Yasmin Mottahedin, head of organisational development and HR at Gofal, explains why employee mental health and wellbeing is so relevant to all of us
People working in all sectors are facing an increasingly challenging environment. In our world we are getting to grips with changes brought about by welfare reform, and adjusting fast to the new demands we are only just starting to understand. we are working with tenants who are increasingly vulnerable, and who may be dealing with their own mental and physical ill health, and that of their families, and we aren’t immune ourselves from pressures in our lives outside work.
In Gofal we work to a vision of ‘Good mental health and wellbeing for all’ and this starts for us very close to home – with the wellbeing of all our colleagues. The business case for taking this approach is overwhelming and this article seeks to demonstrate:
• Why employee mental health and wellbeing is so relevant to all of us • What is the business case?
• How can we get results?
• Some ideas which have worked in Gofal.
We all have mental health; as with physical health, it may be good – or not. One in four people will experience mental health problems in any given year. That’s one in four of the employees in your organisation this year, and when you factor in the effect of mental health issues which employees have to deal with outside of work (with their family or friends) you can see the scale of the potential impact on your business.
Employee mental health affects us all – whether as colleagues, line managers, senior managers or users of the service.
Mental health, whether good or bad, doesn’t just affect our work. Poor mental health is likely to impact significantly on our physical health and wellbeing; our relationships, homes, finances and social lives may also suffer.
What is the business case?
The costs associated with poor mental health in the workplace amount to nearly £1.2 billion a year in Wales alone (Friedli, Parsonage 2009) the equivalent of £860 for every employee in the Welsh workforce.
Poor employee mental health and wellbeing is not good for our tenants and customers, it’s not good for our organisations and it costs our businesses serious money. We can find ourselves trapped in a vicious cycle, where high levels of absence put our remaining colleagues under so much pressure that in turn they find they are unable to cope at work. The results on our tenants and their families are clear to see.
Mentally healthy workplaces will not only see reduced sickness absence and reduced turnover. They will also see the benefit of a committed, nurtured and cared for workforce – those who are in work aren’t just ‘present’, they are fully contributing. You will have a more productive and committed workforce willing to go that extra mile.
How can we get results?
Employee wellbeing is often a peripheral activity in organisations, frequently tagged on to someone’s job description and nice to do – but not core to the business and how it measures success. It must never become a ‘tick box’ exercise. To really work staff mental health and wellbeing needs to be hardwired in every way possible into the organisation – a corporate objective which is owned by all the board and senior team, regularly measured and given equal weight to other operational, growth or financial objectives. What is measured stays on the agenda and remains top of mind!
There is a big responsibility then on leadership teams to role model what the commitment means through their behaviours every day. If the senior team have the wellbeing of their people close to their hearts, that attitude will spread slowly but very surely. It can be a tough challenge for leaders to walk the talk all day and every day, but it is the only way to show their teams that this is not just a short lived initiative.
It’s important also to remember the close link between mental health and the wider wellbeing agenda; looking after employee physical health does have an impact on their mental health too.
Reviewing policies can be key – are they positive and encouraging of the behaviours you want to see in your organisation? Or do they tend to emphasise the punitive aspects of how non-compliance will be dealt with? Do people feel trusted to do their job?
Every organisation needs to find its own way; ideas for taking forward a wellbeing agenda should feel challenging, and it’s possible that they may meet resistance and comments like ‘that would never work here…’ But if the senior team are committed, you will find a way.
Ideas that worked in Gofal
Great employee wellbeing has got to have a firm foundation – it needs to be the way everything is done. It is one of our five corporate objectives, with equal weight to all the others, and performance is regularly reported to Board who sign off annual improvement plans.
In Gofal we have developed a set of core competencies which are unique to us – they are based on, and use the exact wording of our organisational aspirations.
• To work with integrity and dignity
• To inspire sand support people to exceed
their expectation
• To develop a culture that is embracing and respectful of difference
• To communicate openly and honestly
• To be ambitious, creative and determined
• To create environments that are collaborative, supportive and empowering
• To be respected for our knowledge and expertise.
