Supervisor Resource: Supporting Employee Mental Wellness
Mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual can realize his or her own abilities, cope with normal stresses of life, work productively, and able to contribute to their community. As humans, mental health is fundamental to our collective and individual ability to think, express emotion, interact with others, earn a living, and enjoy life.
As a supervisor, you play an important role in supporting the mental wellness of your team and, more importantly, to be able to recognize when someone may be experiencing difficulty. This section on the Mental Wellness Hub is dedicated to providing supervisors with straightforward information, resources and supports, as well as practical suggestions to help create an atmosphere where employees feel supported to talk about their mental wellness.
What Is Mental Wellness?
Mental wellness is an integral part of our overall health and is defined by much more than the absence of mental illness. Someone may have good mental health despite being diagnosed with a mental illness. Someone with good mental health does not mean that they are immune from mental illness. Our mental wellness is based on physical, social, and mental factors that contribute to the state of our mental health. Although intermittent or major life stressors may not be a mental illness, it does not contribute to good mental health.
A Challenge for Supervisors
Supervisors are often not aware that an issue with an employee's performance may be the result of a mental health concern. Most often, this is the product of a social stigma; supervisors may not recognize the signs of a possible mental health concern or the person experiencing difficulty is not prepared to discuss their concerns with a supervisor.
Only 36% of employees would discuss a mental health concern with a supervisor
Employee mental health concerns often go unrecognized and are not addressed until much later, if at all, which means that things do not get better and ignoring them can make matters worse. Even minor mental health concerns could be easily addressed through a minor change in routine or work environment.
A supportive and trustworthy supervisor can make employees feel more comfortable with disclosing mental health related difficulties. A workplace environment built on trust, honesty, and fairness creates and supports good mental health!
Mental Wellness Matters in the Workplace
When an employee struggles with mental wellness, it could result in an increase in presenteeism, absenteeism, reduced productivity, conflict between team members, work performance, low employee morale, high employee turnover, and an increase in health insurance claims.
Mental wellness challenges can be upsetting and disruptive to an employee and their family. As a supervisor, you have an obligation to care for the people you support. While you cannot heal mental illness, you can certainly work to reduce employee stress and learn how to support those who are experiencing a mental health concern.
The Reality Is......
1 in 3 people will experience a mental health concern in their lifetime
Every week, 500,000 Canadians miss work due to a mental health concern. The cost to both business and society are enormous. Of all disability claims in the workplace, 30% are related to mental health.
$51 billion dollars is lost annually from the Canadian economy due to mental illness
What Supervisors Can Do to Support the Mental Wellness of Their Team
Supervisors are in frequent contact with employees on their team, which allows you to make a significant impact on their overall work experience.
Below are six tips to help supervisors make employees feel welcome, productive, and safe in the workplace. Most importantly you want your employees to trust you should they want or need to confide in you.
1. Lead by Example
Actively encourage your team to adopt healthier work habits by displaying them yourself: Work sensible hours, take full lunch breaks, rest and recuperate after busy periods, and enjoy vacations, weekends and statutory holidays.
2. Know What Resources are Available to You and Your Staff
Become familiar with mental wellness supports and resources available to University of Regina employees. These may include Employee Family Assistance Program, Employee Benefits, Mental Wellness Hub, and other community resources. Ensure you understand the University's policies on mental health by having a conversation with your manager or Human Resources Business Partner.
3. Open the Door to Conversation
Try to maintain regular contact with each employee on your team -- not to see how projects are progressing, but to discuss what might be causing them stress. Create opportunities for them to ask you questions and discuss any concerns they may have. Allow them to talk about personal issues at work and/or home, if they are comfortable doing so.
4. Make Mental Wellness Part of the Work Conversation
Include an agenda topic at staff meetings to introduce a discussion of the well being of employees. A few examples could be "Take 10 Checks", "Not Myself Today", and "Check In/Check Up."
5. Help to Manage Workloads
When employees are exceptionally busy or stressed, there are several things you can do to ease their stress. Help them prioritize a project list, ensure work assigned to them is clearly defined, communicate expectations, and provide reasonable deadlines. Supports such as these, help employees remain autonomous while still feeling supported, valued, and needed.
6. Recognize Employees as Individuals
Treat employees with respect and acknowledge their work achievements and behaviours. Listen to them and attempt to adapt your management style to suit the needs of each employee. Ask employees for feedback about the supports you provide and what they like or ways you could improve in order to achieve their goals.
Download a copy of the full publication: Supervisor Resource: Supporting Employee Mental Wellness
(769 KB)Additional Resources
How Can I Help My Team? (240 KB)
How to Start a Conversation about Mental Health (380 KB)
