Mental Health & Wellbeing Policy
1. What is positive mental health and wellbeing?
Just as we all have physical health that varies from person to person and from time to time, we all have mental health which fluctuates. The World Health Organisation defines mental health as ‘a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community’.
2. Why it matters to Hercules
Whilst most of us have positive mental health and wellbeing most of the time, our mental health can change. There may be times when we are ‘thriving’, times when we start to struggle, and times when we develop a diagnosable mental health condition. 1 in 6 UK workers are currently experiencing a mental health condition, and 1 in 4 workers will have some form of mental health condition in any one year. So in Hercules Site Services we might have 15% staff who are experiencing some mental health condition such as anxiety, depression, or feeling the effects of undue stress. These conditions might last a long or a short time or they might come and go. And just as we help our employees to keep physically well and support them through physical illness or disability, we undertake to do the same for our staff with respect to mental health and wellbeing. We aim to help all staff keep mentally well and to support them through periods of poor mental health whether they remain at work or take time off.
How it fits with Hercules mission: This is particularly important to Hercules because we strive to “work together with our clients and workforce, one vision, one team, one solution”. We value our employees and believe that each employee plays an important part in contributing to our goals.
3. What the policy aims to do
The purpose of this policy is for Hercules to establish, promote and maintain the mental health and wellbeing of all our staff through workplace practices, and encourage staff to take responsibility for their own mental health and wellbeing. We pursue this aim using a whole organisation approach (see point 7 below) which includes promoting positive mental health for all staff, recognising and addressing sources of stress in the workplace, and supporting those staff who are experiencing poor mental health. This policy sets out what help is available to support all staff to have positive mental health and wellbeing, how to access help, what procedures to follow, what documents to use, and how we measure and report on its impact. By developing a positive culture and by implementing practical, relevant and effective practices we can contribute to Hercules’ success and sustainability.
Overall, this policy aims to:
4. What and who the policy is for
Mental health conditions and the effects of stress can affect anyone, regardless of their position in the organisation. This policy applies equally to all employees including part-time staff, contractors, freelancers and volunteers (from now on referred to as ‘staff’).
5. Where the policy sits alongside other HR policies
This policy should be read and followed in conjunction with our physical health / substance misuse / absence / disciplinary / other Hercules policies, as appropriate.
6. How it contributes to Hercules’ Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy or Plan
This policy is part of Hercules Site Services overarching plan to promote positive mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. Whereas the strategy outlines several areas of improvement over the next 5 years and might include specific plans, the focus of this policy is on what values we hold, what responsibilities we have, what we will undertake and in turn what we expect from our staff.
7. Promoting a whole organisation approach
Hercules undertakes:
8. Who is responsible for what?
Hercules Site Services Managers have a responsibility to:
In turn we encourage our employees to undertake to:
All staff have a responsibility to:
9. How Hercules measures the impact of this policy
As an organisation, Hercules acknowledges that measuring and reporting the impact of this policy and procedures is key to achieving its aims, i.e. promoting and maintaining the mental health and wellbeing of all our staff. We are therefore committed to the effective measurement of the impact of this policy and to reporting on it regularly. The policy has many strands, and the impact will be assessed in a number of different ways, including monitoring and reporting:
10. How this policy is communicated
Hercules will ensure that:
11. How often this policy will be reviewed
This policy will be reviewed annually. Effectiveness of the policy will be assessed through:
The Managing Director shall review this policy annually or following significant changes.
Brusk Korkmaz
Managing Director
Hercules Site Services Ltd
12. Appendices
A. How to promote positive mental health for all staff
Hercules is committed, through the implementation of this policy and our own actions, to promoting positive mental health for all staff. Equally, we want to provide staff with information and resources on how they can look after their own wellbeing and to lead by example in this regard – through our day-to-day behaviours, through providing activities within work that support individual wellbeing, and through promoting a healthy work/life balance.
