The Equality Blog

Improving Mental Health at Work

We know that work can have a positive impact on our health and well-being. In fact, it’s not a leap of faith to recognise that healthy and well-motivated employees can have an equally positive impact on the productivity and effectiveness of a business.

As part of Mental Health Awareness Week 2019, I wanted to examine health and well being in the workplace. As an equality and diversity advisor I often get requests for information or training regarding mental health and it’s often a subject managers are unsure of or avoid. It’s worth noting that the Mental Health at Work Report (Business in the Community, 2017) found that only 24% of managers had received any form of mental health training. Appallingly, the report also highlighted that 15% of employees who disclosed a mental health condition faced disciplinary procedures, demotion or dismissal.

In the public sector, adverts for jobs often highlight how an organisation has employee health and well-being at the heart of its organisational culture when, in truth, like most organisations they are actually on a journey to improving the health and well-being of staff, rather than being the finished article.

First and foremost it is important to understand that managing health, work and well-being is the responsibility of both the employer and the employee. To better understand the interaction between health, well-being and work it is important for organisations to recognise:

the relationships between line managers and employees
the importance of getting employees involved
job design, flexible working and the use of occupational health

The connection between health and work

Health and safety in the workplace has been with us for many years, most public sector organisations have a health and safety manager, or at least someone who is responsible for health and safety in the organisation. However, the growing awareness of work-life balance has also made us aware of the relationship between our mental and physical well-being and the job we do. As such, for many people, the connection between health and work is often restricted to concerns with physical hazards in the workplace. Employers are legally obligated to protect staff in their organisation by looking after their physical health and safety and whilst traditional health issues – such as noise, dust and chemical hazards – are vitally important… staffs mental well-being is an emerging priority.

Is work good for your health?

Absolutely, studies show that work is generally good for your health and most of us enjoy having a meaningful job of work. Additionally, as a financial reward, it gives many of us a feeling of self-esteem, companionship and status. The Macleod Review, published in July 2009, regarding employee engagement, highlighted how this ‘feel good’ factor is strongly influenced by:

leaders who help employees see where they fit into the bigger organisational picture
effective line managers who respect, develop and reward their staff
consultation that values the voice of employees and listens to their views and concerns
relationships based on trust and shared values.

However, although we know that the benefits of work can greatly outweigh some of the disadvantages; it is also clear that work can be bad for your health. According to Government figures, two million people suffer an illness they believe has been caused or made worse by their work (‘Choosing Health’ White Paper). This can take the form of stress, anxiety, back pain, depression and increased risk of coronary heart disease.

However, there are a number of misunderstandings with work related illness that continue to persist. For example, it’s often said that people in high status jobs are more at risk of heart disease due to stress. However, research by the Cabinet Office dispels this myth. The Whitehall II study, published in 2004, examined public sector workers and found that men in the lowest employment grades were more likely to die prematurely than men in the highest grades. In contrast, higher rates of absence, as well as illness, were associated with low levels of work demands.

Furthermore, according to research by the Confederation of British Industry, non-work related mental ill health is the most significant cause of long-term absence in the UK – and musculoskeletal problems are the second most significant cause.

How to recognise an unhealthy workplace

Often, an unhealthy workplace is quite easy to recognise and will likely share a number of the following traits:

poor management
a bullying culture
poor customer service
high levels of absence
reduced productivity
unreasonably high work demands

You may have experienced these kinds of workplaces – either as an employee or a customer. Sickness absence is often rife and habitually out of control and there is usually very little commitment to the organisation. Where there is an over reliance on expensive agency staff due to high levels of staff sickness or absence can be an indicator that a workplace is unhealthy. That said, in such situations, leaders will often point to a significant period of change, such as a major organisational restructure, as the reason and claiming things will get better in due course. In such situations you need a strong leader to rebuild a culture of health and well-being across the organisation.

What makes a healthy workplace?

Simply put, a healthy workplace is based upon good relationships. On the other hand, promoting a healthy and productive workplace is not just about being nice to each other, although this obviously helps. Positive employment relations are built upon:

effective policies for managing people issues such as communication, absence, grievances and occupational health
high levels of trust between employees and managers. Trust is often nurtured by involving employees in decision-making and developing an open style of communication.

