The Benefits of Mental Health Training in the Workplace

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For many of us, the past few years have been a particularly turbulent time. With Covid-19 causing a seismic shift in what we’d come to consider normal, and with the cost of living continuing to climb, it’s hardly surprising that this period of unprecedented upheaval and uncertainty has impacted our collective mental health.

But it’s not just world events that have taken their toll. Personal issues such as stress, anxiety, and depression are responsible for nearly half of employee absences in Britain, and a sixth of UK workers will experience a mental health problem at any one time. This is costing businesses up to £45 billion – a sharp increase of 16% since 2017.

However, with an average return of £5 for every £1 spent on mental health support, it’s clear that employers should be investing in their people’s wellbeing to address the issues being faced both in the here and now, and in the future. The question is, where do you start?

Ensuring that your managers receive adequate mental health training will not only help to support your people when they are experiencing a personal or professional issue, but will also create a culture of sensitivity and awareness in which people feel supported and able to reach out. By creating this environment, you’ll also empower your people to build better resilience so that they can address these issues before they impact presenteeism and productivity.

Let’s take a closer look at the many benefits that mental health training can bring…

Reducing the Stigma & Raising Awareness

By encouraging regular discussion and learning around mental wellbeing, you can cultivate a team of leaders who are empathetic to the challenges people face when experiencing periods of poor mental health. You’ll be giving them the tools to identify when people need support and arming them with the knowledge to deliver that support in a positive, proactive way.

Keeping this conversation going is key to breaking down the stigma that surrounds mental health issues, as it encourages employees to be open, honest, and vulnerable within the workplace. This will enable your workforce to better connect with one another, share their experiences and advice, and achieve a better understanding of how workplace performance can be adversely affected by mental health concerns.

Encouraging Self-Help & Resilience

Providing mental health training is a great way to encourage self-resilience within your workforce, as it teaches effective coping strategies to manage stress, anxiety, depression, and more. This puts your people in a better position to navigate their issues effectively by seeking the right support and utilising methods that have been proven to boost wellbeing both in and out of the workplace. Plus, fostering resilience in the workplace can also:

Help your people manage day-to-day challenges
Encourage self-reflection and personal growth
Improve communication within the workplace
Reduce burnout, mental fatigue, and the associated business costs
Enable your teams to set realistic expectations
Aid with organisation and time management
Make your people better able to receive and utilise feedback

Improving Employee Productivity & Performance

Presenteeism isn’t just about your employees turning up for work. It’s about them being present in body and mind so that they can perform to the best of their abilities, without being hindered by external factors such as mental health challenges.

Delivering mental health training can help your people address mental health issues before they escalate to a degree that impacts productivity and workplace performance. After all, a stressed or anxious worker will be far less able to communicate, collaborate, and concentrate effectively – which in turn will hinder professional development and performance.

Diversifying Your Workforce

Research conducted by The Mental Health Foundation has found that “Social and economic factors can put women at greater risk of poor mental health than men,” resulting in one in five women experiencing a mental health concern compared to one in eight men. Similarly, mental health problems such as depression, self-harm, substance abuse, and suicidal thoughts are more common amongst the LGBTIQ+ community than the cisgender/heterosexual community.

Making mental health training available for all is vital to ensuring that every member of your team is supported – regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, or socio-economic background. In doing so, you’ll be able to attract, engage, retain, and develop a diverse team of employees who bring a broader range of skills and ideas to your business based on their unique experiences.

Showing Your Commitment to Employee Wellbeing

In today’s ever-tightening labour market, it’s important to stand out from the crowd with attractive and meaningful benefits that really make a difference. With 88% of professionals believing the mental health and wellbeing strategies offered by their employer to be important when searching for a role, it’s apparent that job seekers are looking for far more than free parking and foosball tables…

Having a solid wellbeing strategy supported by regular mental health training is a great way to establish yourself as an employer of choice who values their people. It sets the tone that you have created an open and accepting culture in which employees will be supported through the good times and the bad, which will help you attract more top talent and ensure they stay on board.

Vivup’s Mental Health Training Programmes

We offer a wide range of training delivered in a variety of ways to cater to the diverse nature of learning styles, individual learner needs, and preferences. Each learning intervention is delivered based on the needs of both the employer and employees, with agreed aims and objectives in each case.

Each topic can be covered in summary or in detail as podcasts, webinars, workshops, half/full day short courses, or within an extended programme. The length of the training session chosen will affect the level of interaction, depth of understanding delivered, and the number of wellbeing tools explored - but the quality of delivery will not be impacted. Some of our current programmes include:

Better Sleep
Bullying and Harassment in the Workplace
Managing and Accepting Anxiety and Panic
Managing Loneliness at Work
Managing Stress and Resilience
Understanding Menopause
Mental Health Awareness
Mental Health First Aid
Stress Management and Developing Resilience for Leaders
Suicide Awareness

To learn more about how Vivup can help you identify, understand, and address the wellbeing challenges in your organisation with our comprehensive range of mental health training, be sure to get in touch today. Give our friendly team a call on 01252 784540, or email wellbeing@vivup.co.uk to request more information.