What does your workplace to to help combat anxiety?

[user1494670108]

I work in a very traditional male professional office. As such suggestions of weakness, stress etc are frowned upon and everyone copes with a stiff upper lip all round.
However, we have some changes to the management team that make me hopeful I could raise stress and mental health and how to combat them.
Would anyone be willing to share strategies please?
I'm thinking things like turning off the email server 8pm to 4am, turning it off when a persons on holiday but I suspect neither of those would be acceptable for various reasons, I know that the key is self management/ restraint but we need to change the culture too and I don't know where to start.

Unavailable days. Staff member comes in but puts innheadphobes and just batters through work without answering calls or e-mails. If anyone calls theyvate informed the person is ‘in a meeting/unavailable’ and a message is taken. It works well in my office as you get lots done so you feel more productive overall.

We routinely use anonymously stress surveys and temperature checks i.e. the hotter the worse and things like a strict email policy. However for the culture to change I've found it was only when our chief exec was bereaved and their priorities changed that they led by example and things became more balanced.

*anonymous

Unfortunately my experience was the same as hair until the senior manager for our department lost his son to suicide and his own susequent breakdown there was zero empathy for mental health and not much more for physical (though I was allowed to attend appointment for physical health on trust time (though literally appointment time, waiting times I had to make up) my mental health appointments were annual leave).

It was seen as weakness, any adapations seen as, it was put to me, encouraging me to act more crazy.

There were policies in place for mental health. I'd had assessments with occupation health about my PTSD and recommendations were made but were ignored. Didn't matter how many times I went.

Don't get me wrong, It was a horrendous way for that manager to understand mental health and I'd wish that on no one but things only realistically changed with his personal experiences.

It was a long time ago now and though I'd like to think things have changed I know since that manager left they've reverted back to before.

Have you heard about the mental health first-aider training you can now do? I think it's a great idea and should also work to bump MH up the workplace agenda.

mhfaengland.org/organisations/workplace/

We are encouraged to take a wellbeing hour each week. The only stipulation is that it is taken during the day and not in the first or last hour of the day so that it is used to do something to promote wellbeing (eg walk' read a novel, go for a swim etc) rather than just to start or finish work an hour later

laures that's a really good idea, especially not allowing it at the beginning/end of the day as it's easy to see how that could be misused (either unintentionally or intentionally).

Honestly? Nothing.....

Um, tell us not to be anxious.

Culture change has to come from the top. A change in culture is usually what is necessary for meaningful change. You need the management team to lead by example.

I don't think it's about turning servers off, so much as empowering and supporting people to not feel the need to log on at all hours. So management not having expectations that people will "do whatever hours it takes", management explicitly stating they don't want people working themselves into illness, etc.

The "take responsibility" part needs to come from above, rather than demanding the people without power go against the demands placed on them to "self manage" the conditions being imposed that are causing stress etc.

Things like flexitime and remote working options for days where people have medical appointments etc can really make a difference to how well people cope with their workload stress. Give and take.

Fuck all. And anxiety levels are through the roof due to weak senior leadership. It puts people like me in middle management in a shit situation. I want to do my best for my team but I am completely impotent. Senior leadership don't want to know when I raise it as an issue. Some weeks half of my team is off with anxiety and no bugger cares. I am beyond frustrated.