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If you are tasked with supporting someone with a mental health condition at work - 10 tips that have been occupying my brain of late.
1/ Admit ignorance - even if you’ve heard of the condition, you won’t know how it manifests for the individual. Actually name it out loud too.
1/ Admit ignorance - even if you’ve heard of the condition, you won’t know how it manifests for the individual. Actually name it out loud too.
(Seriously, the amount of times I’ve seen managers obviously uncomfortably referring to “your condition” and avoiding saying the name of it, not realising the incredibly stigmatising impact that avoidance has...)
2/Ask - Don’t rely on the Occ Health report in front of you. It may have missed things, prioritised things, your reading of it may be wrong - even when the individual has approved it. Ask the person how they are, what their experiences have been like, how work might affect them
(Again, how can the individual be sure that you are interested, understand, or appreciate what they struggle with? Even depression and anxiety manifest in different ways. NEVER assume.)
3/ Listen - The voice you hear in the session should be theirs, not yours. The individual is not there to make you feel ‘helpful’ or ‘supportive’. The individual will know every technique under the sun for self-management. The issue is: does your workplace help or hinder them?
(Seriously, suggesting different tools to the individual without asking them what they do already wastes time and can come across as so patronising. The individual has probably done more bloody workshops on this than you’ve had hot dinners. You don’t know if you don’t ask!)
4/ Give space - Allow the individual the space to talk, to meander, to explore. If the individual has to actually interrupt you, then you’re doing it wrong.
5/ Let the individual set priorities and give them agency and choice - An Occ Health report may say time management can be an issue, but it doesn’t mean that it’s the biggest or that there’s no underlying cause. Never ever assume solutions for them.
6/ Ask again - If you are going to provide suggestions, make sure you relay what you have understood the issue to be back to the individual, then ask if you’ve got that right. Only then explain what you can offer and and why. Which brings me to ...
7/ Be aware of your position - You will most likely be a senior member of staff who others may have trouble disagreeing with, challenging or correcting. You may also be used to leading meetings and making the final decisions “to get things done”. Do NOT do that here.
(Also, if you are a manager or in a senior position, be aware the person might not be fully open with you, or may want to please you too and accept whatever you suggest without it being the most suitable option. So be humble, and be curious).
(Another note, do you know why the individual does this job, and what they want to get out of it? That will have an effect on the suitability of solutions that are provided).
8/ Ask AGAIN - As you finish the meeting, signal this to the person, thank them for sharing their experiences (if indeed you actually asked them), and ask if there is “anything you wanted me to ask, but didn’t” or “anything that we have missed.”
9/ Keep to the time allotted and make sure you explain the aims of the meeting at the start - More time than what was scheduled is not always better. An hour meeting instead of a half hour meeting can be really disruptive to people’s days and rhythms.
10/ Deliver and follow-up - And most importantly, communicate these to the individual.
NB: I have been the individual and the ‘manager’ in countless of these situations. I’ve seen it done well. I’ve seen it done appallingly. I know that there are several points here that I can be much better at, but also I know there are people out there who REALLY get this wrong.
Tell me about what you’ve seen - the good, the bad and the ugly! I will definitely have missed things here, what I’ve said won’t be the case for everyone either - so DO PLEASE correct me or point out what I may have missed!!! 
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