Wellbeing conversation guide Purpose and benefits Iris Care is committed to supporting the wellbeing of all staff and service users. As a manager you can play a role in keeping this commitment by showing a genuine interest in the wellbeing of your team. Our wellbeing and happiness often directly affect our physical health; happy and healthy individuals are at work more often and are more productive and creative in their work. A wellbeing conversation is an opportunity for the employee to reflect on their wellbeing inside and outside of work and decide for themselves how this could be even better. Having the opportunity to think and talk about one’s wellbeing may help prevent more serious wellbeing issues developing. As a manager your responsibility is to be aware of what wellbeing support is available, to have conversations with employees about their wellbeing, provide an appropriate level of support where relevant and to signpost to other support available. This is an essential conversation to have.
When and how often could a wellbeing conversation be helpful? In normal circumstances, a reasonable time to ask about wellbeing is when you are having a one-to-one or regular check-in with the employee. The important thing is that you take a common-sense approach, using your judgement to decide when and how often to have a chat about it. This includes knowing if you need to check in with your staff outside of these scheduled conversations. Examples of specific circumstances when a chat about wellbeing may also be particularly important include: • If the staff member has returned to work after an extended period of absence the manager should conduct your return-to-work conversation as per the sickness policy and follow the process within it depending on the circumstances of the absence. However, it may also be beneficial to have a follow up wellbeing conversation(s) once the employee has returned to work and after the return-to-work conversation. • When you notice the staff member behaving in a way that is completely out of character for them e.g., being consistently late for or not joining meetings, appearing unduly distressed or distracted, less helpful or more withdrawn than usual, behaving erratically, not switching their camera on during Teams calls, not taking their usual care of their appearance etc. • There has been a distressing world event in the news that potentially could have a profound impact not only on our staff but also their families, communities and countries of origin. • There is a noticeable decline in their work performance or conduct e.g., missing deadlines, being less organised, making more errors than normal, impatience, raising voice and swearing.
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When workload has unexpectedly and significantly increased for the Home/Hospital/employee. The staff member seems to be avoiding taking annual leave or requesting a lot of leave over a brief period. The staff member has frequent absences or lateness. A noticeable decline in their general health e.g., suffering with frequent headaches, aches and pains, tiredness. In such circumstances stating in advance that you would like to have a chat with your staff member about their wellbeing and how you could support them may be helpful so that they can give some thought to this themselves beforehand.
Keeping an open mind It is all too easy to fall into the trap of making assumptions about: • •
the causes of any wellbeing concern you have about your staff member. what the outcome of your conversation might be
Keeping an open mind about where the conversation might lead is typically the best approach. However, before having a wellbeing conversation it is helpful to familiarise/remind yourself of the wide range of wellbeing support and benefits our organisation makes available to all staff.
What’s on offer to support staff wellbeing? Listed below are just some of these sources of support. Resources and support available to all Staff Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) including Counselling support - All staff members can access support, guidance, and resources as well as free confidential counselling through our Employee Assistance Programme partnership with Health Assured. This includes bereavement counselling, provided by professional cognitive behavioral therapists. Staff refer themselves by contacting Health Assured directly. The therapists help staff members to examine their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors with a view of helping them work towards solutions to their problems, realizing their goals or supporting them to work through the grieving process. Website is accessible here with the below login details. Username: Ludlow Password: Street • •
Our Flexible working policy Wage Stream
Support for Employees/Line managers •
Referral to occupational Health - If your staff member has a health condition/concern which has an adverse impact on them being able to fulfil the duties of their role, you can support them by referring them, with their consent to the Occupational Health Advisor by liasing with HR. Both the employee and the organisation will be advised on any adjustments that could be made to support the reviewee to get back to performing their role to the full again.
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Sickness Absence Policy and Sickness Management Guidance –
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Alcohol and substance misuse – If you have a suspicion that your team member may have a substance misuse problem e.g. you notice worrying changes in their behavior that are not explained by other factors, consider seeking advice on the approach to take from Human Resources. They will be able to support you with your approach to the conversation and how to implement the policy fairly and effectively.
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Flexible working opportunities – discussing flexible working opportunities could be a potential option for supporting the wellbeing of the staff member, if permitted by operational requirements.
