According to the CIPD, line mangers need to be trained to spot early warning signs of issues and feel confident to talk to staff about any problems. The importance of promoting good mental health within the workplace was also stressed. Furthermore, the organisation said it’s vital to acknowledge that people can’t always leave their personal lives at home when they come

Managers need to be doing more to support staff with mental health issues.

That’s according to the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, who were making the comments at the start of Mental Health Awareness Week.

According to the CIPD, line mangers need to be trained to spot early warning signs of issues and feel confident to talk to staff about any problems. The importance of promoting good mental health within the workplace was also stressed. Furthermore, the organisation said it’s vital to acknowledge that people can’t always leave their personal lives at home when they come.

The CIPD also advised that employers should:

• Monitor workloads and address frequent late-working
• Ramp up internal communications about the support offered to  employees (e.g. counselling services) and how to access that support
• Look at culture – do people feel able to flag when they are struggling?
• Hold a ‘lunch and learn’ session on mental health to increase awareness across the organisation

Dr Jill Miller, research adviser at the CIPD, said: “With two-fifths of UK employers saying they’ve seen an increase in reported mental health problems over the past year, it’s become an issue they just can’t ignore. As well as being the right thing to do, investing in employees’ mental health also makes clear business sense. Healthy employees are more focused at work, so they’ll be more productive and come up with better ideas.

“If we see someone with a broken arm we’ll happily talk about it, but we still shy away from talking about ‘hidden illnesses’ like mental health. So how do we break the silence and have more open and supportive conversations? It’s about building awareness in all your staff, and ultimately about good people management.”