Helping an employee with health anxiety

[DaisyDayz]

I have a team member with moderate health anxiety - there is always something wrong with her so I do understand the anxiety starts from a place of real concern (allergies; gynae problems; lots of minor viruses etc) but also she’s very underweight and has been dieting apparently because the GP told her to cut down on certain food groups so she’s not eating anything substantial. From time to time she gets very worried about new symptoms then spends a lot of time in the loo or being very upset about her health problems. I feel worried about her, we don’t have an OT process in place but I wonder if I could ask HR to set something up for her?

Or…How can I help her to feel better and let herself have a bit of a mental break from all the worrying at work?

I let her have what time she needs for medical appointments (quite numerous recently) and I encourage her to take proper lunch breaks and holidays; and I don’t pressurise her at work …but her productivity is very low some days and she becomes forgetful and a bit careless when she is worrying about her health.

At her best she’s a good worker but I don’t know what if anything I can do to help her stay at least close to her optimal state and I also hate seeing her suffer so much.

Are there any anxious/sickly types out there who have some advice for me?

Or…How can I help her to feel better and let herself have a bit of a mental break from all the worrying at work?

Whilst it's nice that you want to help, I think you need to consider appropriate professional boundaries and your own expertise. It is not your responsibility, nor your place, to be trying to provide what is effectively a therapeutic intervention or level of support. That blurring of boundaries has a high likelihood of blowing up on you.

Speak to HR about arranging an occupational health referral - they can engage a third party for this. Then OH can make recommendations about appropriate reasonable adjustments if she meets the threshold for disability. You should also seek HR advice on managing any performance issues as part of this process.

There is also the Access To Work Mental Health Support Service, which she could refer herself to if she felt she would benefit from support.

Trying to do more than that would be really inappropriate as her manager, as well-intentioned as I am sure it is.

Totally agree - you are approaching an inappropriate level of input for an employee. Unprofessional at best, it could very much lead you into hot water. Plus, as her boss, inserting yourself in her health and wellbeing beyond the normal professional level could lead to her feeling pressured and harassed by you - exactly the opposite of what you are trying to achieve