Business leaders need to show empathy (and weakness), says Facebook

In his opinion column for City AM magazine, Karandeep Anand, the Head of Workplace at Facebook, has called for HR to ‘scrap’ their ‘meaningless’ initiatives around mental health.

With more people returning to workplaces and more ‘normal’ routines, it’s a critical time for employers to provide genuine support, helping employees with their anxieties around job security, hybrid working, ongoing isolation and future changes.

More organisations have promoted their commitment to mental wellbeing – it’s just part of the new normal – but what about the practical consequences in terms of juggling levels of responsibility and workloads?

“It’s a tale as old as time,” argued Anand. “Leadership teams say mental health comes first, but then push employees to the point of burnout. Company-wide emails promote ‘Wellness Wednesdays’, but they continue to miss tell-tale signs of mental illness because they don’t listen to their people.”

Opening doors

Anand goes on to call for more transparency and constant conversations. Leaders need to share their own experiences of struggles, encouraging a culture where it’s possible to admit vulnerabilities.

There’s a need, he says, for creating space for people to talk and to discover more about the actual experiences of staff: regular one-to-one sessions between employees and managers and leaders. If there isn’t real action on wellbeing, beyond lip service, then more employees are likely to look to move on.

New research provides hard evidence of increased demand from employees for HR support in general. Factorialhr.co.uk found that around three-quarters needed to contact HR in the past year: 42% were queries relating to mental health or illness, 31% around returning to work after an illness. 24% had gone to HR to talk about being unhappy in their role.

Listening or just talking?

“Not just employee wellbeing, but proving the authenticity of wellbeing support has become one of the biggest challenges for HR in 2021,” argues EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell.

“Mass emails and access to web content is one thing, but the intensity of pressures over the past 18 months means that employees need to find substance beneath the promotions.

“The great strength of EAPs is the range and depth of support involved: immediate access to professional expertise and tailored advice, the chance to talk in confidence, with pathways open to the option of counselling sessions.”

How many BrewDog-style employers are out there?

An open letter on Twitter from former employees at BrewDog has put the company’s culture into the spotlight – raising questions about the sincerity of HR and business leaders’ commitment to ethical practices and employee wellbeing.

It’s a serious challenge to the reputation of an employer which has been feted in HR press as a model of wellbeing practices. BrewDog’s vision is to be “the best company to work for…ever”. ‘Our Charter’ talks in terms of everything it does being “about our people”. Recent publicity has focused on the offer of ‘pawternity leave’, giving time off to employees to settle in new pets.

Underneath the shine

The main complaint from former staff – signed by a number of named people and 45 others who “did not feel safe to include their name or initials” – is that BrewDog’s senior team of “inflated egos” created a cult of personality, making for a toxic culture.

More specific claims included: growth being more important than safety standards and health and wellbeing; staff pressured to work beyond their capacity; junior staff belittled; and an HR team not interested in people. Much-publicised offers like pawternity leave were said to be very hard to access in practice.

“Put bluntly, the single biggest shared experience of former staff is a residual feeling of fear,” said the letter. “Fear to speak out about the atmosphere we were immersed in, and fear of repercussions even after we left.”

Impact first

“When an employer is genuinely committed to employee health and wellbeing, when there’s a real balance between bottom-line outcomes and the workplace experience then it’s quite right that organisations take credit for what they’ve achieved,” says EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell [https://www.eapa.org.uk/]. “Employees will want to talk about the great support they receive and why they’re proud to be associated with that brand. HR want to see new ideas, what’s working and what they need to benchmark themselves against.

“Wellbeing initiatives, and employer branding in general, have to be rooted in actual employee experience. Publicity needs to happen second, when there’s been positive impact, when leadership know there’s truth to the claims being made. Otherwise how can any new recruit or employee ever trust any brand?”

How many BrewDog-style employers are out there?

Have pandemic managers been ’bullies’ or just getting things done?

The Workplace Wellbeing Census of 4,000 UK employees found that 26% believed they had been bullied over the past three years. That’s up from 14% in 2019.

The sectors with the highest levels of bullying, according to the Bupa/YouGov survey, are transport, education and retail. Employees aged over 45 are most likely to report having been bullied (17%), compared with just 7% of 18 to 24-year-olds.

Why be a bully?