Ultimately, where staff feel healthy and motivated they will certainly:

go that extra mile
give good customer service
take fewer ‘sickies’
provide commitment and creativity.

How can you tell how healthy your workplace is?

There are many stories out there where employers share the great practices that go on in their workplace to enhance employee’s health and well-being. However, in truth, if you want to see how an organisation values staff health and well-being you need to see what practices happen when the organisation is under pressure, whether that be financial pressure or as in the case with the public sector when it is under external inspection. Only then, during such challenging times, can the true value of supporting staffs health and well-being be seen.

Acas, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, believe that there are six indicators of a healthy workplace, these are:

line managers are confident and trained in people skills
employees feel valued and involved in the organisation
managers use appropriate health services (eg occupational health where practicable) to tackle absence and help people to get back to work
managers promote an attendance culture by conducting return to work discussions
jobs are flexible and well-designed
managers know how to manage common health problems such as mental health and musculoskeletal disorders.

Ramadan Mubarak – How to Support Employees Observing Ramadan

In 2019, Ramadan began on Sunday 5th May and will end on 4th June in the UK, and those observing the holy month will be fasting and taking part in religious practices for 30 days.

Working Muslims will be fasting from sunrise to sunset every day, which could be around 17 hours of not eating or drinking every day for 30 days.

Although fasting is usually the primary association with Ramadan, the month involves a lot more exertion than refraining from food and water. Eating your first meal at sunset, extra prayers, late nights and a heightened emphasis on patience and virtue are all part of experiencing the holy month.

Best practice for Ramadan at work

Establish when Ramadan is approaching and who this could affect at work. Muslims will not mind if asked about the upcoming month and without having to be direct, one should be able to know whether or not they will be fasting.
Ensure all staff that work with Muslim colleagues are aware of what fasting entails and how this could impact someone. Fasting 17 hours a day is not easy and colleagues need to appreciate how this can translate into behaviour and working practices.
If shift work is the norm, look at any changes that can be made to offer those fasting the opportunity to swap shifts or change their working hours in a way that suits all parties.
For those in 9-5 roles, consider flexitime options for start and finish times. See if allowances can be made for people to work lunch hours and breaks in return for an earlier finish.
Asking a Muslim to attend a lunch meeting demands a lot of them. Many may politely agree, as will many decline. Be understanding of those that do not feel comfortable sitting and watching people eat and drink.
If welcoming someone into your office for a meeting who you believe could be fasting, simply ask on arrival if they want a drink. If they decline you can be pretty sure they are fasting and there is no need for you to keep offering them a tea and biscuits.
If you bring food and drink out onto the office floor, do not allow it to be placed right next to the desk of someone fasting. If you normally eat your lunch at your desk, try and show some discretion. However, the vast majority of Muslims won’t mind as its part and parcel of Ramadan in the UK.
Make special allowances for Muslims to take a break at sunset to break their fast if they happen to still be on shift. This needs to be ample time to break their fast, pray and then eat properly.
If you have a canteen, try and arrange for some meals to be saved for people fasting so they are not left choice less at the end of their day.
Avoid booking in meetings for the afternoon. If high concentration levels are needed from people, don’t expect this after lunchtime. Use the morning when people are still relatively fresh.
Do not expect people to commit to evening functions. The evenings are dedicated to eating, prayers and gatherings within the family and wider community.
You may find some staff booking of up to 2 weeks towards the end of Ramadan. There is a practice whereby men spend the last 10 days living in the mosque to help intensify their acts of worship. Be accommodating in allowing this period off ensuring it does not clash with company guidelines.
Be prepared for people to take between 1-5 days holiday at the end of Ramadan to celebrate Eid. This has the emotional equivalent to Christmas and is the one time of the year whole families and neighbourhoods get together to share presents and good food.
If fasting team members are working remotely, work out time differences and how their daily routine will impact you in terms of meetings, deadlines, SLAs, etc.
Try and use Ramadan as a platform for greater understanding and improving team dynamics. Why not throw an iftar one evening and allow people to share a part of their lives with colleagues?

