Mental health at work is incredibly important. Employees who are under excessive stress perform poorly, are less motivated and more likely to leave the business. Pressure is good for us, we all need pressure to help motivate us. But stress is bad for us.
Our organisational psychologists have developed the Emotionally Healthy Workplace (EHW) programme that companies, large or small, can implement to encourage a positive culture around mental health at work.
Here are a few common questions our clients ask before they embark on the programme:
Does EHW become part of the culture?
Absolutely, yes. The aim of EHW is for businesses and organisations to embed the concept into the very heart of their organisation so that promoting a positive culture around wellbeing becomes a natural and integral part of the business.
Why should we implement EHW?
Poor mental health at work costs money. People who are suffering from emotional issues are less productive and less motivated. People with emotional problems take more time off work. By having a culture that builds positive mental health, people become more motivated, more engaged and enthusiastic about their work.
How long does it take to implement EHW?
It depends. Most of our clients plan and schedule the various stages of EHW into their improvement plans. Some clients implement all the stages within six months, while others take two or three years. The key thing is to get started. Success is instant, because it is better to do something than do nothing.
Is EHW all about consultants coming into the workplace to do training?
Definitely not. We work with EHW Champions, who come from the client. We train champions so they can deliver EHW sessions. There is nothing better than having ‘real’ people deliver sessions and having conversations around mental health at work. In fairness, our consultants are very good (and they are real people too!), but it works best to have properly trained champions that employees can relate to.
Do we get a badge?
Yes. After starting the programme, our clients are able to use the EHW logo. They can proudly display this throughout their offices and workplaces. We even have a client who use this in their email signatures. The logo demonstrates that the company is serious about positive mental health at work.
What happens at the end of the EHW programme?
There is no end. EHW is not a short-term fix, nor is it ‘just another initiative’. EHW is a commitment made by senior management to change the culture so that a sustained positive culture that promotes emotional wellbeing is embedded into the way of working.
What are the stages of EHW?
The first stage is where our consultants work with senior management to get the ball rolling and to define the scope of work and implementation of EHW.
The second stage is where we train the EHW Champions. This usually involves a two-day training session where we teach the basics of mental health at work and emotional wellbeing. Champions come from all areas of the client’s business.
The next stage is for the champions to roll-out awareness sessions across the business. These sessions are usually about three-hours and they cover short succinct topics about emotional health. At the end of these sessions, employees will have a greater understanding about emotional health in the workplace.
Stage four involves our consultants working with management and leadership. We firmly believe that workplace anxiety and poor emotional health is largely determined by leadership and management style. A manager who doesn’t recognise how her style impacts on her team is a very dangerous person. Our leadership sessions help managers to explore their own personal style of leadership and learn more about how their style can work both positively and negatively.
The final stage, which is ongoing, involves facilitation of regular ‘check-in’ sessions with the champions so that lessons can be learned and shared and to enable EHW to be embedded into the culture of the business.
Are your consultants qualified?
Our team of consultants are qualified psychologists and counsellors. All our consultants are members of the British Psychological Society (BPS) and they have CPD profiles.
Do you use technology to help reduce costs?
Absolutely, yes. We can deliver champion training sessions using Zoom or Teams and we can deliver leadership awareness sessions in this way too. Some of our clients are multi-national organisations with offices spread across the world. Using technology helps to ensure everyone gets the same message but in a way that keeps costs to a minimum.
What next?
The best thing to do next is to talk to us about your needs. Give us a call and we can arrange a discussion about EHW and how it might help your organisation embed a positive culture to support emotional wellbeing.
32 HSE 