These competencies are set out at four levels which reflect the different job roles and the behaviours we all aspire to. This means that people are able to understand and describe how they can contribute to Gofal in all they do. We use this framework to recruit people; as part of our appraisal process and in personal development planning. The important thing for us has been to make sure these competencies speak our language, and reflect what we are trying to do.
We have a very active (in every sense of the word!) staff wellbeing group which is made up from people across the organisation. The group develops the actions to back up the corporate objective for wellbeing. We regularly hold wellbeing group meetings out of doors – much more energetic and the outcomes tend to be more positive, and ideas more quickly generated.
In consultation with staff the group has developed a set of ten commitments to wellbeing. Things staff have said are really important to them. The commitments focus on recognition, connection to our mission, change, transparency, work life balance, environment, development, respect, life stress and mental health.
We measure ourselves against those commitments through an annual employee survey. The survey is deliberately simple, asking people to rate where they believe we are as an organisation against each of the commitments. From this we’ve been able to see where we have room for improvement, and have built up a plan for the year ahead. We’ll repeat the survey annually to make sure we are moving forwards and, most importantly, measuring the impact of what we are doing.
This year we had a response rate of over 96 per cent – we found that making a big effort to encourage everyone to respond has paid off by giving us the most complete picture possible.
We are really trying hard to listen to what people value about being at work and what they would like to see change. Each team has given us feedback, and there have been some real surprises which have shown us that you really don’t know what people are thinking until you ask them and listen. We’ve found that small actions regularly can have a big impact rather than huge schemes which may never come to fruition
Communication is of vital importance. We have set up a system for all teams to receive six-weekly senior team briefings through face to face communication. This is difficult, but possible with a little careful planning. The senior team attend each team meeting on a quarterly basis – really important for listening to what people are saying.
We have emphasised physical fitness, through subsidised gym membership, a Gofal walking group, and physical fitness challenges, and continue to look at new schemes which are designed to keep people fit and active rather than simply helping them cope when they become unwell.
We have a regular wellbeing day for all employees to attend, the benefits of which are numerous. The day gives a chance for everybody to get together and see colleagues from all parts of the organisation – not easy on an everyday basis where people are spread out geographically. There is the opportunity for the senior team, trustees and staff to spend informal time together – getting to know each other outside the meeting room. And the activities on the day are great for relaxation, wellbeing and fun. This year employees were able to choose from sessions on musical creativity, art and colour, laughter yoga, mindfulness, creative writing and beach art. A team of complementary therapists were also present, busy all day offering relaxing mini sessions to those present. We are now planning another event on the ‘gloomiest day’ in January to banish winter blues. These events need not be as expensive as you may think – using the skills of people in the organisation is a great way for them to contribute for their own benefit and that of their colleagues. We offer everybody a constantly
changing bundle of employee treats and discounts. These are negotiable – asking local shops and businesses can often result in discounts which people enjoy.
We work very closely with www.timetochangewales.org.uk Wales’s first national campaign to end mental health stigma and discrimination. They have some great resources that can be brought into your organisations. And we are engaged with Mindful Employer, another great starting point for looking at your workplace and planning how you can move towards being a mentally healthy organisation.
We are still learning as we go, however early indications are good. Our sickness and turnover figures are down and our staff survey demonstrates that we are doing well at ensuring work life balance, supporting employees’ mental health at work and helping people deal with life’s stresses. However, we still have a lot to learn, and we are always looking for new ideas for our organisation!
We would love to hear from other organisations who are on the wellbeing journey and if you would like to talk to us to find out more about our work please do get in touch.
We firmly believe that the quality of our services is improved through caring for and nurturing the mental health and wellbeing of a staff – a recipe for business success.
For further information on Gofal’s approach, contact Ewan Hilton ewanhilton@gofal.org.ukor Yasmin Mottahedin yasminmottahedin@gofal.org.uk