For further guidance on best practice when supporting Muslim staff during Ramadan take a look at the original article below from HR Zone.

https://www.hrzone.com/perform/people/ramadan-at-work-hr-best-practice

Equality, Diversity & Human Rights Week 2019, 13-17 May

From 13-17 May 2019 the NHS will be celebrating the eighth Equality, Diversity and Human Rights Week #EQW2019. Co-ordinated by NHS Employers, #EQW2019 is a national platform for organisations to highlight their work to create a fairer, more inclusive NHS for patients and staff.

This week of activity aims to raise awareness of equality, diversity and human rights issues in the NHS and celebrate best practice. As the largest employer in Europe, with over 1.3 million staff, the NHS has a responsibility to remain at the forefront of the inclusion and fairness agenda for patients and staff.

Diverse, inclusive, together

The theme is diverse, inclusive, together and has been chosen to reflect the move across the health and social care sector towards even greater collaboration and integration – as reflected in the publication of the recent NHS Long term Plan. At the heart of the plan is changing culture, with a commitment towards ensuring respect, equality and diversity within the NHS.

Working together makes the NHS stronger, we meet standards, enable change and collectively invest in the creation of a diverse and inclusive NHS workforce to deliver a more inclusive service and improved patient care.

To celebrate the event, my organisation has a range of interactive and informative events across the week. Throughout #EQW2019, we will have a daily equality and diversity bulletin, each examining a different aspect of equality and diversity; furthermore we have a video webinar on the importance of diversity in the workplace as well as an interactive Q&A session with the Trusts own Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead.

Take a look at the informative video series from John Deffenbaugh (NHS Leadership Academy) who leads a discussion panel on the equality challenges faced by the NHS and the steps that can be undertake to overcome them, discussion 1 is shown below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dJB4Hm3zVs

Advancing Equality for Disabled Staff – Learning from the NHS

Workplace equality and diversity initiatives have grown in recent years and have focused on a range of protected characteristics identified in the Equality Act 2010. However, much of that focus has been on Race, Sexual Orientation, Gender Reassignment and Religion. Yet, disability affects almost one if five of the UK population and statistically disabled people are more likely to be unemployed or economically inactive.

Primarily, the Equality Act 2010 should focus our work on advancing equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it as well as fostering good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it.

Disability is still often misunderstood, especially in the case of mental health, and getting a better understanding of the lived experiences of our disabled staff must be a priority for employers. Only by having this understanding and input from staff can we actually advance equality of opportunity for disabled staff in the work place. Furthermore, by raising awareness of disability issues we can encourage organisational wide discussion and foster good relations between people with a disability and those without.

Some facts about disabilities in the UK:

There are around 13.3 million disabled people in the UK (almost one in five of the population).
5 million disabled people are in employment, compared to 2.9 million in 2013.
In January 2016, the UK employment rate among working age disabled people was 46.5% (4.1 million), compared to 84% of non-disabled people.
Disabled adults are nearly three times as likely as non-disabled adults to have no formal qualifications, 30% and 11% respectively.
The average income of families with disabled children is £15,270, which is 23.5% below the UK mean income of £19,968. 21.8% have incomes that are less than 50% the UK mean.

NHS England launches the Workforce Disability Standard (WDES)

The NHS has recently launched the Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES) which is a set of ten specific measures (metrics) that will enable NHS organisations to compare the experiences of Disabled and non-disabled staff. This information will then be used by the relevant NHS organisation to develop a local action plan, and enable them to demonstrate progress against the indicators of disability equality.

Making a difference for disabled staff

The NHS employs close to 1.5 million people and so initiatives such as WDES are vital to better understand the experiences of their disabled staff. It will support positive change for existing employees, and enable a more inclusive environment for disabled people working in the NHS. Likewise, it will help identify good practice and compare performance regionally and by type of trust.

What can other sectors learn from the NHS Workforce Disability Equality Standard?

