Mental health: the unseen burden of parenthood
Did you know that approximately 68% of women and 57% of men with mental health problems are parents?
Perinatal mental health conditions (meaning conditions occurring in the weeks before or after the birth of a baby) cost the UK £8.1 billion for each one-year cohort of births. The size of that figure gives some indication of how pervasive the mental health pandemic is. It’s important that we don’t forget that behind every statistic is a myriad of real people struggling.
Parenthood is often portrayed as a joyous and fulfilling experience, and while it can certainly be both of those things, it can also be a significant source of stress and strain on one's mental health.
As employers, it is important to acknowledge the demands that the parents on our team are under and provide mental health support for staff. With mental health conditions such as stress, anxiety and depression leading to 17 million working days being lost last year in the UK, it is crucial that employers put strategies in place to help all employees who are struggling with their mental health in order to ensure staff are in work as much as possible.
But what can employers do? How can they help employees build resilience and juggle the demands of their various responsibilities so that parents don’t develop avoidable mental health conditions? We look at three solutions that employee benefits providers can provide that could help.
1. Recognise the symptoms
Firstly, it is important for parents to recognise the signs of mental health issues and to seek help if needed. But what happens if they don’t realise that they’re poorly? Often people who are struggling need other people to point out that they need help.
How can you spot the signs of illness in your staff when you’re not medically trained?
This is where Mental Health First Aid courses can help. These courses teach employers, those working in HR and line managers to spot the signs of mental health conditions in their employees. With someone on your team acting in the role of “Mental Health First Aider” in your workplace, mental health support can be signposted and those who are struggling identified and supported.
Interested? Find out more.
Talk to us
If you would like to find out more about our solutions, get in touch.
2. Build mental resilience
Secondly, many mental health challenges that we all face come about because we feel we cannot cope with a challenge that life is throwing at us. Putting work in to build mental resilience whilst you’re well can help to reduce the stress we feel when times are tough.
But how can you do this in a manageable way?
MyMindPal is a wellness app that uses a variety of information and personalised activities to help build personal resilience helping prevent stress and burnout before it happens.
Using the app for just 5 minutes a day can significantly reduce stress, make you more optimistic and feel more relaxed. In fact, 76% of the platform’s users report lower stress levels after using the app consistently.
MyMindPal provides mental health services for employees that can help your team manage stress better, reducing occurrences of anxiety and depression amongst your team.
Interested? Find out more
3. Provide accessible support
Caring for children is unrelenting. The pressure of providing financially, physically, emotionally and educationally for a family can leave parents feeling overwhelmed, with no time for self care. Add to this the mostly irrational guilt and feelings of inadequacy that most parents carry around and you can understand how a cocktail of factors come together to keep parents from seeking help.
With parents constantly busy, what employee benefits scheme can get them the support that they need when they need it?
Our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) offers mental health resources for employees anywhere, anytime. The online digital platform offers 24/7 counselling and a huge library of wellbeing resources. The benefits of EAP for employees and employers are significant, as your team can get access to the help they need when they need it.
Interested? Find out more.
Help parents and reduce staff absence
Parenthood is a rewarding experience, but it is also a significant source of strain on one’s mental health. It is important for employers to recognise the signs of mental health issues and to point parents towards help if needed. Employee benefits providers can be crucial professional partners, helping you to provide solutions that support your staff. By prioritising self-care through online platforms and seeking support, parents can better manage the demands of parenthood and maintain their own well-being, which in turn can reduce the time that they need to take off work. Fewer absences lead to less disruption to your company’s operations.
