Staff wellbeing is key to creating a positive working culture. In addition, poor mental health of staff can cost an employer a significant amount of money. Research has shown that, annually, Scottish employers are losing more than £2 billion as a result of the poor mental health of their employees. In response, the Scottish Government has launched a new free online platform, supporting a mentally healthy workplace, which went live on 11 August 2022. This platform is specifically aimed at giving employers access to resources that can help them better manage and improve the mental health of their workforce. This is key from both a cultural perspective and to guard against disability discrimination complaints.

What does the platform offer?

The platform brings together different types of assistance and guidance to offer employers practical tools to use as we all continue to adjust to working post-pandemic. Face-to-face training opportunities, specialist third party contacts and guidance on the legal duties of businesses can all be accessed on the platform without any cost. The toolkit aims to support employers to create positive environments and improve the productivity of their workforce.

To complement the platform, the Scottish Government has also set up the See Me in Work portal. It is a free digital tool designed to help transform practices and cultures with the aim of changing the way mental health is treated in workplaces across Scotland. In particular, the programme seeks to address the stigma often attached to mental health and tackle the discrimination associated with it. The portal provides a framework including a four-stage programme which guides employers through self-assessment activities, staff surveys and assistance with producing action plans to achieve positive change in the workplace.

What else can employers do to support mental health?

• Create the right culture. Businesses should start by encouraging staff at all levels to be open about their mental health experiences. A recent survey by Mind revealed that one in five people felt unable to tell their boss if they felt overly stressed at work. Normalising conversations about mental health at one-to-one catch-ups will allow employers to routinely identify where support might be needed at an early stage. While creating the environment for sharing is crucial, it remains an individual choice on whether, what and when they feel comfortable to share. As an employer, the aim should be to remove any barriers to sharing and ensure that individuals can share, if they choose, in the knowledge they will be supported.
• Have the right people in place. Many businesses have now appointed mental health first aiders and have a member of senior management in charge of mental health wellbeing. This gives employees an alternative point of contact to whom they can voice their concerns, and ensures that certain members of staff are specifically trained to support mental health. It also sends out a positive message to staff that their mental wellbeing is a priority. Visible champions of mental wellbeing at senior levels in the business can also help to ensure that practices are embedded into the culture.
• Consider workplace adjustments. These might help to alleviate the pressure on an employee who is experiencing mental health issues. Adjustments can take a variety of forms, but might include providing increased supervision, extra training or mentoring, help with workload or even assigning vulnerable employees a "buddy" to help them cope.
• Invest in training. Managers should be provided with regular training designed to help them recognise warning signs of stress. For many managers, this is not something with which they will be familiar or comfortable, so providing them with training and guidance on how to approach these conversations will help to build confidence. Where possible, tailor the training to the specific work environment to ensure it is meaningful. 
• Get creative. Small gestures, such as providing external financial advice to help manage day-to-day living costs and encouraging an end to unhealthy habits like working late nights, can all help. Some organisations even encourage employees to create "quiet rooms" at home, where employees can go to relax and reduce their stress levels during the working day.
• Publish your values. Having a policy on mental wellbeing is important, but publicly standing behind it is even more so. If key stakeholders in the business are seen to promote a policy designed to support mental wellbeing in the workplace, those values will filter down to employees at all levels and can help to drive real change.
• Ask the right questions. No one gets it right straight away, but employee surveys can be a great way to benchmark their views in relation to an organisation's approach to mental health, as well as to highlight areas that staff feel require more work.

What are the potential legal consequences?

In-house legal advisers should ensure that staff mental wellbeing is on their priority list. 

Employers who fail to appropriately safeguard employees against mental health risks open themselves up to claims for personal injury, discrimination and unfair or constructive dismissal claims, in addition to incurring the costs of lost productivity, staff turnover and sickness absence. Employers who do not take mental health seriously will also likely struggle to retain and recruit staff. 

This is something that employers are grappling with in the post-pandemic world. Employers who can show that they care about their staff and their mental wellbeing will already be a step ahead when it comes to attracting and retaining the best talent.