Large organisations need a snapshot of the experiences of their disabled staff in key areas. By providing comparative data between disabled and non-disabled staff, this information can be used to understand where key differences lie; and will provide the basis for the development of action plans, enabling organisations to track progress on a year by year basis. This provides a mirror for the organisation to hold up to itself, to see whether or not it sees a reflection of the communities that it serves.

Who Leads Equality & Diversity in an Organisation?

Hopefully, you do. In a large organisation the leadership of equality and diversity may take a number of different forms ranging from the Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion to EDI Coordinator or EDI Lead. Sometimes the role is a dedicated full or part-time role but other times it might be a secondary role of an existing manager. Frequently, with equality and diversity’s focus being on people EDI leadership often falls to the Human Resources department.

Once in post, the EDI lead needs to establish what the expectations of role will be? Are there key performance indicators? How will performance or impact be measured? What does success look like? What is the vision for equality and diversity? However, it is also worth considering that one member of staff cannot singlehandedly change the culture of an organisation. Instead, the EDI lead needs to be able to form effective teams because only through collaboration and effective project management can success be achieved. Furthermore, skills in influencing are vital because often the EDI lead will need to challenge and influence staff who he or she does not directly line manage, this is where high level skills in communication are essential.

When a clear set of goals have been agreed it is important to put together an effective action plan that can drive changes and the success of which is easy to measure. Targets set should be SMART, that is Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic and Time Bound. By using SMART targets, you have a better chance that they can be achieved because by being Specific you can focus on a and specific need which is easy to understand and not open to interpretation. Then, by making the target Measurable you know you can measure its completion or success. It may sound simple but by making the target Achievable you know that you are not asking for the impossible. When a target is Realistic it gives confidence to those who will be tasked with delivering the target that it can be done and in the timescale provided. Finally, when a target is Time-bound it gives you a clear time scale for completion and it is easy to measure whether something has (or has not) met its time scales.

The action plan below demonstrates the use of SMART targets to implement EDI actions in an organisation. RAG rating an impact column is a quick way to see where you are having the most impact and where additional support might be needed.

The Human Rights Act

In the UK, the fundamental rights and freedoms of its population are set out in the Human Rights Act 1998 and incorporates those rights as set out in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and ensures they are covered in domestic British law.

According to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, ‘the Act sets out our human rights in a series of ‘Articles’. Each Article deals with a different right. These are all taken from the ECHR and are commonly known as ‘the Convention Rights’:

Article 2: Right to life
Article 3: Freedom from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment
Article 4: Freedom from slavery and forced labour
Article 5: Right to liberty and security
Article 6: Right to a fair trial
Article 7: No punishment without law
Article 8: Respect for your private and family life, home and correspondence
Article 9: Freedom of thought, belief and religion
Article 10: Freedom of expression
Article 11: Freedom of assembly and association
Article 12: Right to marry and start a family
Article 14: Protection from discrimination in respect of these rights and freedoms
Protocol 1, Article 1: Right to peaceful enjoyment of your property
Protocol 1, Article 2: Right to education
Protocol 1, Article 3: Right to participate in free elections
Protocol 13, Article 1: Abolition of the death penalty

The Equality and Human Rights Commission identify three main effects of the Act:

1. You can seek justice in a British court – It incorporates the rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into domestic British law. This means that if your human rights have been breached, you can take your case to a British court rather than having to seek justice from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France.

2. Public bodies must respect your rights – It requires all public bodies (like courts, police, local authorities, hospitals and publicly funded schools) and other bodies carrying out public functions to respect and protect your human rights.

3. New laws are compatible with Convention rights – In practice it means that Parliament will nearly always make sure that new laws are compatible with the rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights (although ultimately Parliament is sovereign and can pass laws which are incompatible). The courts will also, where possible, interpret laws in a way which is compatible with Convention rights.

Workplace Bullying and Harassment

Whilst bullying and harassment in the workplace is clearly something no organisation wants to see happening in their own back yard the law can actually confuse the matter further because bullying in the workplace is not actually unlawful but harassment is. However, employers are expected to have a zero tolerance towards bullying and harassment and to take action when it has been identified to protect working relationships.

