Mental Health Warning Signs, and What To Do If Your Workers Are Suffering

It is no surprise that there has been a mental health pandemic amidst the Coronavirus pandemic, and it doesn’t appear to discriminate. Statistics from Beyond Blue state that currently 1 in 6Australians are suffering from depression or anxiety or both. Uncertainty breeds anxiety and we sure have been living in uncertain times.

So, how can you as an employer spot these warning signs, and what can managers and leaders do to support people as they face new stressors, safety concerns, and economic uncertainty? 

What are some of the warning signs?

• Change in demeanour– this may be hard if you are all working from home but if there is an ongoing change of email tone, they are late to your catch ups or possibly just replying much slower than what is normal to them, it may be a good idea to touch base. These are all just as important as someone’s physical body language or meeting presence.
• Unexplained absences – if someone has been away more lately and this is out of character, it can be a clear warning sign their mental health may be suffering.
• Decline in work quality – we all make silly mistakes but if these keep happening, or start getting worse, it could be an indication something else is going on, and if you don’t help them out it could be a slippery slope to anxiety or burnout.

What can you do to help?

The role of a manager is to support their team members, and this includes supporting their mental health. If you are already a good manager, the good news is most of the same tools you use to bean effective manager can be applied to your teams’ mental health.  

1.    Connect with your team through regular check-ins – whether you are in the office or working from home, take the time each week to really check-in with your team. The simplest way to be begin is to just ask – are you okay– and try and listen with sympathy, and without trying to problem solve.

2.    Show your vulnerability - Being honest about your own mental health struggles as a leader opens the door for employees to feel comfortable talking with you about mental health challenges of their own. When business leaders describe their own challenges, it makes them appear human, relatable, and brave; and authentic leadership helps to cultivate a trustworthy and honest culture.

3.    Support flexibility– flexible working arrangements are no longer an incentive in the workplace, they are expected. Whether it be working from home, working school hours, or working around little children the past two years have really shown us that anything can be possible. Supporting your employees with flexible working arrangements will create a more harmonious team and may be the thing that helps them get through the work-life struggle the most.

4.    Model healthy behaviours – don’t just say you support good mental health; live and breathe it. Let your team know that you also need time to take care of your own wellbeing. This could be going for a lunchtime walk, turning off your phone after you finish for the day, or making sure you go on a well-deserved family holiday (and actually turning off your email!). Don’t forget, you probably need this as much as your team does – maybe even more.

Good mental health is something many of us take for granted, so being in tune with the signs someone may be suffering lets us sympathise and help them get back to being their full self again. If you’d like professional help for yourself or one of your team, you could start by reaching out to Beyond Blue: https://www.beyondblue.org.au/

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