Researchers suggest the most likely cause for the sharp increases has been the move to digital working practices, the kinds of changes that can be questioned or resisted by older employees. They also point to conflict resulting from decisions over which staff were furloughed and how workloads and responsibilities were being redistributed.

Bupa UK has stressed the need for awareness of the range of problems facing staff in post-pandemic conditions, and the increased potential for miscommunication and misinterpretation.

“Employers have the same duty of care for their workers whether they’re in the office or at home,” said Mark Allan, Commercial Director at Bupa UK Insurance. “Therefore creating a culture where employees feel able to speak up if they experience any problems, is absolutely key.”

Opening up

“There’s a thin line between managers who are bullying, who are being unreasonable in their demands, inappropriate in their manner and behaviour, and just those managers under severe pressure doing their best to introduce unpopular change,” says EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell.

“So it’s often an issue of perception. What tends to matter most is how staff feel about themselves and their relationship with their boss and other people around them. If they feel confident in their situation generally; if they have a sense of psychological safety and can trust their manager and colleagues, then the sense of ‘bullying’ goes away.

“This is where access to an EAP helps in a number of ways. It’s an outlet for talking about workplace strains and relationships issues. It’s a way to help staff better cope with other issues that are affecting their state of mind and ability to deal with yet more change. Managers have the option to signpost their line reports towards more support and advice.”

Have pandemic managers been ’bullies’ or just getting things done? EAPA UK

The National Bereavement Service joins the EAPA community

A free helpline designed to complement existing EAP offerings, the National Bereavement Service (NBS) [https://thenbs.org] has become an associate member of the Employee Assistance Professionals Association (EAPA) UK.

A not-for-profit organisation, the NBS offers impartial practical guidance and signposting on both statutory requirements and support services: who to contact, how to arrange a funeral, through to probate and estate management. It also provides bereavement benefit packages for employers and charities based around legal services, funeral planning and dedicated support and counselling helplines.

The newly-created NBS support and counselling service, provided in partnership with St Giles Hospice, has been set up in response to requests from corporate clients for immediate access to a source of professional advice on bereavement. 

The NBS also has a campaigning role. In January 2021, NBS was one of the organisations who signed the letter to the Government and Secretary of State by Sue Ryder to introduce two weeks statutory paid bereavement leave, to provide security for those who are grieving the loss of a close relative or partner.

“Bereaved employees are highly unlikely to be able to perform well at work if they are forced to return too quickly,” says Jean Watkins, Director of the NBS. “What has not been known until now, is the financial cost of grief to the economy and to employers.   

“We wanted to be part of the EAPA UK community because we believe that our service can add an additional dimension of support not traditionally offered as part of HR, Wellbeing and EAP assistance. NBS can add invaluable assistance and a first point of call to employees affected by a recent bereavement of a loved one, or anyone affected by a death.”

Workplace ‘despair closet’ anyone?

In its bid to improve its reputation around employee treatment and experience, Amazon has introduced ‘WorkingWell’, an ‘employee-designed’ health and safety programme for all of its US operations.

The move comes in the wake of years of criticism from former and current staff at the online retail company on social media and in newspaper reports. Amazon had been accused of limiting toilet breaks and trying to find ways to fire staff without any human involvement, through digital-only processes.

AmaZen?

WorkingWell includes access for staff to an AmaZen in the workplace, an “individual interactive kiosk” where employees can spend their break time watching “videos featuring easy-to-follow wellbeing activities, including guided meditations, positive affirmations, calming scenes with sounds, and more”.

The idea of the booths hasn’t gone down well. A quick, cheap and inhuman response to the very real and complicated problems that affect employee wellbeing – many of them rooted in financial problems and a sense of not being valued as individuals. On social media the booths have become known as “despair closets” or “cry closets”, the box where staff go to hide. “I feel like liveable wages & working conditions are better than a mobile despair closet,” said one Amazon employee.

How to care

“As the past year has demonstrated, employee wellbeing is a fundamental issue, the heart of productivity, performance and organisational resilience,” says EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell.

“Employers need to beware of ticking the box on employee wellbeing with schemes that lack substance, that can’t begin to address the range of concerns and challenges facing people in the Covid-19 era.

“Wellbeing needs to be backed with investment and an acknowledgment of the importance of human contact and relationships. Not everything can be solved with access to instant digital content.”

Workplace ‘despair closet’ anyone? Eugene Farrell

Are digital mental wellbeing advice and forums enough?