Bullying and harassment can take different forms, some highly aggressive and obvious whilst others can be more subtle and less obvious. Bullying is rarely isolated and is often a pattern of behaviour where a number of incidents demonstrate that it is taking place. For ACAS, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, bullying and harassment in the workplace may include:

spreading malicious rumours, or insulting someone by word or behaviour (particularly on the grounds of age, race, sex, disability, sexual orientation and religion or belief)
copying memos that are critical about someone to others who do not need to know
ridiculing or demeaning someone – picking on them or setting them up to fail
exclusion or victimisation
unfair treatment
overbearing supervision or other misuse of power or position
unwelcome sexual advances – touching, standing too close, the display of offensive materials, asking for sexual favours, making decisions on the basis of sexual advances being accepted or rejected
making threats or comments about job security without foundation
deliberately undermining a competent worker by overloading and constant criticism
preventing individuals progressing by intentionally blocking promotion or training opportunities.

Harassment should not be tolerated in the workplace and under the Equality Act 2010 it is unlawful and whilst an employer has a duty to implement the act it is not required in law to have a policy regarding bullying and harassment. That said, it is certainly good practice to do so and most human resources departments will have one in place in order to be very clear on what is and what is not acceptable so workplace bullies can be held to account.

It is often useful for an EDI lead to examine the records of bullying and harassment claims/allegations in an organisation to see if there is a wider issue that requires intervention, training or policy changes in order to reduced such incidents.

Workplace Bias

Generally speaking, bias is a preference or prejudice for or against one person or group, especially in a way considered to be unfair. For example, an employer may give preferential treatment to potential employees from the same socioeconomic background as themselves. Alternatively, a manager my show bias through only offering development opportunities to female members of staff.

According to Robert Booth and Aamna Mohdin, writing for the Guardian newspaper in 2018, the extent to which ethnic minorities still suffer from bias is quite staggering. They commissioned a survey for the Guardian newspaper of 1,000 people from minority ethnic backgrounds who found they were consistently more likely to have faced negative everyday experiences – all frequently associated with racism – than white people in a comparison poll.

The survey found that 43% of those from a minority ethnic background had been overlooked for a work promotion in a way that felt unfair in the last five years – more than twice the proportion of white people (18%) who reported the same experience. Furthermore, the results show that ethnic minorities are three times as likely to have been thrown out of or denied entrance to a restaurant, bar or club in the last five years, and that more than two-thirds believe Britain has a problem with racism.

The article went on to explain, the Runnymede Trust, a racial equality think tank, described the findings as “stark” and said they illustrated “everyday micro-aggressions” that had profound effects on Britain’s social structure. What’s more, the survey revealed that Muslims living in Britain – a large minority at around 2.8 million people – are more likely to have negative experiences than other religious groups. They are more likely than Christians, people with no religion and other smaller religions to be stopped by the police, left out of social functions at work or college and find that people seem not to want to sit next to them on public transport.

The effects of bias are not the same for all ethnicities. Half of black and mixed-race people felt they had been unfairly overlooked for a promotion or job application, compared with 41% of people from Asian backgrounds. Black people were more likely to feel they had to work harder to succeed because of their ethnicity.

It also found troubling levels of concern about bias in the workplace, with 57% of minorities saying they felt they had to work harder to succeed in Britain because of their ethnicity, and 40% saying they earned less or had worse employment prospects for the same reason.

Workplace bias needs to be combated by both training and a change in attitudes across an organisation. Where a culture of inclusion exists in an organisation you will find bias is greatly reduced and staff survey results will indicate a better level of satisfaction from groups open to historical workplace bias.

Stereotypes and Stereotyping

Regrettably, stereotyping still occurs in our workplaces and is, in general, because of outdated and inaccurate views of certain groups in society. A stereotype can be said to be a commonly held but oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or social group.

Some stereotypes are regarding a different culture such as the concept of the Frenchman always wearing a black beret with a string of onions around his neck. Whereas, other stereotypes are about individuals or social groups such the stereotype that woman are carers, or men are strong and do all the work, or all Arabs and Muslims are terrorists, Irish people are drunks and eat potatoes, or that any feminine man is gay and any masculine woman is a lesbian. Stereotypes can sometimes be misinterpreted by others as just prejudice because they too are based upon a prior assumption about people from different cultures and races. However, where prejudice is a deliberate act stereotyping can come from ignorance of the facts or a lack of education around the subject.

