and what are you saying?
1:25:33
How are you feeling at the moment?
1:25:35
It will ask you questions like that to help you deal with stress, boost your mood, improve your sleep and feel more in control.
1:25:42
And from how you answer, basically it will give you like kind of trying to think like kind of like an action plan of ways you could look at improving again, you're sleeping, boosting your mood and stress as well.
1:25:55
But it's a really good kind of tool to have you talk it as well.
1:25:59
Suggest that other people, if they're maybe struggling with mental health and don't know where to start, that could be a starting point for them.
1:26:05
I always think it's good practise to because we always try to get people to be well or in the 1st place, do not get to that stage where they feel they're struggling.
1:26:14
So I always suggest perhaps everybody completing this.
1:26:18
It takes that couple of minutes.
1:26:20
5 very quick questions.
1:26:22
You do this once a month and it's just a way of checking in with yourself and how you feeling so that you can nip it in the wood if you start to see things Peter off a little bit.
1:26:30
It's really good and there's tonnes of resources on that website so it's a really, really good one.
1:26:36
All mental health and aiders.
1:26:38
So this.
1:26:40
So obviously in a lot of organisations there are mental health first aiders.
1:26:44
So I don't know if you have mental health first aiders in your organisation, but yeah, they're basically the equivalent of physical first aid.
1:26:55
So.
1:26:56
So the course is equipped to give people skills, knowledge and confidence to recognise signs and symptoms of common mental health issues and effectively sign face to person to further support.
1:27:06
So the Mental Health First Aid course has been developed with input from clinical experts and those with lived experience and are delivered by a community of instructor members.
1:27:16
Courses are suitable for staff from all workplaces.
1:27:19
So there's, as you can see from our little list there, there's a variety of different courses and they're a really great resource to have in your organisation.
1:27:30
Yeah, I mean, I've done the course myself and it was really great to have a good understanding of kind of the different symptoms and signs that somebody might be struggling with their mental health.
1:27:41
And actually it means that then say somebody approaches you that struggling in work and you are able to sign post and gain extra support from a Mental Health First data if you have them in your organisation.
1:27:54
And I think, yeah, they're just a great resource to have as well.
1:27:57
I think it's the two day, it's the two day course that gets you accredited.
1:28:03
That's right as a mental health First data and then you could do you do have to do a refresher every three years just to make it click.
1:28:11
Mental health first aiders are there to listen and blind posts are not there as counsellors.
1:28:17
And likewise it's not, you know, if if you've got mental health first aiders, it's not just about a tick box exercise yet we've got mental health first aiders.
1:28:24
That's it.
1:28:25
How are they being used?
1:28:26
You know, have they got are they getting ongoing support?
1:28:29
And that's something Jen and Ioffer through the supporting supporters network.
1:28:33
So if you have got mental health first aiders, you know, get them signed up to our support the Supporters network because it provides ongoing support, training, advice, signposting resources.
1:28:44
Because otherwise mental health first aiders do the two day training and then let out into the workplace and then they don't have to do a refresher for like another three years.
1:28:52
So we've noticed that that's a bit of a gap and that ongoing support is really needed.
1:28:57
So mental health facilities are amazing to have in your organisation, but please do not see it as a a tick box exercise.
1:29:04
It's utilising them really, really well.
1:29:07
Absolutely.
1:29:10
OK, oops.
1:29:12
Nearly.
1:29:13
Oh, Kirk, we love Kurt.
1:29:16
So we're just going and in the morning and sorry, Kirk, we're just going to show you this very short video just before we go into a little bit more detail about the work Health hub.
1:29:25
I always like to leave the last word to Kirk because ultimately it is about coming to work and leaving work as happy and as healthy as you possibly can do.
1:29:35
So have a listen.
1:29:37
You think to yourself, why am I here?
1:29:40
And then you go home and you feel physically sick because you didn't know what you were going to walk into.
