Introduction
It’s important to look after your mental health at work and ask for help when needed.
To help support your mental health and wellbeing, you can:
- stay in contact with people – talk to people you work with or friends about how you’re feeling
- have a routine so you plan in advance what you’ll be doing each day
- keep active and exercise
- make time for activities you enjoy
- reflect on what helps you feel more positive and what does not
Talking to your manager
If you have a mental health problem, it’s up to you whether you disclose it to your manager and at what stage.
It can be a good idea to talk to your manager as early as possible about your situation and how you’re doing. They might be able to help support you quickly and throughout your mental health problem.
For example, they might be able to support you with extra breaks to manage your workload. This might help prevent you needing to take time off on sick leave.
You and your manager might want to discuss changing your working pattern to suit your situation. For example, you might agree to change your start and finish time.
You can also let your manager know what kind of contact you’d like. For example, talking over the phone, having face to face meetings rather than video calls.
If your manager is concerned about your mental health they might arrange a conversation with you to see if you need any support. It’s up to you how much information you share with them.
Support available through work
You can check with your employer what support is available if you have concerns about your mental health.
Employers have a ‘duty of care’. This means they must do all they reasonably can to support your health, safety and wellbeing.
For example, some organisations offer counselling. If they do, it’ll usually be through a scheme known as an employee assistance programme (EAP).
Your organisation might also:
- have a mental health ‘champion’ – someone at work who leads on changing attitudes to mental health
- have a health and safety officer or trade union representative
- offer support in other ways, such as a mental health support group, or mental health network with other organisations
- offer mental health training on how to look after your mental health at work
If you’re off sick because of your mental health
If you’re off sick because of a mental health problem, you should agree with your manager:
- how you will stay in touch
- how often the contact will be
- how you will contact each other, for example by email, phone or face-to-face meetings
Continuing to have contact with your employer is important. It can help:
- you stay informed
- keep your employer informed so they can plan ahead
- your employer provide you with the support you need
You should keep in contact as agreed. But if you feel you cannot follow the plan for any reason you should tell your employer as soon as possible. You should then agree to an alternative contact plan together.
For example, if you had agreed to talk face to face but you’re finding it overwhelming, a phone conversation could be an alternative option.
When you’re ready to return to work, you should talk with your manager about the process for when someone returns to work.
Find out more about:
Reasonable adjustments for mental health
Reasonable adjustments are changes an employer makes to remove or reduce a disadvantage related to someone’s disability.
If you need a reasonable adjustment for mental health you should talk with your manager or employer. You should work together to agree any reasonable adjustments.
Find out more about reasonable adjustments
If you’re unhappy with how your mental health problem has been handled
If you are unhappy with how your mental health problem has been handled at work, you can raise this with your employer. It’s usually best to raise the problem informally first by talking to your employer.
If you cannot resolve the problem, you can raise a grievance. This is where you make a formal complaint to your employer.
If you have poor mental health, it’s important your employer takes it seriously and with the same care as a physical illness.
There are many types of mental health conditions, for example:
- depression
- anxiety
Stress is not classed as a medical condition. But it can still be serious and cause, or make worse, other mental health conditions. For example, if you have stress over a long time, this might lead to anxiety or depression.
Mental health problems can:
- happen suddenly, because of a specific event in someone’s life
- build up gradually over time
- be hidden because you may find it difficult to talk about your mental health
- change over time which means that your ability to cope with the demands of the job might change
The law on mental health
All employers have a ‘duty of care’. This means they must do all they reasonably can to support your health, safety and wellbeing. This includes:
- making sure your working environment is safe
- protecting you from discrimination
- carrying out risk assessments
Employers must treat mental and physical health as equally important.
Agency workers
When an agency offers you an assignment, they must give the you details of:
- any risks to your health and safety – this includes mental health
- how the hiring organisation will protect you from these risks
Discriminating against someone with a disability
By law (Equality Act 2010) someone with poor mental health can be considered to be disabled if:
- it has a ‘substantial adverse effect’ on their life – for example, they regularly cannot focus on a task, or it takes them longer to complete tasks
- it lasts, or is expected to last, at least 12 months
- it affects their ability to do their normal day-to-day activities – for example, interacting with people, following instructions or keeping to set working times
Poor mental health can be considered a disability even if you do not have symptoms all the time.
If you are classed as disabled, your employer:
- must not discriminate against you because of your disability
- must make reasonable adjustments
It’s a good idea to work with you employer to make the right adjustments for, even if the issue is not a disability. Often, simple changes to your working arrangements or responsibilities could be enough. For example:
- allowing you more rest breaks
- working with you each day to help prioritise their workload