NICE recommends mental wellbeing apps to reduce NHS waiting lists

In response to long waiting lists for accessing talking therapies, NICE has made initial recommendations for eight digital technologies that help people with common mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, as well as PTSD and body dysmorphia.

Together, the apps have the potential to help around more than 40,000 people at any time — given that one in six people report experience mental health problems each week in England, according to NHS Digital. Patients, first of all,  need to have a formal assessment with an NHS Talking Therapies therapist before app access is provided.

Subject to consultation, the apps are due for “rapid deployment” across the NHS.

Rapid value

NICE believes digitally-enabled therapies will provide faster access to help, more flexibility around time and location of treatment, and good value in terms of NHS resources.

“Digital technology could transform the experience of people living with mental illnesses,” said Elizabeth Mullenger, a lay specialist member on the NICE committees involved. “It can be incredibly isolating to be on a long waiting list for in-person treatment. You might know that help is coming, you just don’t know when.

“Having access to a digital therapy could help prevent this lonely feeling. Sometimes people need support most in the middle of the night, or after a busy day at work, and it’s hard to know where to turn. Having access to digital therapy, can give people the help they need, when they need it.”

Human contact

EAPA UK chair, Karl Bennett said: “Online resources and apps have become an established part of the toolkit for supporting people with mental health concerns — having immediate access, 24/7, can be vital in terms of early intervention, and helping people not ready to talk openly about their experience. Many people are reluctant to talk to their GP, let alone their employer, about common issues like anxiety and depression.

“Our experience with EAPs shows that, ultimately, employees need the reassurance of a human relationship. A sense of isolation, of being stuck with only digital, artificial relationships, of 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.”

Finance and mental health: TV’s Peter Komolafe at the EAPA UK AGM dinner

Dinner guests joining the EAPA UK AGM dinner on Tuesday 14 March will have the chance to meet and hear from Peter Komolafe, finances expert for Channel 4’s Steph’s Packed Lunch, Lorraine on ITV, and host of the Conversation of Money podcast.

Money in mind

EAP providers have reported steep increases in the number of calls relating to financial worries — the practical issues relating to debt, credit and contracts. But the bigger concern is the anticipated next phase, when money problems start to affect relationships at both home and work, with the potential for more complex and ongoing mental health problems.

“Studies have shown that if you are worried about money you are four times more likely to suffer from depression, and also four times more likely to suffer from anxiety. Financial literacy and money management are key skills that speak directly to how confident we feel about tackling both difficult and simple financial decisions,” said Peter Komolafe, who experienced a period of being homeless before becoming an executive at a Fortune 100 company and a regular media commentator on personal finance.

Send your completed booking form below to info@eapa.org.uk to secure your ticket for the EAPA AGM dinner.

https://www.eapa.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Dinner-Booking-Form-EAPA-v5.docx

Is the four day week the ‘cure’ for poor mental health among employees?

Research into the impact of the first major trial of four day working in the UK has concluded that the schemes have been a success: benefiting employee wellbeing and staff retention levels in particular.

The pilots, organised by 4 Day Week Global, ran between June and December 2022, involved 61 employers ranging from a software firm to a fish and chip shop.

Good results

56 of the employers now plan to keep the arrangements for the time being, where staff work four days but continue to receive full pay. 18 said this would now be a permanent change.

“We don’t have a firm handle on exactly what happened to productivity,” said report author Juliet Schor at Boston College. “But we do know that on a variety of other metrics, whether we’re talking about revenue, [workforce] attrition, self-reports of productivity, employee well-being and costs, we had really good results.”

Time out?

EAPA UK chair, Eugene Farrell said: “In our age of anxiety, any steps taken by employers to support employee wellbeing are a positive development. On the surface an extra day off for time at home and relaxation sounds ideal. But the situation is complex.

“One of the assumptions of the UK pilot was that employers expected staff to continue to deliver the same levels of outputs and productivity. When people under pressure and feeling the stress of their role are given more time off, it can only serve to increase negative feelings: they’ve got more to do in less time; a ‘day off’ can be just more time to feel anxious.

“As was evident from the Covid-19 pandemic when so many people were working from home, more time at home doesn’t suit everyone anyhow. For many, the workplace is where they socialise and get their sense of purpose and fulfilment.

“Employers need to be aware of the combination of factors involved in affecting wellbeing — like work design, workplace culture, alongside challenges at home.”

Are half of us suffering from burnout?

Data from the end of 2022 on the physical and mental wellbeing of thousands of desk-based workers worldwide points to a crisis in ‘burnout’. Future Forum figures claim 48% of employees in the UK (and in France) believe they are suffering from burnout — compared with 41% in the USA.

Japan was reported to have the lowest levels at 27%. German workers came in at 37%.

Out of control

Other findings suggest that the burnout issue is linked to issues with retention: one of three staff were trying to get a new job specifically in order to escape from a toxic culture where burnout is common.

