How to spot negative mental wellbeing in your team
No matter how well employees are managed, people will experience negative mental health issues while at work.
As a manager who has responsibility for employees, it’s important to be able to spot signs of poor mental health in your team – especially if you want to create a culture that cares about the mental wellbeing of its staff.
Spotting signs early could help to nip problems in the bud before they escalate into a crisis or absence.
But what are the signs?
What to look out for
As a manager, you should form a good understanding of typical behaviours from your employees.
The key is to notice changes of behaviour that deviate from the norm, which could, but not always, be due to negative mental wellbeing issues.
Symptoms and signs will vary, as each person’s experience of poor mental health is different, but there are some common signs to look out for.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development published a list of the most commonly observed signs of negative mental wellbeing.
Physical signs
- Fatigue
- Upset stomach
- Headaches
- Appetite and weight changes
- Joint and back pain
- Changes in sleep patterns
- Viable trembling or tension
- Nervous trembling speech
- Chest or throat pain
- Sweating
- Constantly feeling cold
Psychological
- Anxiety or distress
- Tearfulness
- Feeling low
- Mood changes
- Indecision
- Loss of motivation
- Loss of humour
- Increased sensitivity
- Distraction or confusion
- Difficulty relaxing
- Lapses in memory
- Illogical or irrational thought processes
- Difficulty taking information in
- Incdreased suicidal thoughts
Behavioural
- Increased smoking and drinking
- Using recreational drugs
- Withdrawal
- Resigned attitude
- Irritability, anger or aggression
- Over-excitement or euphoria
- Restlessness
- Constant negative time management
- Working far longer hours
- Intense or obsessive activity
- Repetitive speech or activity
- Impriared or inconsistent performance
- Uncharacteristic errors
- Increased sickness absence
- Over reactions to problems
- Disruptive or anti-social behaviour
However, if one or more of these signs is observed, this doesn’t always mean the employee has a mental health problem and instead could be a sign of another health issue or something else entirely.
Always take care not to make assumptions.
