About this self-assessment
The self-assessment covers two key areas:
- Positive mental health in the workplace
- Positive recruitment practice
Part one
Will look at the action you can take as an employer or manager to make your workplace a mentally healthy one. There are a number of things that can be done, some of which are very easy to put into practice. All of the actions suggested are based on general principles of good management, as well as evidence of what works well. They are also based on common sense – we know that people who are happy and satisfied at work are likely to work harder, take less time off sick and stay with the business or organisation longer.
You may wish to use the action planning tool of this assessment, to help you plan how to put the actions into practice.
Part two
Will look at the action you can take to introduce positive recruitment practices in your workplace. There is a lot of local evidence that proves that recruiting people who have had a history of mental ill health is positive for the employee and employer alike. This includes evidence that employers benefit from reduced sickness rates and reduced staff turnover. Many people with mental health problems say they feel they have something to prove and therefore are loyal to their employer and take less time off sick.
One in four people will experience mental health problems at some point in their life. As an employer, this means that a quarter of your workforce will be affected by mental-ill health as will a quarter of your customer base. Successful businesses understand their customers because they employ a workforce that reflects their customer base. There are therefore good business reasons to employ people with experience of mental ill-health. This section will offer you ideas and information on how to do this.
Consider ways you might involve staff in the assessment process to help to give you a fuller picture of mental health in your workplace