How to support staff with a Mental Health Condition

What should you do when an employee discloses a mental health condition after they have started their employment?

An employee does not have to disclose if they have a mental health condition during the interview process but if they do disclose a condition after starting work, the employer is legally obligated to treat the information with strict confidentiality and consider reasonable adjustments to accommodate the condition. The level of support needed may vary from person to person as typically a diagnosis will not indicate what they can and cannot do in the context of their employment with you.

Discussion with the employee and where appropriate carrying out a risk assessment will help highlight whether there are any risk factors in the workplace which are specific to an employees’ health condition.

Referral to Occupational Health

Managers can refer employees to an Occupational Health (OH) provider, with their consent, in order to gain advice on how the condition affects the employee and what reasonable adjustments need to be put in place to enable the employee to fulfil their job role.

Occupational Health will undertake a comprehensive evaluation of an employee’s health in relation to their job and produce a report for you.

Where necessary Occupational Health will liaise with the employee’s GP or other health professional, again with the consent of the employee. 

Identifying early warning signs

It is important for a manager to know their employees which will make it easier to recognise when there are changes and something is wrong.  Signs to look for include:

• Changes in demeanour: An employee might become more irritable, withdrawn, or easily upset.
• Absenteeism and lateness: Increased sick days or being late to work can be a sign.
• Changes in performance: Decreased productivity, missing deadlines, or making uncharacteristic errors can indicate difficulties.
• Changes in mood: An employee might display signs of low mood, tearfulness, or loss of humour.
• Changes in behaviour: This could include increased smoking or drinking, withdrawal from social activities, or changes in eating or sleeping patterns.
• Other potential signs: Poor concentration, difficulty making decisions, feeling overwhelmed, and talking less or more than usual.

What can Managers do to support employees?

1. Initiate a Conversation

• Arrange a private and informal meeting at a mutually convenient time and allow plenty of time to talk so the employee does not feel rushed.
• Re-assure the employee that you will treat everything they tell you in confidence, except where there are issues that pose a health and safety risk to themselves or others.
• Ensure it’s a comfortable, private setting.
• Make sure your phone is set to silent and that you will not be disturbed.

2. Be open and supportive

• Listen actively, acknowledge their feelings, and reassure them that you are there to help without judgement.

3. Ask open-ended questions

Here are some examples of open-ended questions to consider:

• “How have you been feeling lately?”
• “How long have you been feeling this way?”
• “Do you think work is contributing to your stress?”
• “Are there any difficult situations outside of work that you would like to discuss?”
• “How do you typically cope with stress or difficult situations?”
• “What resources or support do you feel you have available to you?”
• “How can I support you at work?”
• “What have you found helpful in the past when you’ve been feeling low?”

4. Focus on work-related stress and performance

• Discuss how the employee’s mental health might be impacting their work, and explore potential solutions by adjusting their workload, work environment, or responsibilities.

5. Offer Support and Resources

Encourage them to seek professional help:

• Suggest they speak with their GP, a mental health professional, or the employee assistance program (EAP).
• Inform them about available support:
• Let them know about policies on reasonable adjustments, mental health support, and other resources.

6. Consider reasonable adjustments

• Discuss potential changes to their workload, work environment, or responsibilities that could help them manage their mental health.
• Be patient and understanding:
• Recognise that it may take time for the employee to process information and make changes.

Employers can show a commitment to well-being at work during supervisions, team meetings and appraisals that discuss how employees are feeling, and Managers should ensure that despite pressure to ‘achieve more with less’  that employees are not being overwhelmed and as result thereby avoiding potential employee burnout or illness due to stress.  Always worth investing in training for Employers and especially Managers so that they gain a better understanding of how to support themselves as well as others in the workplace effectively. 

If an employee does become ill due to pressures at work and the employer has failed to assess the risk of mental ill health and stress this could result in a costly Employment Tribunal claim for the employer.