Those staff experiencing burnout were twice as likely to be feeling “disconnected from company values, direct managers, immediate team and executive leadership”.

Feeling out of control of workloads and ways of working, was seen as a particular cause. Those people with less flexibility in their work schedules were 26% more likely to have flagged feelings of burnout.

What’s burnout?

EAPA UK chair, Eugene Farrell said: “We’re much more comfortable talking about our mental health, and issues like stress, anxiety and the potential for burnout. In the past, far fewer people would have thought about themselves in terms of such a serious condition as burnout, involving a psychological, emotional and physical state of collapse.

“There’s no doubt we’re continuing to live through extended periods of heightened pressures and uncertainties that can combine and snowball. Employers need to make sure their people have a way to do something about negative feelings, make sure they can get a clearer sense of what those feelings mean, and best ways of building resilience. More minor problems can be caught early, and longer-term issues like burnout prevented.”

Join us for a Networking Dinner

at the Health & Wellbeing @ Work Event

14^th March 2023, Genting Hotel, NEC

EAPA (Employee Assistance Professionals Association UK) is hosting a networking dinner at the NEC Health & Wellbeing @ Work event on Tuesday 14^th March 2023.   This dinner directly follows the EAPA AGM, taking place at the NEC event from 5.30pm to 7.00pm.

This informal networking dinner is open to anyone who is interested in wellbeing and mental health in the workplace.  Tickets are being advertised to all EAPA members (organisations and individuals) first – and also to other individuals and conference delegates working in this field, for example, occupational health providers.  Please feel free to extend this invitation to your colleagues and/or other contacts who may be interested in attending.

Please complete and return the attached booking form to reserve your place(s).  An invoice will be sent to you on receipt of your booking and payment will be required before the date of the dinner (by 13^th March 2023).  Tickets cost £45.00 per person for EAPA members and £50.00 for non-members.   Tickets are limited and are being sold on a first come – first served basis, so early booking is strongly recommended!

Booking form link is here

https://www.eapa.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Dinner-Booking-Form-EAPA-v5.docx

EAPA UK AGM 2023

The AGM for UK EAPA will take place at The Health and Wellbeing Conference at the NEC Birmingham on 14th March at 17:30 hours. We have not yet been allocated a room.

Please register to attend by email to Gemma Lingard Secretary EAPA UK info@eapa.org.uk

The agenda and minutes of the previous AGM will be sent to all registrants.

Nominations are now open for UK EAPA Board members.

Nominations are being accepted for:

Chair

Vice-Chair

Secretary

Treasurer

The are 7 board positions available, 2 for 1 year term and 5 for two year term. Please indicate which position term you are being nominated for.

Members can nominate themselves in writing, sent to info@eapa.org.uk. Only one representative of an organisation or an entity affiliated to the organisation, including its parent company and other affiliated organisations, is eligible to become an Officer or Board member. Nomination form is linked here. Please note the Board Member Commitment that is required of all.

The closing date for nominations is 28^th February 2023

Election will be made by a show of hands by those attending the AGM, with a majority vote proving positive for election.

New WHO/ILO mental health guidelines focus on the workplace

Workplaces amplify issues that have a negative affect on mental wellbeing, says the World Health Organisation: through feelings of inequality, discrimination and bullying. 12 billion workdays are said to be lost annually as a result of depression and anxiety, costing the global economy nearly $1trn.

At the same time only 35% of countries around the world have specific national programmes that support work-related mental wellbeing.

Call to action

The WHO alongside the International Labour Organisation has launched its guidelines on mental health at work, with suggestions of practical actions to take in a WHO/ILO policy brief.

The guidelines recommend in particular that organisations take action on issues such as heavy workloads, pay more attention to the kinds of negative behaviours that create distress among employees, and provide training to managers on how to prevent creating a stressful work environment.

Employers are also encouraged to look again at how to best accommodate the needs of workers with mental health conditions and support their return to work.

New worlds of support

EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell said: “The WHO has been providing active advice and guidance on physical health for many decades, great strides have been taken internationally on prevention and cure of physical illness and disease.

“As the WHO interventions have indicated, mental health is now among the biggest threat to societies — and workplaces are at the centre of the issues involved. That means mental wellbeing strategies, linked to practical programmes of support, have to be front and centre of organisational strategy.”

New WHO/ILO mental health guidelines focus on the workplace – EAPA UK

World Mental Health Day takes on discrimination

WHO research suggests that 1 in 4 people in OECD countries think people with a mental illness shouldn’t be allowed to hold any kind of public office.

Ongoing stigma and discrimination are seen as the biggest barrier to making progress on making mental health a global priority: “The stereotyped attitudes about mental ill health, which we call mental health-related stigma, can lead to the discrimination of people who have or are perceived to have mental ill health, which makes it harder for them to earn an income, have a voice in issues that affect them, gain access to quality health care, be part of their community and recover their mental health,” says the WHO.