1:29:48
My name is Kirk Robinson.
1:29:49
I'm an associate director within Mace.
1:29:52
In my role is making sure everybody goes home the same way they come in in the morning.
1:29:57
I've got one daughter, Holly, love it a bit.
1:29:59
She's my best mate.
1:30:01
Dads and daughters, they always say are very close.
1:30:03
At 13 years old, she's 13 stone.
1:30:06
She developed an eating disorder through being bullied at school.
1:30:10
When I looked at her again, she's 5 and a quarter stone and I allowed that to happen to my best friend.
1:30:17
All the while this is going on, I'm still coming into work.
1:30:19
It was very, very difficult.
1:30:21
I was here physically, mentally, I was all over the place.
1:30:25
You do not want to get up in the morning.
1:30:26
You don't want to talk to anybody.
1:30:27
You know, you've got to go out.
1:30:28
You know you've got to earn some money.
1:30:31
Construction has always been seen as a as a very macho culture.
1:30:35
Get on and deal with it.
1:30:36
Man up, grow up here if you like.
1:30:39
It doesn't matter what industry it is.
1:30:40
There is always a stigma attached with with mental health.
1:30:44
My line manager thankfully did say to me on several occasions he said if you don't want to come in, he said just send us a text and say I am not coming in.
1:30:53
If I hadn't had that support network, I swear as God is mindless, I would have done something ridiculous and and ended up as a statistic.
1:31:05
I've started carrying out a lot of mental health awareness toolbox talks.
1:31:09
It gives me the opportunity to get the guys to talk to one another and to talk to me and then recognise that if they have got a problem, they're not on their own.
1:31:18
The mental health at work website pulls all these resources together so that if you just go on the website, philtre it by your industry and then that will give you all your line manager resources to to point you in the right direction and to help them to support somebody that is struggling.
1:31:34
In the words of the St in Bob Oskins, it's good to talk.
1:31:41
OK, so we really like oops Daisy, like Kirk's last word there.
1:31:45
So the most important thing is to talk.
1:31:48
But you know, where do you start if your workplace, you know, if you've already got things in place, you know, how do you know that they're being used?
1:31:56
How do you know that they're effective?
1:31:58
Are you regularly engaging with your staff to find out how they're feeling in terms of the well-being provision that you offer?
1:32:06
So we can help you with all of those questions.
1:32:09
And indeed, if you do want to take your learning around mental health and well-being in the workplace around psychological safety to the next level, then by completing this module today, you will get free access to the Work Health Hub, which is a membership membership platform that's got loads of resources on it.
1:32:31
So we'll tell you a little bit more about that.
1:32:33
So you will automatically get signed up for that.
1:32:37
The Work Health Hub was launched back in April 2023 and our mission is to empower every single individual within the workplace to create a culture that provides positive mental health and well-being.
1:32:51
So our values are really, really important to us and you'll see those at the bottom of the page.
1:32:55
It's all about being collaborative, listening, offering support, being responsive, being inclusive and indeed being accessible.
1:33:04
Usually membership to the platform is £100 for SMEs and charities or indeed £200 for larger organisations.
1:33:13
But as you are in High Peak you will get a year's free membership as well to the Hub.
1:33:20
So the work health of comprises of three different elements.
1:33:23
There is a membership platform which I've just mentioned and we will have a quick look at in a moment.
1:33:29
We have a research on because being a university you would expect us to and really with that we are that conduit between academia and business.
1:33:38
So we have a lot of amazing academics at the university that produce fantastic research and businesses.
1:33:45
Organisations need to hear about it.
1:33:47
So we translate it and make it accessible and then come in and deliver workshops and support you embed that within your workplace.
1:33:54
And then we also offer one to one consultancy because we do not do A1 size fits all, we don't churn out the same workshops again and again.
1:34:03
It's very much bespoke to your organisation, so this is the platform.
1:34:09
It's got 12 elements now and you will get a login for this.