The pandemic crisis saw an 89% increase in adults making use of the Kooth digital mental health platform, often used in referrals by the NHS.

In its What is the State of the Nation’s Mental Health report, Kooth has set out the findings from 192,000 anonymised users of the service between April 2020 and March 2021.

Making use of the standard GAD7 questionnaire, 41% said they “felt nervous or anxious every day”, up 19% on 2019 figures. 38% said they “could not stop or control worrying nearly every day”, a 25% increase.

Evidence of crisis

The serious impact of the series of lockdowns is made clear by the data. Problems with sleeping was found to be consistently more common: for example, in November 2020, sleep difficulties were 106% more prevalent than in 2019. Spikes in the number of adults experiencing suicidal thoughts were seen in November and December 2020; and by February 2021, 27% of all adults presenting issues admitted to having suicidal thoughts. Self-harm was also worse, peaking in February and March 2021

“In order to address the mental health and wellbeing needs of the nation, choice and diversity in how people access mental health support must be embraced,” says the report. “There is no longer a one size fits all approach to care. It is clear that there must be a focus on providing support outside of the clinic, or the therapy room – meeting the needs of the nation by providing support when and where it is needed. Digital support should be embedded into wider support structures to provide a safety net for people.”

People need people

“Immediate access to support on mental health is vital – because of the importance of early intervention, but also because that’s the world we live in, the expectation of instant, digital access to services,” says EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell.

“For the NHS, struggling to deal with a vast backlog of patient cases, flagging people towards a library of professional, moderated content and the opportunity to interact with other content users is a sensible option. As research has shown, people in general have been reluctant to bother their GP with mental health problems.

“All our experience shows, however, that employees trying to cope with mounting concerns about their state of mind need the reassurance of a human relationship. A sense of isolation, of being stuck with only digital, artificial relationships, not being listened to, is so often part of the problem.

“That’s why the offerings that employers put in place via an EAP, their commitment to offering individual attention, empathy and a human voice is so valuable and valued.”

Digital mental wellbeing Eugene Farrell

Are managers ready for the strains of the ‘hokey cokey’ work model?

The coming months are expected to see the birth of the hybrid office – the constant ins and outs of staff mixing remote working with key meetings and team building.

The Prime Minister has again confirmed recently that 21st June should see the end to the ‘work from home wherever possible’ advice. A BBC poll has indicated that around 80% of employers expect to offer a hybrid working model.

Tough transition

Transition is going to cause more work and increased pressures for both leaders and line managers trying to juggle competing demands from staff and the need to ensure ongoing delivery in difficult economic conditions. New, more people-centred leadership styles are expected to be needed; more attention to how time in offices should be used; an ability to engage and motivate teams working in diverse ways; to monitor performance in more flexible ways; and, deal with any fall-out or tensions with staff who don’t want to be working in the office or vice-versa.

These are real challenges for leaders and managers already stressed from the pandemic period and feeling “Zoomed out” by management meetings. A survey by IDC and Unisys has suggested that four in 10 business leaders have concerns about the lack of management oversight with hybrid working approaches.

There is also growing debate over the motivations of people preferring to work from home. The CEO of office rental firm WeWork stirred up controversy by claiming that “those who are least engaged are very comfortable working from home.”

Caring for the carers

“Hybrid working is going to be a fact of working life for the foreseeable future. It’s a reasonable response to the uncertainties and concerns around Covid-19 — and offer the kind of flexibility that fits well with a pre-pandemic desire for more flexibility and work/life balance,” says EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell.

“But hybrid also brings a host of management issues. Make-do attitudes were fine during the crisis periods, but employers will increasingly expect high levels of performance and delivery. And that all puts intense pressure onto the management chain.

“There needs to be recognition of what this all means for leaders and managers and how they can best be supported. Their workload isn’t going to be settling down in the coming months. EAP offerings are ideal for more senior staff looking for immediate access to professional advice and reassurance.” 

work model, Eugene Farrell

Diary date: EAPA branch meeting, Tuesday 15 June, Online via Teams

The next EAPA branch meeting will take place online on 15 June via Teams. The branch meeting will run from 10.30 to 11.00 and will be followed by a presentation from guest speaker, Julian Hall, Founder of Calm People.

Julian Hall founded Calm People 8 years ago and they work with organisations of all sizes across the UK, Europe and Australia & the US. They work with groups and individuals to raise awareness and develop the skills to build emotional resilience. Julian regularly presents on subjects related to mental health.  Calm People is a member of EAPA.

