Parental mental health in the workplace: what employers need to know
Everyday life can be hard. The strain of juggling family and work life can grind on parents, and even lead to stress, anxiety and depression if left unchecked. In fact, approximately 68% of women and 57% of men with mental health problems are parents.
As such, it's essential for employers to understand how mental health can affect the parents in their workforce and what they can do to support them.
According to statistics from the Health and Safety Executive, last year an employee absent due to stress, anxiety or depression took an average of 18.6 days off to manage their illness. The impact from these absences can be huge, with other colleagues left struggling under additional workload. For those who manage to stay in work when poorly, presenteeism (being present at work but not fully engaged or productive) can creep in, affecting productivity for the business overall.
But, according to some research, investing in resources that are designed to help maintain the mental wellbeing of a workforce can reap huge rewards. If a company were to invest £80 per employee in resources designed to help mental health, for a company with 500 employees, it was estimated that an initial investment of £40,000 would result in a net return of £347,722 in savings. This saving was made because the resources helped reduce presenteeism within the workforce.
So, investing in these resources can really help a businesses reduce presenteeism and maintain productivity. What kind of resources can help do this? Here we present three very practical strategies and resources that we believe can help.
1. Provide access to mental health resources
The foundation of any sound mental health support should be a high-quality Employee Assistance Program (EAP). EAPs provide confidential counseling and support to employees and their families. These online platforms are easy to access and are perfect for remote or hybrid teams, or those working irregular hours. With many parents opting for flexible working, EAPs are a great way to ensure that parents can get help whenever they need it.
Employee Assistance Program: what is it?
EAPs are digital platforms that contain resources specific to mental health. These can include articles, videos and podcasts.
Types of employee assistance programs
Some include features such as online spaces for users to meet and spend time together, others include interactive features designed to build mental resiliance and help workers manage stress. All EAPs come with a feature that allows user to access support from mental health professionals whenever they need it. This ensures you, as the employer, are fulfilling a duty of care for the mental wellbeing of your team even when they are not in the office.
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2. Create flexible work arrangements
Secondly, employers really should offer flexible work arrangements, such as working from home, remote working or flexible scheduling, to accommodate parents’ childcare needs wherever possible. This can help reduce stress and improve work-life balance, which can positively impact employees' mental health.
Flexible working does not have to mean the end of collaborative working or a strong team ethos. There are plenty of digital tools available to help teams work together.
Not only do platforms such as Slack and Microsoft Teams allow colleagues to work together practically, but platforms such as Reward and Recognise can help build a strong team ethos amongst physically disperate team workers. This allows you to create a positive work environment, even when teams are spread out around the country.
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3. Train managers to recognise and respond to mental health issues
Finally, employers should provide training to managers on how to recognise signs of mental health issues in their employees and how to respond appropriately. This can include offering referrals to mental health resources, providing accommodations, or making other adjustments to support parents' mental health needs.
It can feel a bit overwhelming for managers to take on this responsibility. Not many of us do not have the professional expertise to recognise the symptoms of poor mental health. Mental Health First Aid courses can be a fantastic way to ensure that your managers are clued up on how to spot colleagues who may be starting to struggle.
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Tools only work in a supportive workplace culture
All of these practical strategies can be for naught, though, if the environment that parents are working in does not acknowledge that parents are under immense pressure and that they may need support to maintain their mental health. Buying in the right tools and benefits won’t help if the workplace culture is not responsive to parents’ needs.
Ultimately, by creating a culture of care, employers can support the mental health and wellbeing of their workforce, resulting in a more productive and engaged workforce. Investing in mental health support is not just morally good or sound people management, it is good for business!