What do I do if my team member tells me they have a health concern? Asking the staff member if they have consulted a GP about their concern is usually a good place to start. If they have done this and the health condition is resulting in them being absent from work, you will need to refer to the absence management policy and seek advice from Human Resources if needed. Remember you are not expected to give medical advice yourself, tempting though it can be if you have some experience/knowledge of a medical condition the staff member is experiencing. The emphasis is on signposting, not on giving advice. If you think that their medical condition or health concern means that they are unsafe to be in work then contact HR immediately and your relevant area manager or operations director. If an employee has a physical health condition, whether this be acute or chronic, it’s important to keep in mind that this can affect their mental wellbeing as well. What do I do if I have concerns about my team member’s mental wellbeing? We are living in challenging times and our mental wellbeing is being tested more than ever. It is a normal part of life to go through difficult and trying period. It can be daunting for a staff member to disclose that they may be experiencing a decline in their mental health. Sometimes this can be triggered by work, situations in their personal life or for no reason at all. They may fear discrimination, judgement or feel that it is none of Iris Care Groups business. Equally, supporting someone with a mental illness or wellbeing issue who is reluctant to get help and support can be challenging. Therefore, it is important that you can signpost and seek advice from the Health & Safety, the Wellbeing team or from Human
Resources. Our Occupational Health provider is also able to provide assessments on mental health and illness in the workplace and any recommended adjustments. In general, anything you can do to reduce the stigma of talking about mental wellbeing in your team is helpful. Signposting relevant support on mental health, rather than trying to give direct advice, is advisable. Often people don’t seek help and support as they are unaware that it is available and/or how to access it. If possible, you are able to support staff with annual leave, moving around of shifts if needed or looking at temporarily setting shifts, directing them to flexible working or asking if there’s any other work related support they think would help. It’s good to ask what sort of support the appraisee would think is helpful as everyone’s needs are different. The HR team, Health & Safety, area managers and operations directors can help you assess what support can be offered in these instances. What else can I do to support the wellbeing of my appraisees? A good place to start is with your own wellbeing. Role modelling a healthy working approach sends a clear message of the importance you place on wellbeing at work and can encourage this in others. For example, sending emails only during reasonable working hours, taking regular breaks from your workstation and making time for lunch, can set a good example. Also sharing any wellbeing tips/ideas you have and encouraging staff to do the same is a great way to raise awareness of the importance of taking proactive steps to enhance workplace wellbeing. The ‘I-act’ Promote Positive Mental Health and Wellbeing These include five evidence-based steps that are recommended for mental wellbeing: 1. 2. 3. 4.
Connect - fostering good relationships with family, friends, and our wider communities. Get active - being physically active. Learn - continuing to learn throughout life. Be Part of something larger - volunteer or get involved in your local community to help and support others and work towards a shared goal" 5. Be mindful - paying more attention to the present moment, to your own thoughts and feelings, and to the world around you. You may find it helpful to share the above steps with your team for them to consider. Encouraging the sharing of tips for wellbeing in your team and agreeing as a team how you will stay connected can also be helpful along with signposting the support available to all staff (as detailed above). As well as from other reliable sources such as Mind and the Mental Health Foundation. All aspects of wellbeing are interconnected. Physical wellbeing can have an impact on your mental and emotional wellbeing and vice versa for example. It’s important to encourage staff to tackle all aspects of their wellbeing to deliver a more holistic approach.
Potential wellbeing conversation starters: • “How are you, how are things going with you?” • “I’ve noticed you’ve appeared to be a bit [withdrawn/distracted/angry/frustrated etc] lately and so I just want to check if you are okay?” • “You don’t seem to be as happy in work lately, is there anything going on?” • “I’ve noticed that you haven’t booked any annual leave at all and I’m keen that you have some time off to recharge. Is there any particular reason for this?” • “I appreciate this is a really busy time for you at the moment, so I just want to check how it’s going and how you are feeling?” • How do you feel about the day/week/month coming up?
Potential follow-up questions: • “How are you looking after yourself at the moment? What’s going well?” • “What would you like to change?” • “What have you done in the past that has been helpful?” • “Is there anything you’re finding difficult to change or that feels out of your control?” • “What could you put in place to improve things for yourself now?” • “How are you structuring your day?” • “How can I notice if you are not feeling your best, what would the signs be? What do you need from me when you are feeling like this?” • “I wonder if you might find it helpful to take advantage of the support available from [onsite Occupational Health, Confidential Staff Counselling service etc.]?” • “You might be interested in the x staff benefit – you can find out more by ……” • “I would like to see you [take a regular lunch break, switch off your emails in the evenings..” • “What support do you need from me/colleagues/the team?” • “I’d like to meet again soon to check you are okay and to see how you are getting on, when shall we get together again?” • “I am aware that we have a lot ongoing/long working long hours at the moment due to …….., unfortunately, I am not able to reduce the workload, so I am interested in exploring ideas on what I/we/the team could do to look after ourselves better?” • “Do you have a small wellbeing goal you’ll work in implementing by the time we have a catch up next? Following up again after your initial wellbeing conversation is important as well. Check in with the staff member a few days or weeks after your initial conversation. See if they’ve actioned anything you discussed or if they’ve noticed any improvement. If they are still struggling, you can broach again getting in touch with the Employee Assistance Programme and their GP. If you would like some guidance on additional support, you can offer reach out to the Wellbeing Officer or your HR Advisor.