Session announcement: Supporting your team’s mental health
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Mental health is a crucial topic across all areas of society, particularly as the stresses of modern living – the cost of living crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, loneliness – affect our wellbeing.
And unfortunately, care workers can struggle more than most with mental health, due to demanding jobs, high levels of responsibility, and grief when service users die.
A 2022 report by the World Health Organization found that the strain of caring for people through the pandemic has left care workers mentally vulnerable, with between 41-52% suffering from burnout, and more than 20% suffering from anxiety and/or depressive symptoms.
“Well into the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, this report confirms that the levels of anxiety, stress and depression among health and care workers has become a ‘pandemic within a pandemic,’” said Jim Campbell, WHO Director of Health Workforce.
However, while the report largely attributes the poor mental health of care workers to the pandemic, common sense tells us there are other factors at play, including low pay and a lack of respect from government and society, coupled with an emotionally and physically demanding job.
You may feel there’s not much you, as a care manager, can do to improve your team’s pay, or the way care workers are viewed by society – although these are fights we must keep on fighting.
But one thing you can do is support your team’s mental health as much as you can. Early recognition is often key to getting support in place for someone who is struggling before they decline further, so sharpen your sense of how your people are doing. And if someone is struggling, a safe, supportive conversation in which they feel able to open up to you is key.
As safeguarding & people business partner at Paragon Skills, and an HR expert and Mental Health First Aid trainer, Niki is just the person to walk you through how to support your employees, and give you practical tips to take away and implement with your team.
Join Niki in Free CPD Theatre 1 to:
- Learn how to recognise the signs and behaviours that could indicate that someone is struggling with their mental health
- Discover how to start a supportive conversation with staff
- Leave with five practical tips to implement in your business
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