5-Point Guide to an Effective Workplace Mental Health and Wellbeing Provision

Know your workforce – people have different needs at different times in their life. They’re also affected by more factors outside of work that impact on their wellbeing than when they are inside the workplace. New challenges, like the effects of the pandemic, lockdowns and working from home, have further exacerbated external pressures on employees. Consider utilising mental health and wellbeing experts to help you understand the different groups of employees you have, their needs and solutions that will best meet these needs.

Due your Due Diligence – workplace wellbeing has exploded in the last 5 years, with different mental health and wellbeing tools and services available to organisations. How do you know what solutions are best suited for your organisation? The volume of global evidence-based resources and learnings about mental health and wellbeing has grown exponentially, and new studies and articles highlighting the benefits of addressing this subject in the workplace appear daily. Check with your current or potential providers how they can evidence the effectiveness of what they’re offering you. How were their solutions developed and are they still relevant - do they meet the new needs and challenges that your employees are dealing with?  

Step Back and look at the Bigger Picture – as employers strive to improve their mental health and wellbeing offering and introduce new services and tools for their employees, a challenge can be to help them to navigate their way through all of the available options. What are the support options that are most likely to have an immediate tangible positive impact on the individual and organisation? Look for evidence-based, clinically validated, scalable solutions. Identify gaps in your organisation’s mental health and wellbeing provision and research new innovative solutions and specialist providers that could help.

Consider your Risks – new solutions and new approaches can have unintended or unforeseen consequences for an employer. Consider whether you have the in-house expertise to manage these risks. Mental health and wellbeing is a highly specialised field with inherent risks to the employee and employer. For example, Mental Health First Aider provision carries risks that could adversely impact an aider, a supported employee and the organisation overall. 

Embrace Change – wellbeing provision is an ever changing landscape, as the last 2 years have shown, and your mental health and wellbeing strategy needs regular revisiting. Seek out solution providers who are flexible and prepared to collaborate. Partnering with a number of different specialist providers can often be more effective than a one stop shop approach. Following the points above and understanding your bespoke needs as an organisation will allow you to confidently source the right products and solutions from the right provider/s.

To find out how Rightsteps can support your employees’ mental health and wellbeing, get in touch today – call 0161 238 5264, email info@rightsteps.co.uk or find us on Linkedin.