Most cultures have some form of negative stereotype associated with them including black people, the Irish, those from the Middle East, the Polish, the Travelling community and Jewish people. However, gender stereotyping occurs where, for example, if you say that all women like to cook, you are stereotyping women. Similarly, stereotypes regarding a person’s sexual orientation are common and these stereotypes occur when someone has negative views on gays, lesbians, and transgender individuals.

Combating Negative Stereotypes in the Workplace

Stereotyping can lead people to hide some aspects of their lives from society, for example members of the gay or lesbian community may be afraid to admit their sexuality for fear of being judged. This can lead to the victims of stereotyping to have their lives led by fear.

As such, stereotypes have no place in the modern workplace and it is important that an organisation is seen as inclusive where a woman can work in construction, a man can work as a nurse, a man can work part-time, or be a caregiver and a wheelchair is no barrier to opportunity. A strong message from senior leaders is needed to demonstrate this vision and reinforce that negative stereotyping will not be tolerated.

Training can help where negative stereotypes are prevalent and certain industry sectors are more likely to attract a workforce with negative stereotypes than others. However, it is wrong to assume a more educated workforce means a more inclusive one, the well-educated can be as equally likely to hold some negative stereotypes of others as low skilled or poorly educated members of the workforce.

To this end, if you need to identify where negative stereotypes are prevalent in your organisation then a staff survey can help point you in the right direction. Certainly, it will help you identify, albeit anonymously, areas of the organisation who feel they are victims of stereotyping which is a start in being able to educate a workforce and remove negative and damaging stereotypes from the workplace.

Discrimination in the Workplace

Discrimination is where an individual or group of individuals are treated differently due to their perceived membership of a certain group or social category. For example, an individual or group of individuals may suffer discrimination because they are from the Travelling Community. Under the Equality Act 2010, is it unlawful to discriminate against any individual (or group) based upon any of the protected characteristics. In the workplace, this can take many forms including, for example, black workers not being offered the same opportunity as white workers, women being paid less than men for doing the same job but can include age, colour, convictions, height, disability, ethnicity, family status, gender identity, genetic characteristics, marital status, nationality, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation.

Direct Discrimination

Direct discrimination is where an individual is treated differently or worse than others for certain reasons, it is often easy to spot such as being refused entry to a hotel because you are gay. The Citizens Advice Bureau describes direct discrimination through the following example: ‘You’re a saleswoman and you inform your employer that you want to spend the rest of your life living as a man. As a result of this, you’re moved to a role without client contact against your wishes. This is less favourable treatment because of gender reassignment. It would still be less favourable treatment even if your employer were to increase your salary to make up for the loss of job status.’

Indirect Discrimination

However, there are other times when you appear to be treated equally and in the same way as others but it actually has a worse impact on you because of who you are. This is known as indirect discrimination where a workplace practice, policy or rule applies to all but it has a worse effect on some than others. The Citizens Advice Bureau describes indirect discrimination through the following example: ‘A health club only accepts customers who are on the electoral register. This applies to all customers in the same way. But Gypsies and Travellers are less likely to be on the electoral register and therefore they’ll find it more difficult to join. This could be indirect discrimination against Gypsies and Travellers because of the protected characteristic of race. The rule seems fair, but it has a worse effect on this particular group of people.’

Justifying Discrimination

Not all discrimination is unlawful, if an employer treats you unfairly because of who you are they might have a good enough reason but may have to justify their discrimination. The Citizens Advice Bureau describes justifying discrimination through the following example: ‘A hospital advertises a surgeon’s job for which it requires at least ten years’ experience. You can’t meet this requirement because you’ve taken time off work to care for your children. As you’re a woman, this looks like indirect discrimination because of sex. But the hospital may be able to justify this, if it can show that the job can’t be done properly without that amount of experience. This is likely to be a legitimate aim.’