Aftershocks of ‘financial and mental trauma’ are coming 

Immediate action is needed by employers to overcome the stigma around discussing financial problems according to a Financial Wellbeing Guide produced by Alliance Manchester Business School. 

Months of furlough pay, pay cuts and the arrival of a recession in the UK economy mean widespread threats of financial anxiety. The Guide points to how financial concerns were already a primary cause of stress before the pandemic period. Now the threat of poverty has become a reality for many more people, particularly among women, young people, Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups and people with a disability.

Report author Professor Cary Cooper said: “Financial security is now, more than ever before, a crucial part of employee wellbeing. The impact the pandemic is having on the mental health of the UK workforce is seismic and we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg so far. Work-related stress will soar with the onset of the financial recession and this will severely affect productivity across the UK.”

The first response for HR should be to make sure staff are able to get access to an EAP, says Cooper. 

EAPA chair Eugene Farrell said: “Talking about money is a problem. As a society in general we have been used to a relative level of affluence, luxuries have come easily. Facing up to the potential prospect of losing our home, our ability to spend, is traumatic – a collapse in everything we’re used to, our routines, our identity. 

“While we’ve made great strides of progress when it comes to talking about mental health, there is a stigma around confessing to financial issues, to what might be seen as ‘failing’. 

“EAPs are and will be an invaluable source of support for staff living with financial insecurity, both in terms of providing practical support around money management and planning and emotionally and psychologically in making sure people can deal with all the associated impacts on work and relationships and staying strong through periods of change.”

Supporting employees dealing with death and bereavement

Andrew Kinder, Vice Chair, EAPA UK and Professional Head of Mental Health Services, Optima Health, www.optimahealth.co.uk

During the first weeks of lockdown I would regularly see someone parked up along our road, facing the wall where the cemetery is, just focusing on reading their book, perhaps over the wall was the place of their loved one’s grave. Like most places, all the cemeteries were closed. It was the only way to say goodbye.  It was heart-breaking to see.

The gradual loosening of restrictions means cemeteries have thankfully opened up for rituals of bereavement to take place. But in this period of Covid-19 there continues to be a situation of ‘complicated grief’ where people don’t have the usual chances to say goodbye; the sudden nature of the illness, the limitations on visiting homes and hospitals; not always being able to attend a funeral especially if you’re in a vulnerable group, or the eerie experience of a socially distant funeral. The necessary process of grief can feel stunted and unfulfilled.

The awkward and extraordinary nature of bereavement at a time of a pandemic radiates out further across networks of families and work colleagues – it’s not possible simply to express sympathy and return to the flow of normal life; the bereavement is related to us all, the situation we’ve all been in.  

In this and other ways, Covid-19 has led to a collective kind of grief. Because we’ve all lost something from the way we live our lives, and expect changes that mean nothing will be exactly the same as before. Feelings of loss are likely to only crystallise further as lockdown eases and we return to something like normal routines – the differences will bite: not being able to commute on public transport in the same way, to mix at work, or look forward to socialising in the usual ways in the evenings and weekends.

In the Victorian era death was a subject of great reflection, discussion and ceremony, while talking about sex was taboo. Now, in the 21st century, we have the reverse. Death is one of the most difficult things to talk about, an unmentionable that perhaps we feel shouldn’t be dwelled on too long.

However, our collective grief, that sense of dealing together with a common crisis, hopefully means a lessening of stigma attached to bereavement. We’ve all needed to talk about fears and how we’ve been affected. It is understood that there is a process for bereavement, the typical phases – of shock, denial, depression, anger – but it’s not a linear pathway, we move through dynamically, and all have different triggers of memory and what affects us – something seen on TV, a piece of music, speaking to a loved one. Complicated grief only makes it all more difficult. It is worth emphasising that moving through the grieving phases is always helped by talking, and by looking for and focusing on the things that bring comfort: and work and work colleagues are very often part of that.

EAPs are very important at this time as a service for talking, as an outlet that’s confidential, making it easier to find ways of talking about death and bereavement. And while the numbers of cases of the virus have declined, the effects of loss of people we’ve known, of coming to terms with lost areas of people’s lives, the familiar, will be long-lasting. 

Impact of Covid-19 pandemic on male mental health

Andrew Kinder, Vice Chair, EAPA and Professional Head of Mental Health Services, Optima Health 

Covid-19 could well be the breakthrough in male health we’ve needed, the extreme set of circumstances that makes opening up a necessity and talking to professionals as well as family and friends the essential norm.

Traditionally men have been the ‘hard to help’ group. Whether that’s GPs or EAPs, the experience has been the same. Women are more likely to share issues with people in their networks and more likely to book themselves in to access professional support early. Men tend to wait until a condition is chronic and there doesn’t appear to be any other choice. 

The typical ‘macho’ self-image that can go along with masculinity, that sense of invulnerability, has persisted through the pandemic with reports suggesting men are more likely to be breaking lockdown and social distancing rules. But Covid-19 has also meant men have experienced months of a new virus which has no absolutely no respect for masculine attitudes, no matter how strong or determined. Men have also appeared to be more susceptible. Being unaware of underlying health conditions, poor physical or mental health in general, has become nightmarishly threatening. And, perhaps most importantly, men used to feeling in control of their lives, their career, their independence, have lost potentially much of this.

