A business owner speaking to her staff about mental health

Is Your Business Looking to Help Address Mental Health?

There are currently around one billion people in the world who have a mental health disorder. Yet, mental health is still one of the most neglected health problems in the world, and when you throw Covid-19 into the mix, you can imagine that it has only made the situation much worse.

Whilst most businesses would like to believe that they are helping to address employees’ mental health, they are yet to address one of the most critical challenges – the stigma attached to mental health disorders. The good news is that businesses and employers are in the perfect position to address the stigma attached to mental health disorders. Read on to find out how your business can help address mental health.

Working towards shifting the perception

The unfortunate truth is that many people fail to view mental health conditions in the same manner they view other physical health conditions. Mental health conditions are treatable, just like most other medical conditions. To help shift the stigma and perception around mental health struggles, Debt Movement believes that employers need to introduce measures to educate employees about mental health and to promote supportive behaviour towards those struggling with mental health diseases. Let’s explore how we think employers can do this:

Provide mental health training to all employees

Mental health training is extremely important in the workplace. This type of training helps ease the stigma attached to mental health illnesses, as it helps normalise mental health disorders, including stress, depression and anxiety. When businesses reduce the stigma around mental health, employees are far less likely to suffer alone.

Train team leaders/managers to notice and respond

Most businesses keep a medical kit in case someone injures themselves at work, they will also have dedicated people that have undergone First Aid training. Just as some employees have undergone First Aid training, there should also be employees who have undergone a form of Mental Health First Aid training. This will enable them to recognise the signs that someone may be struggling with mental health challenges and help point them in the direction of help and support services. We are proud to say that in addition to First Aiders, Debt Movement has a qualified Mental Health First Aider within our team.

Rethink ‘sick days’

When an employee gets the flu or falls ill, an employer will grant them ‘sick days’ in order to recover at home. Employers recognise that every so often, an employee falls ill and needs some time to be at home to rest and recover. But few employers react the same way when it comes to mental health. Offering sick days for people struggling with mental health will help remove the stigma, as it means that employers are acknowledging that mental health conditions are indeed a sickness and can be treated. If employers react in this way it will allow employees to feel more comfortable with the idea of requesting days off to deal with mental health issues.

Create a ‘safe space’ for people to talk

It’s important to create safe spaces for people to talk openly and honestly about their challenges, both past and present. It’s important that employees are encouraged to talk openly without fear of being judged or potentially excluded from a promotion. It’s important that management also participate by sharing their own experiences, as this will likely encourage others to open up more.

If you are experiencing mental health problems, there are dedicated services that you can turn to for help and guidance in your time of need. Read here for some of the mental health and debt support services available.

At Debt Movement, we know that bad debt happens to good people. Our mission is to rescue people who have found themselves in financial difficulty. Our qualified team of debt specialists have helped thousands of people move out of debt and find financial freedom. Contact us today, to start your journey to financial freedom.

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