Is your workplace making you sick? Paul Glynn – Head of Counselling Services Terry Patterson – Student Counsellor

How the workshop will run Ground Rules Confidentiality Short Quiz Taking care of ourselves Thriving at Work (The Stevenson/Farmer review of Mental Health and Employers (2017). Government requested review in January 2017)

Presenteeism “Presenteeism is particularly common in organisations where a culture of long working hours is the norm and where operational demands take precedence over employee wellbeing. Also in periods of job insecurity, people may be more likely to go into work when they are ill, rather than take a day off sick for fear their commitment to their job will be doubted. It is this culture and these fears that need to be addressed in order to reduce presenteeism at work.” Rachel Suff, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development

(comment heard) Adrian Wakeling ACAS “She hasn’t got a disability as such, it’s just the mental health issues” (comment heard) Adrian Wakeling ACAS

Starting position We start from the position that the correct way to view mental health is that we all have it and we fluctuate between thriving, struggling and being ill and possibly off work. People with poor mental health including common mental health problems and severe mental health illness can be in any of these groups. An individual can have a serious mental health problem but – with the right support – can still be thriving at work. Stevenson /Farmer Review (2017)

Three phases people experience in work

Pair work – questions to address If you were struggling at work what would you do? If a colleague was struggling what would you do?

Good practice to support mental wellbeing at work 1. Having a say over the way you do your work is important. From being able to use your initiative and skills to do your job and developing new skills, to having a say about work patterns and breaks. Having control can help minimize stress Managing change well can help an employer to reduce or avoid stress within a workforce employees understand the reasons for change there is adequate consultation on changes employees are aware of any changes to their jobs employees are aware of the timetables for change support is provided for employees during change

Good practice to support mental wellbeing at work Open communication develops a positive culture and reduces accidents and ill health. It also improves overall efficiency and productivity. The law states that employers must consult employees regularly. If you find it difficult to talk to your boss, talk to your trade union representative who can provide advice on a range of work-related topics. Alternatively, you can speak to your HR department Most of our waking hours are spent at work so it’s important we have a good relationship with our colleagues. Employers are encouraged to promote positive working relationships in order to avoid conflict and ensure fairness. Employers are also expected to deal with unacceptable behaviour, such as bullying.

Good practice to support mental wellbeing at work Bullying can make working life miserable. You can lose all faith in yourself, start to feel ill and depressed, and find it hard to motivate yourself to work. It’s not always due to people's tribal instincts, or someone picking on the weak. Sometimes a person's strengths in the workplace can make the bully feel threatened, and that kicks off their behaviour. Never ignore it. Talk to your colleagues, talk to your boss, talk to your family and, above all, talk to the experts. If you belong to a trade union, talk to them. They have well-established tactics for helping you bring the joy back into your working day. Employees should have a clearly defined role and be encouraged to talk to their line manager or boss if they are not clear about priorities or the nature of their job. This means you should be clear about what your job entails, what is expected of you and what you can expect from your employer Team meetings can help to clarify your role and discuss any possible role conflict. 

Good practice to support mental wellbeing at work It's important that your line manager monitors workloads to ensure people are not overloaded and there are sufficient resources to do the work allocated People should be encouraged to have a healthy work-life balance and take their annual leave and meal breaks. There should also be good communication about unplanned tight deadlines or any exceptional need to work long hours

Where to go for help and support Staff Counselling Service Telephone:  020 7955 6953, ext 6953. Leave a message on this confidential voice mail with a contact number Email  - staff.counselling@lse.ac.uk Human Resources Telephone: +44 (0)20 7955 6659 Email: humanresources@lse.ac.uk Address: Lionel Robbins Building (5th Floor) Unions UCU - ucu.secretary@lse.ac.uk UNISON - unison@lse.ac.uk Unite Branch Chair: Ian Marston: i.marston@lse.ac.uk Friends and family Samaritans MIND Your GP