Mental health literacy

To overcome these ‘invisible walls’, the WHO is calling for campaigns to improve mental health literacy among the general public, tackling general limitations in knowledge and understanding of what mental ill health means, and what it’s like to live with a mental illness.
Its own resources include the QualityRights toolkit, and free e-training course .

In the UK, the Department of Health and Social Care has its ‘Better Health – Every Mind Matters’ campaign, backed up by a number of practical exercises and advice for self-care, including the NHS-approved Mind Plan — a five minute mental wellbeing quiz that covers ‘money, work and housing’ and ‘life changes and difficult times’, leading to a simple and personalised mental health action plan. Its downloadable resources are available from a Campaign Resource Centre.

EAPs make it happen

EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell said: “No-one involved with mental health would argue that the issue should be a top priority for governments and societies worldwide. There’s no health of any kind without mental health.

“Great progress has been made in the UK in terms of awareness and stigma in the UK, but as the WHO points out, there can sometimes be a lack of real understanding and empathy. A core issue is one of access to support. It should be a normal part of life for people to be thinking about their mental wellbeing, and to get early help and advice when it’s needed. While access to services is limited, seen as a last resort, help with mental health won’t be made to look and feel ‘normal’.

“This is where EAPs are going to play an increasingly essential role, as early stage support, accessible and reliable for all employees within organisations.”

World Mental Health Day takes on discrimination – EAPA

Is wellbeing becoming a top manager perk again?

A survey among 10,000 workers internationally by the Future Forum research group has signalled a “troubling double standard”: a steady decline in the stress experienced by senior staff, but an increase in anxiety among the majority of workers.

The researchers point to a basic divide in terms of work flexibility and conditions post-pandemic. Exec-utives have been given more freedom to work from home and flexibly, while workers have been ex-pected to get back to the office. As a result, the average employee’s work-life balance score was found to be 40% lower than executives. Full-time office workers were found to have markedly lower mental health scores.

The back-to-the-office effect

After a period of more easy-going attitudes to wfh and flexible working hours, the desire among boss-es to see staff back in the workplace is having disproportionate effects. A Microsoft study has suggest-ed that 50% of organisations want to re-instate full-time office working routines.

Future Forum Vice President, Sheela Subramanian, explained the problem: “Executives are embracing flexibility while they’re telling everybody else to come back to the office. What we’re seeing is just a lot more rigidity, more top-down mandates happening and executives are not necessarily setting that model from the top.”

Keep it clear on wellbeing

EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell said: “Wellbeing among staff is the foundation for productivity and performance across the entirety of organisations, not something that can be seen as a perk. It’s going to be important for HR teams to ensure there’s not a quiet drift in attitudes to seeing work/life balance and flexible routines as something that can only work for the few — the few who are typically in the senior ranks.

“The danger is not so much now, while employers are having to compete for skills, but what happens when there is less competition? Support for wellbeing has to be even-handed.”

Is wellbeing becoming a top manager perk again? – EAPA UK

Embrace the wellbeing and productivity consultancy role, says EAPA’s first international President-elect

“Employee Assistance (EA) professionals are traditionally more concerned with ‘rolling up their sleeves and doing the work’ of helping people, than conceptualising and promoting concepts or ideas about what EA can and should be,” says Daryl Joseph of Josal Consulting, newly-announced as the President-elect of EAPA internationally.

“Over time, we have found ourselves in a position where we often overlook our consultative role in the workplace in favour of seeing our primary role as providing short term clinical care to employees.

“EA is the only professional discipline that embodies the skill, experience, training, and resources needed to adequately address the multifaceted challenges of maintaining high productivity among the workforce. In today’s post-covid 19 reality, organisations need the intervention and assistance of EAPs to ensure that their people can work, and work well, more than ever before in modern history. EAPs are quite simply essential in today’s workplaces and societies.”

Changing the workplace for good

Joseph is Managing Director of Josal Consulting [www.josalconsulting.com], a provider that has built up a large client base of employers across the Caribbean over the past 11 years. He formally takes on the global role in 2024 for a two-year period.

The most important job for EAPs now, Joseph argues, is convincing the world of work “just how much EA can actually accomplish if there is cooperation and collaboration enabling us to act fully in the workplace.” EAPs also need to moving forward on integrating technology into EA, he says, particularly when it comes to data science: using data for analysis and decision making.

The other new global board members are Lee Ann Aden (Treasurer), and Bryan McNutt and the UK’s Eugene Farrell as ‘At-Large’ Directors. The main purpose of the international board, as EAPA’s governance body, is to set policy and help shape the direction and development of the EA profession.

Driving forward

An EAPA international member since 2001, Eugene Farrell [https://www.eapa.org.uk/] is now serving his second term as President of the UK Branch.“It’s brilliant to see the EAPA global board expanding and bringing in new expertise and sources of insight — especially now, in what feels like the beginning of a new era for EAPs and their potential in terms of working in partnership with HR to improve productivity.

“With his energy, passion and clear thinking, Daryl will be a great addition to the team as President and in helping to drive future development of our industry.”