Keep calm and practise Mental Health First Aid

If you thought the 1-in-5 statistic for mental illness prevalence in Australia only affected life outside your office walls, think again. We are seeing these numbers translate to the workplace where 1 in 5 employees are reporting that they have taken time off work due to feeling ‘mentally unwell’ in the past 12 months.¹

While there are various options available to managers for managing and minimising issues like stress in our teams, when a situation reaches a crisis stage, or when a person has a diagnosed condition that is impacting the team, some specialist skills do come into play.

How equipped are you to handle a crisis? Do you have the confidence to provide support when someone is struggling? This is where Mental Health First Aid training comes in.

Just as it’s a health and safety recommendation to learn CPR to assist others, it’s important to be trained to provide adequate support to someone experiencing a mental health problem that may arise at work. It might take the form of a panic attack, thoughts of suicide or self-harm, violent or paranoid episodes or just difficulty receiving bad news.

Not to mention there is a legal requirement for managers under workplace health and safety legislation in Australia to provide a work environment free of risks to health and safety, and this includes psychological health and safety.²

If we consider that over 50 percent do not seek help for a mental health condition,³ there is a good chance that work will be the first setting where a person with mental health issues is encouraged to seek professional support. It may be the first setting where a problem becomes apparent.

The manager plays a key role in checking in with the person, communicating the behaviours observed, encouraging them to seek support and following up on this. Being mindful that issues can escalate suddenly and unexpectedly, it’s important to also know what to do in a crisis.

Some other facts and stats:

• mental health issues are driving Australians to visit their GP more than any other health concern⁴
• the most common mental illnesses in Australians are anxiety disorders, depressive disorders and substance use disorders⁵
• every day, at least six Australians die from suicide and a further 30 will attempt to take their own lives⁶
• organisations and their leaders could face up to 20 years in jail and $16 million in fines over the suicide deaths of their workers under newly introduced workplace manslaughter laws⁷
• the Productivity Commission has found mental ill health and suicide is costing Australia up to $180 billion a year.⁸

If you feel lacking in the confidence or awareness to offer assistance to someone who is struggling with mental ill health, we strongly encourage you to sign up for Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training.

MHFA is a two-day blended training program developed in partnership with the University of Melbourne. It teaches people to notice when others may be struggling and provides the skills to help someone they are concerned about.

En Masse has a team of experienced, highly qualified MHFA instructors who can deliver MHFA training to assist your people to qualify as an accredited Mental Health First Aider. We work with you to develop and deliver a program of education to support your organisation. We also deliver a number of highly engaging evidence-based workshops, targeted at both leaders and employees, to support you in all areas of mental health and wellbeing.

For more on our Mental Health First Aid workshop visit here, call us on 03 9429 8441 or email helena.kuo@enmasse.com.au

References

1. TNS (2014). State of Workplace Mental Health in Australia. Melbourne: Beyond Blue. (accessed online at: https://www.headsup.org.au/docs/default-source/resources/bl1270-report---tns-the-state-of-mental-health-in-australian-workplaces-hr.pdf?sfvrsn=94e47a4d_8)
2. Safe Work Australia (2019). Work-related psychological health and safety: a systematic approach to meeting your duties. Canberra: Safe Work Australia. (accessed online at: https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/system/files/documents/1911/work-related_psychological_health_and_safety_a_systematic_approach_to_meeting_your_duties.pdf)
3. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2014). Australia’s Health 2014. AIHW: Canberra. (accessed online at: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-health/australias-health-2014/contents/table-of-contents)
4. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (2018). General Practice: Health of the Nation 2018. East Melbourne, Vic: RACGP. (accessed online at: https://www.racgp.org.au/download/Documents/Publications/Health-of-the-Nation-2018-Report.pdf)
5. Australian Bureau of Statistics (2009). National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing: Summary of Results, 4326.0, 2007. ABS: Canberra. (accessed online at: https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4326.0)
6. The Australian Senate (2010). The Hidden Toll: Suicide in Australia Report of the Senate Community Affairs References Committee. Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra. (accessed online at: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Completed_inquiries/2008-10/suicide/report/index)
7. Parliament of Victoria (2019). Workplace Safety Legislation Amendment (Workplace Manslaughter and Other Matters) Bill 2019. (accessed online at: http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/LDMS/PubPDocs.nsf/ee665e366dcb6cb0ca256da400837f6b/81339aba775df270ca2584a2007c3af1!OpenDocument)
8. Productivity Commission (2019). Mental Health: Productivity Commission Draft Report Overview and Recommendations. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia. (accessed online at: https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/current/mental-health/draft/mental-health-draft-overview.pdf)