Prevention
Prevention starts with the onboarding process and continues through the employee’s experience. The following section includes tools, resources, and guides to supporting wellbeing in the workplace.
Recruitment and selection processes
Recruitment and selection processes are the first opportunity to communicate with an employee and allow you to set out the expectations of the person who undertakes the role. Clear job descriptions, personal specifications and information about the selection process set a tone of openness and clarity for both parties.
Induction
An Induction is not just for new starts with the organisation, but it is also relevant for those who have been promoted or redeployed into other positions. Change can increase stress levels and if not managed correctly can impact the success of an employee in a role on a long-term basis.
Key actions:
Start as you mean to go on
Use the induction process to invite people into your positive work culture, set expectations and help facilitate an understanding of your organisation. Ensure that the induction plan reflects your organisational values.
Say what you are going to do and do it
A good example of this would be if you have a remote or hybrid working provision. Ensure that from the outset that there is clarity around your policies. This includes expectations of office/home working ratio, appropriate places to be classified as home and any policies in relation to your IT provision. Clear policies avoid confusion and uncertainty as to ‘what is allowed’ and managers should follow the same process as other employees. If there needs to be a difference in working patterns this should be communicated in the relevant policy.
Discuss reasonable adjustments early
Some people require reasonable adjustments to help them manage their workload or support any additional support needs that they have. Preferably before day 1, these adjustments should be in place as required for when the person arrives in the workspace. More information on Reasonable Adjustments at work for people with mental health problems can be found here.
Follow up regularly
Don’t just complete the induction plan, scheduling future meetings is vital for the new employee to know how their transition into the organisation is going.
Behaviours in the workplace
Positive human connect is essential to good wellbeing in an organisation. The role of the people manager is crucial in supporting wellbeing. Our section on awareness and intervention discusses some of the activities to support wellbeing, how to spot early signs of distress and enact early intervention.
Psychological safety in the workplace is essential. Law is a challenging occupation, being psychological safe allows people to feel their best and perform well. Positive human behaviours where there is a ‘top down’ role model of appropriate behaviour help to create a positive culture and challenge stigma. Organisations that promote ethical values empower employees to do the right thing and reduce the rates of absenteeism, disengagement and other non-productive behaviours.
Key actions:
Lead by example
Being able to observe role model behaviour is essential for members of your organisation. This requires you understand your companies’ culture and ethnics and you need to be able to explain it to your team. By holding yourself accountable you set the stage for a workplace where individuals feel empowered, respected, and motivated to contribute their best efforts towards achieving common goals.
Be person-centred
People are individuals, and each person will require a different approach. By being person centre you acknowledge a person’s individuality and foster a sense of inclusion and support. Being available for a person is essential especially in high stress careers like law.
Normalise mental health and challenge stigma
Employees must know that their leadership will challenge people especially inappropriate language and behaviours that harm already vulnerable people. As well as challenging behaviours, it is also important to promote positive supportive environments as the norm.
Find out about your team
You can overwhelm yourself with information about wellbeing but knowing your team is going to get the best results. There are plenty of resources at Lawscot Wellbeing that will help you and your team support their own wellbeing. You don’t have to know everything about wellbeing but you do have to know your team.
Create opportunities
A rarely used mechanism for improving wellbeing is creating opportunities for employees to develop. Some employees feel stuck, creating even a temporary opportunity can help them view their position differently. This could be working with a different partner, taking on an additional responsibility, mentoring new staff or even something simple like writing a blog or article for us.
