Collective ambition: MAD World shows the importance of collaboration between employers, employees and sector providers

Is burnout an employee’s responsibility? It was a point, interestingly made, from a member of the audience at a MAD World panel session about meeting the increasing need for personalised mental support. The thinking behind the question was that as so many of us work from home and fluctuate our working hours, is there a potential that employees need to take responsibility for time management to support their own mental health?

The suggestion was that burnout is a combination of workload and how employees structure their work, how efficient they are and whether their work simply fills the time available. So an employee may log in at 8 am and logout at 7pm, but if they use their working time more efficiently, they could have less moments questioning ‘what have I achieved this morning?’. Therefore, helping employees to work more efficiently, so work doesn’t regularly seep into their evenings would be a good use of HR time.

Workload is a major concern for employers managing mental health 

The topic was honed in on after a poll in the room that showed ‘workload’ was a major concern for delegates when it comes to effectively managing mental health problems at work. 

Shamira Graham, Chief Commercial Officer and Principal CBT Therapist at corporate mental health provider Onebright said: “We know the organisational element to workplace mental health is significant, that’s around job demands, resources, interpersonal reactions and workplace strategies. But if someone’s mental health isn’t good, or is getting worse, then their cognitive ability will reduce. Their attention will diminish, as will their concentration and productivity. A task that could take three hours to complete will take longer if mental health is compromised”.

Employers are rightly in the spotlight when it comes to burnout, and employees have their role to play too, but what about vendors and suppliers to the sector? What is their role in supporting employers and employee wellbeing?

What roles do suppliers and vendors have in supporting mental health?

A different panel discussion, on creating informed and effective wellbeing strategies, highlighted support available to buyers – yet the messages for providers were clear too. 

The upshot was that providers need to be true partners to employers. Elton Dorkin, Chief Medical Officer of Rio Tinto, Steve Iley, Chief Medical Officer – health, safety and wellbeing of Jaguar Land Rover, Dr Jo Yarker, Professor in Occupational Psychology at Birkbeck University of London, and Nick Pahl, CEO of the Society of Occupational Medicine discussed the need to work collaboratively so there is a win-win for all parties. 

Provider evidence was discussed, particularly data transparency behind products and services, with the guidance that ROI inflation only goes to create future issues.

Providers need to be willing to work with the organisation to evaluate their impact on outcomes, and on top of that, have a willingness to adapt their offerings to fit organisational needs and a diverse workforce. 

They can help in the procurement process too, guiding employers on the best wellbeing practices, not just the latest products and services. Open conversations are supportive, particularly if an implementation isn’t gaining the results expected. Working together to troubleshoot and improve the situation becomes essential.

This partnership boils down to flexibility, a collaborative approach to support an organisation’s wellbeing goals, along with sector knowledge, rather than just showing up as vendors trying to make a sale.

These all go some way to build trust, at a time when trust has never been needed more. 

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