The following five evidence-based steps have been researched and developed by the New Economics Foundation, and are recognised as being important for our individual wellbeing. These may help stimulate ideas for activities (inside and outside the workplace) that support this aim:
Connect: Connect with the people around you. With family, friends, colleagues and neighbours. At home, work, school or in your local community. Think of these as the cornerstones of your life and invest time in developing these relationships. Building these connections will support and enrich you every day.
Be Active: Go for a walk or run. Step outside. Cycle. Play a game. Garden. Dance. Exercising makes you feel good. Most importantly, discover a physical activity you enjoy and that suits your level of mobility and fitness.
Take Notice/Be mindful: Be curious. Catch sight of the beautiful. Remark on the unusual. Notice the changing seasons. Savour the moment, whether you are walking to work, eating lunch or talking to friends. Be aware of the world around you and what you are feeling. Reflecting on your experiences will help you appreciate what matters to you.
Keep Learning: Try something new. Rediscover an old interest. Sign up for that course. Take on a different responsibility at work. Fix a bike. Learn to play an instrument or how to cook your favourite food. Set a challenge you will enjoy achieving. Learning new things will make you more confident as well as being fun.
Give: Do something nice for a friend, or a stranger. Thank someone. Smile. Volunteer your time. Join a community group. Look out, as well as in. Seeing yourself, and your happiness, linked to the wider community can be incredibly rewarding and creates connections with the people around you.
B. How to recognise signs of mental health problems at work
We may become aware of signs which indicate that a colleague is experiencing mental health or emotional wellbeing difficulties. These warning signs should always be taken seriously and staff observing any of these warning signs should communicate their concerns to the employee’s line manager and/or Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead. Possible warning signs include:
C. How to identify areas of stress at work
The HSE defines stress as ‘the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed on them’’. This makes an important distinction between pressure, which can be a positive state if managed correctly, and stress which can be detrimental to health.
They identify six main areas of work design which can affect stress levels, and which should be managed carefully and proactively. These are:
We undertake to support managers to:
D. How to support a member of staff experiencing poor mental health
Staff may notice signs of possible mental health problems in a colleague and are encouraged to approach the colleague concerned and offer to talk and to help them speak to their line manager as early as possible. Line managers will arrange a time to talk privately and listen non-judgmentally to the employee’s current concerns and situation, whether this arises from problems inside or outside of work. They will assess the impact on their work and if the person is well enough to be at work; whether work stressors are contributing to the current condition and, with the employee, agree what next steps will be most appropriate in the short term and in the medium term. They will confirm who else needs to know and make arrangements for how best to support the employee and how often.
It may be helpful to make reasonable adjustments and /or to put in place a Wellbeing and Recovery Plan (see below). They will make notes about what took place as soon as possible and share these with the affected member of staff. NB. This information and notes may be shared only on a ‘need to know’ basis.
How to make reasonable adjustments:
Under the Equality Act 2010 we have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for people with a disability. These can be time limited and could include for example:
E. How to make a Wellbeing and Recovery Plan:
If the employee has a long standing or relapsing mental health condition it can be helpful to draw up a Wellbeing and Recovery Plan (WRAP) involving the employee, the line manager and relevant health professionals. This can include:
F. How to respond in an emergency:
If there is a fear that the colleague is in danger of immediate harm then the normal procedures for medical emergencies should be followed, including alerting the first aid staff and contacting the emergency services if necessary. In the event of a delay in getting to hospital staff should take a taxi rather than driving their own car.
G. How to stay in touch when an employee is off work:
It is important for a line manager to stay in touch with an employee when they are off work, to let them know what is happening at work, that colleagues are still holding them in mind, and to prepare for a return to work. It may be helpful to arrange a meeting to discuss what arrangements (if any) need to be in place when they return; what workload to expect, what support and reasonable adjustments can (and cannot) be made e.g. a phased return, later starts, shorter days, time off for appointments. This plan should be summarised in writing and reviewed regularly as the employee’s needs change.