I was having lunch with a friend the other day and was shocked to hear that a mutual ex-colleague had become very unwell with work-related stress. Eventually, he left his job and has been unable to work since. She told me of two others with similar experiences.
Although she reassured me that our ex-colleague has had a new lease of life since he left work, it set me thinking about the terrible impact of work-related stress on our health, both mental and physical.
In addition to the personal cost, there is also a high cost to the professions we work in. Hearing his story brought home to me once again the importance of doing all we can to look after our mental health at work and not to be complacent about it or worse still, ignore the warning signs.
It is always worth taking the time to assess where we are with our mental health and keep an eye out for others. And equally, if not more, importantly for those of you in leadership or managerial positions to be aware of what you can do to create a workplace culture that enables people to thrive, personally and professionally.
It is very hard to function at your best if you are feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or unsupported.
To help with this, IP Inclusive and Jonathan’s Voice have worked together to create a new online mental health hub on the IP Inclusive website. The hub has been written specifically for IP professionals.
You might think that with so much information about mental health already available, why do we need yet another resource? What’s going to be new or different about this one? Will it be relevant or helpful to me? Good questions. So why not take a quick tour of the site and see what it has to offer?
Six considerations
For ease of navigation, the hub is made up of six tiles each covering a specific topic so you can quickly find the area relevant to you.
As looking after our mental health is important for all of us, especially in the workplace, and prevention is better than cure, our first tile is ‘Wellbeing at work’. Here you’ll find a wide range of information and self-care techniques, covering topics such as managing stress in the workplace, how to say ‘no’, dealing with digital pressures, good time management, and much more.
If you are concerned about your mental health, then head to ‘Help if you are struggling’. Here you will find information on recognising when you are struggling, where to find help, and tips on how to ask for it.
If you are worried about a colleague, friend, or family member, take a look at ‘Help if you are concerned about someone else’. This section will enable you to feel more confident in recognising the signs and symptoms that suggest someone might be experiencing difficulties. It looks at how to raise the issue, including suggestions on what to say.
The ‘Understanding stress in minority groups’ tile explores why those of us from under-represented and/or marginalised groups are more likely to experience additional stress or mental health difficulties. Being aware of this can also make us better allies.
If you are in a senior position, our ‘Guidance for organisations and senior leaders’ contains suggestions and strategies to help create a working environment that actively and genuinely supports mental health.
Finally, line managers play a vital role in supporting staff mental health. Our ‘Guidance for managers’ explains how to spot the signs of mental health challenges and stress in your employees. It also describes how to support staff who are struggling, including the importance of having effective conversations about mental health.
In addition to this new hub, the IP Inclusive and Jonathan’s Voice websites contain a wealth of further mental health-related information including articles, recordings of past events, blog posts, and other resources.
IP Inclusive and Jonathan’s Voice are both charities. Everything we do is free at the point of delivery so there is no paywall to this resource.
However, we depend on people’s generosity to keep us going. If you would like to make a donation or do some fundraising you can find out more about how to do this on our websites.
Jonathan’s Voice is named after Jonathan McCartney, a UK patent attorney who tragically took his own life in 2017 at the age of 35. He was described as loyal, kind, and loving, always doing his best for, and by, everyone. One of the group’s primary aims is to help create a healthier working culture in law and give legal professionals the tools they need to deal better with mental health problems including anxiety and depression.