Julian will present a session on the 5 Pillars of Stress, a session that Calm People regularly delivers in workshops and events nationally and internationally. By the end of the session you will be fully aware of your own personal relationship with stress and have a proven model and coaching process to coach yourself and others to develop a different relationship with stress.  The session will cover:

• Stress: it’s not all bad
• Where it comes from
• Our symptoms and its impact
• The 5 Pillars Model & coaching process
• Summary & close

Following the presentation, Julian will offer attendees a complimentary experience on their mental health tech platform “My Internal World”, on the basis of shared feedback.

Members are encouraged to bring one colleague as a guest for this part of the meeting. Guests are entitled to attend free of charge.  The branch meeting will be for members only and we invite guests to join the meeting during the break just before the start of the presentation at 11.00am.

Please ensure you and any guests you invite pre-register and confirm your participation by emailing info@eapa.org.uk. The Teams invitation will be sent out 2-3 days prior to the event to pre-registered participants.

If GPs aren’t – who is helping employees with symptoms of depression?

The winter lockdown of 2021 led to 19% of employed adults experiencing some form of depression, according to ONS figures from a survey of 26,000 people in the UK.

Less well-off adults were also worst affected: a third of those who couldn’t afford an unexpected but necessary expense of £850 experienced depression. Women (four in 10) and younger adults (aged between 16 and 29) were also more likely to be affected by symptoms such as sleeping problems, poor appetite and feelings of hopelessness. This situation compares with overall levels in the population of around 10% before Covid-19.

Avoiding GPs

At the same time, GP-diagnosed cases of adult depression have fallen during the pandemic. This indicates that fewer people are going to their GP for help due to lack of appointment availability, concerns about exposure to people with Covid-19 in surgeries, as well as worries about distracting GPs from their pandemic roles.

The CIPD has called for employers to make sure line managers are trained to support wellbeing, can have empathetic conversations and identify early signs of issues with mental ill-health.

Filling the gaps

“It’s critical that early signs of mental ill-health aren’t ignored and left to develop into more serious conditions,” says EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell.

“For different reasons relating to the pandemic many people haven’t felt able to approach their GP, the usual source of anonymous, independent advice when it comes to mental wellbeing. Inevitably that has meant employees who have tried to cope on their own, who have kept worries bottled up or downplayed the symptoms they’ve been experiencing.

“The immediate access to advice provided by EAPs is invaluable in this situation – and as we know, the numbers of people using EAPs has been rising throughout the past year. Not only do EAPs offer round the clock support, but also a faster route to GPs and talking therapies such as CBT. In a situation where the long-term fall-out from the effects of Covid-19 is yet to be fully understood, employers need to make sure that all staff are aware of how their EAP will help them and family members with early signs of depression.”

who is helping employees with symptoms of depression, Eugene Farrell.

Mental Health Awareness Week: What can pan-European collaboration do for mental health?

Mental Health Awareness Week #EuropeanMentalHealthWeek is running across Europe from 10-16 May 2021 [https://www.mhe-sme.org/emhw/].

The programme of events has been set up by Mental Health Europe, a network of 73 member organisations across 30 countries, including the British Psychological Society in the UK, EU-wide groups like Clubhouse Europe, charities and NGOs.

This year’s theme is ‘Mental Health Matters’ #MoreThanEver and how “we are all experiencing a different pandemic”, with different kinds of strains on our wellbeing: “The week is a chance for people to talk about all aspects of mental health, share personal stories of how people are coping with difficulties during the coronavirus crisis and highlight the need for action focusing on advice and support.”

What’s happening

Online events include today’s launch event for Mental Health Europe’s Mental Health Advocacy Platform – advocating a comprehensive EU Mental Health Strategy as a means of bringing about sustainable change across Europe; and a series of conversations about mental health and recovery.

“Mental health is in the spotlight as one of the biggest social issues of our time,” says EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell.

“Awareness is growing alongside levels of understanding among business leaders. But what’s needed now is more understanding about the best forms of support for different people and issues, and how to provide access to them. In other words, there’s a great deal of diversity involved, how do we know what really works?

“It’s more important than ever that we come together and collaborate as a body of committed professionals, with so much experience to share, in order to broaden our perspective and to ensure best practice and new insights are being shared.”