10 ways to support the mental wellbeing of deaf and hearing impaired employees
Sarah Petherbridge
Disability Awareness Trainer & Public Speaker
People with hearing loss are twice more likely to suffer mental health issues than hearing people.
10 ways to support the mental wellbeing of deaf and hearing impaired employees
People with hearing loss are twice more likely to suffer mental health issues than hearing people. This is due to the fact that deafness can be a lonely and isolating disability. In addition we face numerous barriers and hurdles every day which can have an impact on our mental health.
So what can you do as managers to help support the mental wellbeing of your deaf/hearing impaired employees in the workplace?Here are my top ten tips:
- Create an inclusive, supportive and safe workplace to encourage your employees to open up and share their experiences with hearing loss
- Understand what your employees need by way of accessibility to do their job and put in place appropriate workplace adjustments. Also ask them what is their preferred communication style whether that is by way of emailing, video calls with captions, BSL interpreters etc…
- Find safe spaces to talk and have regular catch ups with your employees. Continuously check in and ask “are you okay?” Look out for anyone who may feel left out or like an outsider
- Be consistent in your support at all times
- Engage early in relationships – show that you care about your employees and their wellbeing
- Call out any non inclusive behaviours in others that may make people feel not valued
- Be explicit about the importance of understanding and valuing differences in your everyday interactions
- Adapt your own and others’ working styles to work with your employees and their hearing loss effectively – remove any discomfort and fear for them
- Look out for ways your team can support your employees’ needs e.g proactively check that there are subtitles in any training videos
- Know where to get formal mental health support within your company so that you can signpost to your employees
Sarah Petherbridge is a disability awareness trainer and public speaker on disability, inclusion and mental health. If you would like to know more about how you can best support your employees, please contact her at sarah_petherbridge@yahoo.co.uk or via her website sarahpetherbridge.co.uk.
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