Dealing with anxiety and depression at work
An employee approaches you feeling anxious and depressed - would you know what to do?
Stress, anxiety and depression are incredibly (and increasingly) common in our workplaces. According to Headspace's sixth annual Workforce State of Mind report, 86% of workers have experienced moderate, high, or extreme stress in the past year. For those who have experienced extreme stress levels, 83% of those respondents said that their stress primarily comes from work. Employees are reporting increased workplace intensity and more significant pressure at work [1] with 55% of workers feel that work is getting more intense and demanding and 61% of workers say they feel exhausted at the end of most working days [2].
Great Britain’s Health and Safety Executive states that, on average, this will mean around 15.8 days off work, resulting in a significant financial impact of stress-related sick leave for businesses and employers [3].
Stress is on the rise in the workplace. Signs can appear in our thoughts, emotions, and behaviours [4].
What are the causes of stress at work?
The causes are manifold, but common causes of stress, ‘burn-out’ (a feeling of total physical and emotional exhaustion), anxiety and depression at work include:
Too many or conflicting demands
Poor working conditions
Little control over how and when work is done or decision making
Lack of support or encouragement from managers and others at work
Bullying and conflict at work, particularly if these are not managed well
Not having enough training or skills to do a job
Feeling unclear about roles and responsibilities
Low trust and poor psychological safety - not feeling able to speak up about concerns change within the organisation [5].
Stress from outside of work and personal health factors
Of course, stress outside of the workplace can also impact our lives within our jobs. The death of a loved one, relationship or financial difficulties, debt, caring responsibilities, poor health, menopause and divorce can all cause significant stress, which can result in anxiety and depression within work hours - our mental health isn’t part-time.
Health-wise, some people may also be more likely to have an anxious disposition. Hereditary and genetic conditions may predispose a person to anxiety and depression, as may trauma.
Employers duties under legislation
Supporting your employee's experience of anxiety and depression at work is important. Having a holistic, personalised and meaningful wellbeing offer, well-trained people managers and the right culture is critical to this. But so too is understanding the cause, because for employers, specific legislation conveys duties and responsibilities on them to protect employees from stress.
Acas advises that there are two main pieces of health and safety law which cover work-related stress:
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 – this puts a 'duty of care' on employers to protect their employees from the risk of stress at work.
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 – this requires all employers to make a 'suitable and sufficient assessment' of the risks to the health and safety of their employees at work.
This means that by law employers must:
Identify any risks to their employees' health, for example by carrying out a risk assessment.
Take steps to prevent or reduce work-related stress.
Employers must also make sure they're following the law on working time rules (Working Time Regulations 1998). This is because working long hours without regular breaks can be a cause of work-related stress.
There are key things employers should consider to safeguard employees from stress:
Effective risk assessments.
Clear job descriptions and personalised workplans that consider personal capacity and capability.
Sick leave allowance and pay, including during probation periods, where possible.
Wellbeing provision and benefits for employees.
Ensure equality in mental health care and time to talk for people of all protected characteristics.
Regular staff surveys and pulse polls to check longitudinal data on wellbeing trends within the organisation and to inform actions.
Wellbeing embedded within organisational strategy with a coherent operational implementation plan.
Objectives around employee wellbeing shared across people managers.
Managers provided with training and opportunities to build their confidence in having conversations about mental health.
Mental Health First Aid on a par with physical first aid training, other training such as ASIST (suicide intervention) or SafeTalk can also be considered.
Leadership and management training is rolled out consistently and implementation and effectiveness is monitored.
A culture of psychological safety is fostered where people can feel safe to make mistakes or speak up without fear of humiliation and criticism (this is true where making mistakes is possible, however, in some sectors some mistakes may result in death or injury and so this must be considered based on the organisational context).
Understanding of trauma-informed approaches is embedded across practices and the workforce.
Regular and consistent supervision 121s where wellbeing is discussed openly and supportively and employees are able to share any concerns, hopes or actions related to their mental health.
Wellbeing Action Plans available for staff and teams.
Opportunities for social connection and relaxation.
Effective performance management process that recognises the human element and mental health and wellbeing within it, but where performance and wellbeing can go hand-in-hand.
Whistleblowing policy.
In the day-to-day however, it can be helpful to know how to respond if someone does approach you feeling anxious or depressed.
Employers must resist diving into Karpman's Drama Triangle (1968) - riding in on a 'White Knight' to 'Rescue' an employee, instead, you can adopt a more empowering approach, like Acey Choy's Winner's Triangle (1990) and create an environment where employees are safe to be vulnerable, and staff can offer a caring approach that does with and not to an individual.
Here's a starting point for leading your team with integrity, awareness and compassion, try these simple things:
- Stop what you’re doing (where possible) and turn to face them (put down your pen, your phone, and step out from behind your computer).
- Give them your undistracted attention (bring your focus to your ears for a gateway to 100% listening - trust me).
- Invite them to sit down or stand with you, if they’d like to, or perhaps take a walk with you (you were going to take a break anyway 😉). A trauma-informed approach will always be led by their preferences.
- Ask them, “what’s happened?” “How can I support you right now?”
- Thank them for telling you.
- Empathise that you may (or - be honest - may not) know how they might be feeling and tell them you’d like to support them if you can.
- Ask them “what could help right now?” Or “what helps you when you feel this way?”
- Do what you can to make that happen and if it’s not possible, be clear about managing expectations.
- Offer to follow up, but accept a ‘no’ if they prefer not to.
- They may not need advice or next steps: holding space, silence and exquisite listening is often enough.
Want to work on your well-being, leadership and psychological safety culture? Get in touch, DM me to discuss.
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Sources
Daniel Karpman's Drama Triangle (1968); Acey Choy's Winner's Triangle (1990).