The bottom line up front: More can be done to help employees whose mental health is suffering due to occupational stress and pressure.
How? By having important conversations that help to build resilience and benefit good mental health & wellbeing.
Occupational stress is on the increase, with demanding and often challenging working environments it can be difficult to keep mental health in check.
This is especially prevalent in those whose work is on the front line; these are the people who worked tirelessly during the pandemic and have faced critical staff shortages and absences.
The impact of this alongside a culture of being in control of situations can be challenging and demanding, especially when your teams are usually taking care of others’ wellbeing.
Processing trauma and allowing people time to talk in a supportive and non-judgemental space can build resilience and support wellness. But it isn’t always that easy! We don’t always want to share; we can feel vulnerable and exposed. Therefore, it is so important for employers to first create the environment that enables these conversations.
Last year Mind, the mental health charity, carried out some research that found that a whopping 66% of police staff felt that their mental health was negatively impacted during the pandemic.
That’s a lot of people that the population rely on to be in a position of strength, that are struggling themselves. Organisations can’t change their culture overnight, but employers can create safe spaces and access support and training that positively impacts employees.
With 62% of the UK police reporting an increased workload, it is even more important to carve out time to support staff who are juggling priorities and often dealing with loss, emotional events and trauma.
Good communication is a place to start, removing the stigmas around mental health and recognising the pressure of our first responders. Those incredible people that are first on the scene during our most difficult moments, also need support.
A Police Federation report from a few years ago found that 65% said they still went to work even though they felt they shouldn’t have because of the state of their mental wellbeing.
Over a third of UK police sought help, which compared to other organisations was remarkably high, especially considering stigmas around coping within the force. Yet, considering 65% of police employees have reported mental health concerns, perhaps not enough employees actively seek help.
By talking with colleagues about important subjects such as loss or the experience of others’ loss, taboos can be broken, and teams can understand what a healthy conversation looks and feels like. These transferable skills can be taken home to family and friends who are often concerned about those in stressful and challenging occupations.
How can huunuu support you to do more?
Contact us at, [email protected] to discuss the support we can offer through our products, tools and workshops designed to help organisations have healthy, important conversations in a supportive and non-judgemental space.
