Blog: Well-being in the Workplace

At our upcoming Employment Law Update Event on 2 April, our ‘in-depth’ topic for our afternoon workshop will be Mental Health in the Workplace: legal and practical strategies, in conjunction with Debbie Kleiner, Head of Workplace Happiness at PES.  This is an important topic for employers and one which we will be focusing on throughout 2019.

In keeping with our 10th year theme, here are our ‘Top 10’ signs of potential employee stress.  This is a useful list for managers to consider:

1. Increased sickness absence – some Fit Notes will helpfully state ‘stress at work’, others won’t and you might have to look beyond ‘headaches, stomach upsets’.
2. Conversely –  working longer hours/failing to take rest breaks or ‘taking work home to finish’
3. Failing to take annual leave entitlement or continuing to work during annual leave
4. Physical symptoms – tiredness, ‘not looking well’, showing lapses in memory or concentration
5. Personality/social  symptoms – deteriorating  personal or working relationships, excluding themselves from work and social interaction
6. Performance symptoms – employee is under-performing in their role for no obvious reason
7. Emotional symptoms – this can be the employee over-reacting to events either with anger or excessive emotion
8. Behavioural symptoms – the employee ‘just not being themselves’
9. External sources – is the employee going through one of life’s difficult events? Bereavement, divorce, illness of a close family member?
10. Lack of enthusiasm and in its more extreme form, excessive negativity regarding workplace

 

PES have shared with us this helpful ‘tree of happiness’ infographic, looking at the factors that employees feel contribute to their workplace well-being.  We found the percentages really interesting, do you agree with them?  How does your organisation fare?

 

For more information about our event please contact my colleague Victoria.

Or if you would like further advice on how to best support and manage mental health and well-being in your workplace or you have a particular case you would like to discuss then get in touch.

Anne-Marie Boyle
Partner

Email Anne-Marie or call 0117 325 0924