This combination of risks and disruptions to normal routines is a unique opportunity for changing behaviours among men in particular. More men are reportedly seeing how getting help is a sensible, reasonable thing to do. Getting help early certainly makes a real difference. The Covid-19 period hopefully looks to be encouraging men to face up to their feelings, realising there is no way of putting them to one side and just getting on with things. Because it’s clear how everyone is sharing the same anxieties, having to cope with fear and uncertainty over the future, whether within families, through work conversations or over social media. That gives the potential that much of the stigma of talking about feelings has fallen away.

Getting more men to be aware of their mental health is vital, not only for working through tough times, but for their physical health and resistance to the virus. We know that people’s auto-immune systems are weakened by stress and anxiety: good mental health means stronger immunity.  

For men it’s important they stop putting energy and angst into what they can’t control (so many things when it comes to current living and working conditions). There’s no purpose or value to worrying about future plans, even job security. Instead mental attention needs to be focused on what can be achieved today and tomorrow, what is going to help: a virtuous circle of physical health, good exercise, diet and sleep routines to begin with. Learning a new skill, focusing on what tasks can be done at work, finding a new hobby is ideal. With online content there’s also so much choice – and now’s exactly the time when men shouldn’t be bothering with conforming to gender stereotypes. Trying cooking, arts and crafts, playing an instrument can all contribute to building up mental wellbeing. As a consequence we don’t dwell but stay in control of what we can, and enjoy being the best we can be. 

The recovery period is also going to be the right time for men to start putting together a list of the people they can get help from, whether just in their heads or on paper: the list that confirms how they don’t have to go through problems alone, there’s always someone to talk to. It’s a chance to think more widely. Friends and family, the EAP, but also work colleagues, line manager, union rep. 

Conversations asking for help don’t have to be by phone or in person. Increased use of video calls and messaging by IT in general can make getting support easier for men. The anonymous nature of an EAP is, in itself, an important factor.  As men seek support for themselves they can also look to provide support to others.

Let’s just hope that the lessons from Covid-19, the experience of needing and finding reassurance, the rewards of being open about feelings, are the beginning of hopefully a shift in male culture, not a blip. The cataclysmic nature of global events seems to make that very likely.
You can read more about supporting male mental health in Positive Male Mind. Written by Andrew Kinder, Professional Head of Mental Health Services, Optima Health and Dr Shaun Davis, Global Director of Safety, Health, Wellbeing and Sustainability at Royal Mail, the book seeks to end the stigma around mental health vulnerability in men and includes a section on addressing male mental health in the workplace.

Mental Health Awareness Week 2018

It’s Mental Health Awareness Week next week which makes it the perfect opportunity to review workplace health and wellbeing and think about what more employers could be doing to create, and promote, a culture of acceptance around mental health.

While the majority of work-related stress is attributed to workload, around 1 in 7 people say it is due to a lack of support despite EAPs being the most popular wellbeing initiative provided by employers in the UK. So why the disparity? “While awareness is growing, there’s still a significant disconnect between the EAP services already being provided by organisation to support workplace stress and wellbeing and awareness among employees,” explains EAPA UK chair, Neil Mountford. “There are a number of issues at play that are focused around a lack of understanding of what an EAP is and how it can help but also employee concerns about the confidentiality of these types of services. If employers are serious about creating mentally healthy workplaces, a good first step is dispelling the myths and improving the knowledge that exists around EAPs within their organisation.”

This starts with educating managers about the EAP and its services so that they can better communicate this to their teams and signpost more effectively when needed. Organisations could also think about hosting regular EAP awareness and mental health education sessions. By improving knowledge around EAPs, employers can help increase usage of the service and help mitigate mental health issues from escalating to the level of requiring clinical intervention and time away from work.

“We would encourage employers to talk to their EAP providers about working together to develop tailored communications and education sessions to increase knowledge and awareness around the wide range of services provided by EAPs. Organisations that do this will see the long term benefits of a successful EAP and the positive impact of employees wellbeing on the organisation through improved productivity and fewer days lost to mental ill health,” said Neil.

So if take-up of your EAP is low, Mental Health Awareness Week could be the perfect opportunity to start educating employees about what an EAP is and the different ways it can help.

Mental health in the workplace: advice for managers

A new factsheet from the UK EAPA provides practical strategies for managers to support employees and constructively manage situations where mental health is contributing factor.

“Line managers are faced with numerous responsibilities relating to the guidance, support, development, discipline and performance of employees, and also hold shared responsibility for ensuring the employer’s duty of care for the welfare of their staff is delivered.

“Increasing recognition of the prevalence of mental health issues and workplace stress requires line managers to have greater awareness of sustainable strategies that address these issues and meet the requirements of both employees and the wider businesses,” said Caroline Ribeiro-Nelson, author of the factsheet, who is an experienced Psychotherapist, Consultant and Trainer and is an individual member of the UK EAPA.

You can download your own copy of the Factsheet here.