1:34:14
We have things, so we have our consultancy offer on there.
1:34:17
We've also got a range of campaigns, tool kits, learning resources.
1:34:23
We've got our supporting supporters for Mental Health First aiders on there as well, a whole section dedicated to them.
1:34:30
We've got events so as as a member of the Hub you get 4 member network events a year, lots of online and face to face training opportunities and workshop opportunities.
1:34:44
We also have the latest news in terms of health and well-being at work and we've got a fantastic range of experts in the field who we refer to as our practitioners, all housed on the Hub to help you along your well-being journey.
1:35:00
We then have on that platform a courses section and if you have enjoyed this session and want to perhaps go into a lot more detail about it because this is only an overview.
1:35:14
Today we have the leading Well-being in the Workplace course that you can complete for free because it's within the membership and it looks at workplace culture, it looks at how to nurture resilient teams, it looks at the impact of stigma on mental health, how to start conversations.
1:35:33
So we go into a lot more detail around how to have those important conversations.
1:35:37
Developing an effective health and well-being strategy, Wellness action plans that Jen covered.
1:35:43
We go into a lot more detail in the course.
1:35:46
We also explore how to keep people at work and stay well, but also how to manage staff that might be struggling in the workplace or indeed if they do have to take time off as well, and how to transition them back to the workplace effectively.
1:36:00
And most importantly, I guess in all of this is how to look after your own well-being because you can't pull from an empty cup.
1:36:07
So you will get a certificate at the end of that course.
1:36:10
It's gone through the short course board here at the University of Derby.
1:36:14
But as I say, that is an option as well for you and you can complete that in your own time.
1:36:19
There's no sort of start date and date anything like that.
1:36:23
We then have our consultancy offer and this is where we work with you on a one to one basis.
1:36:29
So we'll, if you want some support in your well-being journey or you think actually we've done a lot, we'd like to perhaps evaluate how well that's going now and have a look at if there's any gaps, we can support you in doing that.
1:36:42
So we will take a deep dive with you.
1:36:44
We will engage with your staff, but through focus groups, through surveys, we will help you embed a really good health and well-being strategy.
1:36:53
We'll help you with your communications and how to keep that as a really good source of psychological safety within your team.
1:37:01
We will then come in and deliver lots of workshops for you around psychological safety, managers, health and well-being, how to have conversations, culture, dignity, inclusion, all those sorts of things and collaborate with you to develop a really bespoke action plan for you and your organisation.
1:37:22
So if you are interested in the consultancy that that does come at a charge.
1:37:26
But as I say, if you're interested, you can get in touch and we can certainly have a conversation with you about what that would look like.
1:37:34
So what we will do is in the chat, we will pop our contact details.
1:37:45
Yeah, and I'll pop another slide in as well.
1:37:47
Absolutely, because we can add another slide when we upload them if you want to get in touch with us.
1:37:54
I will say it as well.
1:37:55
Just to cover all basis.
1:37:57
My e-mail address is k.woodthenthe#3@derby.ac.uk.
1:38:05
Jens is G dot Blakely, spelled BLAKELEY at derby.ac.uk.
1:38:15
Get in touch with us, we can have a conversation about you and your organisation, where you're at on your well-being journey.
1:38:21
We'd love to support you and as I say, if you've really liked what you've heard today, or indeed if you just want a separate conversation with us around the specific challenges you might be facing, then do reach out.
1:38:36
What have I missed?
1:38:39
So as you're High Peak, as I said before, you do get free membership to the hub and you'll get the opportunity to be able to complete that leading well-being in the workplace course.
1:38:49
As you can see from the platform, if you want to have a tour of the hub, arrange a call.
1:38:55
Honestly, there is no obligation to to join it.
1:38:58
Or if you want to just know how to navigate it, get in touch.
1:39:02
But we really look forward to having you on board and supporting you in the future, So take care.
1:39:08
Thank you.
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