These resources are part of our Thriving at Work Programme for members

News and Views

On 09.02.21 the CMHA  hosted  its latest  Seminar for Member Leads, which focused on Standard 7 of the  Thriving  At   Work  UK Guide . This Standard explores:  

• P rovid ing   good working conditions in relation to work life balance, physical environment,  relationships   and psychological demands  

• Us ing   the working environment to promote healthy lifestyle behaviours  
• Assess ing   and tak ing   steps to mitigate against any identified risk to psychological health.     

The event  also considered the implications for business of the new  global ISO 45003 standard , which relates to psychological health and safety at work.  

Event speakers:   

• Alison Unsted, Deputy CEO of the City Mental Health Alliance   
• Peter Kelly, Senior Psychologist at The Health and Safety Executive  
• Sean Maywood, First  Five Year   Manager and Mental Health First Aid Trainer, PwC  

• Professor Chris  Beedie , Professor in Cognition and Neuroscience, University of Kent and Director of Science and Research at CHX Performance  

Below you will find the key points from our speakers and if you were unable to attend you can view the  meeting recording here.  

SUMMARY OF SPEAKER POINTS  

• As businesses reset ways of working in the post-lockdown world, there is a responsibility and an opportunity for businesses to look at what more they can do to build a working environment that protects,  supports   and creates positive mental health for all people. This is especially important given the huge impact of the pandemic on people’s mental health.  
• ISO 45003 was developed before the pandemic, with input from 74 countries. The Health and Safety Executive see it as being even more important given the impact of the pandemic on people’s mental health. ISO 45003 presents guidelines for how to manage and measure psychological risk. As we know, individual interventions on employee mental health don’t work in isolation, but needs a full strategy,  structure   and system around it. As an inspector, Peter Kelly said that he expects three things of a business – firstly, to manage the physical and mental health and safety of employees; secondly, to do risk assessment on what impacts on physical and mental health; and thirdly to act on the results of that risk assessment. Further reading about this and ISO 45003 can be found here:  https://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/industries-and-sectors/health-and-safety/bs-iso-45003-smes/  
• Resilience is not a fixed  trait, but   is a finite and valuable resource – it needs replenishment, otherwise it will run out. When people run out of resilience, they shift from a resilient approach to a coping approach. If things get worse, they can tip over into unwell. All at a cost of themselves, their families, their  team   and the wider business. Businesses must put in place measures to protect people so that they are able to replenish their resilience.  
• While businesses may have explicit strategies and measures in place to replenish resilience of their people, this is not always supported by implicit culture or expectations of the organisation. For example, an organisation may offer gym membership, breaks between projects or counselling. But if the organisation’s culture is that working very long hours is expected, or that taking a break between projects is frowned upon by line managers, the  chances are the explicit strategy won’t work. This is further compounded when dealing with high performance individuals, who will often push themselves to deliver more work. Businesses shouldn’t just  offer  opportunity to replenish, but they should also regulate and enforce that need to replenish at a systems and cultural level. This is necessary to build a resilience in your people, and to build a resilient organisation.  

• PwC has curated a new joiner curriculum, which is a  four year   rolling programme. The aim is that people will learn about their own wellbeing, learn the importance of protecting their time and how to manage and replenish their own resilience. As the curriculum progresses, the programme will ask people to consider how their actions are impacting on the resilience of colleagues around them.   
• Authentic leadership and good role modelling  is   critical for making culture change happen. Senior leaders and middle management should lead by example – when they take their breaks, when they push people to take their breaks.