An Analysis of Mental Health Management in the Workplace: HRM Essay

This essay provides a comprehensive overview of mental health management within the workplace, emphasizing the critical role of Human Resource Management (HRM). It begins by defining mental health issues and their impact on employee productivity, relationships, and overall organizational performance. The essay discusses common mental health problems like anxiety and depression, highlighting their prevalence and the associated costs to businesses. It then explores the need for health and safety measures, emphasizing the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility and the pressure placed on employees. The essay identifies indicators of mental health issues, such as declining productivity and irregular attendance, and delves into the causes, including increased workloads, financial concerns, and workplace bullying. Real-world examples illustrate these issues, and the essay concludes by examining actions organizations can take to mitigate mental health problems, such as offering support, training, and fostering open communication. This essay underscores the importance of proactive HRM strategies in promoting employee well-being and creating a healthier work environment.

Running head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Discussions.................................................................................................................................3
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................8
References..................................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
The present essay provides an overview on the managing mental health issues in the
workplace. Mental illness are the health issues that impacts the way people think about
themselves , relate with others and also interact with globe around us. This impact the
individual thoughts, abilities, behaviours and feelings. Mental health condition can be
generally classed as disability if only it has lasting and significant impact on the capabilities
of the individual in terms of carrying out regular activities (Cottini and Lucifora 2013). Some
of the most common mental issues are anxiety disorder, depression. Mental health issues
usually occurs mainly during the time of uncertainty or stress that can be the part of several
peoples job. Moreover, life stress apart from work also impacts mental health, which in turn
affects the individual at work. Recent evidences reflects that mental health issues are mainly
responsible for lost from work per year in the respective nation and thereby is a leading
reason of absence in the workplace (Travis 2014).
The individuals who experiences mental health issues might appear to be less
confident or doubt their abilities. The individual might have hard time in concentrating,
making decisions and learning. Mental health issues also affects the relationship with the co-
workers of the business. Some facts reflects that the individual who experiences mental
health problems might withdraw from others in unexpected ways and appear to be less
productive as compared to other individuals (Galy, Cariou and Mélan, 2012). This in turn
strains relationship with the co-workers as well as supervisors of the company. But there are
times when mental health problems often goes untreated as well as unrecognized in the
business. This not only decreases overall productivity at the work but also damages the health
as well as career of the individual. Several studies in this area concludes that indirect cost of
the mental health issues exceeds the organizations’ expenditure on the direct cost that
involves- pharmacy expenditure and contributions of health insurance. One of the best

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studied mental health issues in the workplace is depression as it is common in the general
population. Owing to depression, the workers might become aimless, withdrawn and
unproductive. In addition to this, depression might also lead to cloud decision making or
impair judgement. Some of the researchers has also found out that the employees of the
enterprise having depression has reported to lose near around 27 days of work every year.
Furthermore, it has also been found out that the workers with huge depression are likely to
lose their job and change their job frequently. Few evidences also show that anxiety disorder
in the organization might manifest as fatigue, excess worrying, restlessness and difficulty in
concentrating. In fact, the workers might require constant reassurance about the performance
if they goes through mental health issues.
Discussions
The need for health and safety measures which are applicable in organization is very
essential in todays world. The focus in most of the businesses nowadays is to follow
Corporate Social Responsibility for which a main consideration is the health and safety of the
workers in the organization (Qureshi et al. 2013). The management of the businesses are
responsible for the social and mental well being of the employees of the company. It is seen
in most of the companies nowadays in order to perform and compete in the dynamic market
the business often put immense pressure on the employees of the business. The employees
are given targets on the basis of which the performance of the employees is measured. This
exerts serious pressure on the employee of the business and is one of the major causes for
high employee turnover.
Most of the employee can work and still face mental health issues such as depression
or anxiety with minor impact on the productivity of the business at first. This then converts
into a major issue and affects the work life balance of the employee and also the productivity
of the employee (Nielsen et al. 2012). This affects the day to day tasks which the employee

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need to perform and demotivates the employee of the business. It is the role of the
management to identify such problems which are faced by the employees of the company and
take corrective actions to rectify or mitigate the same. The first step for the management is to
identify the cause of the disability which the employee is facing and how the management
can help or motivate the employees of the company.
The steps which the management can take for the purpose of tackling mental health
issues at an early stage can help the employee drastically. In case of Mental health issues
which the employees of the business faces need to be treated as early as possible so that
constructive working relationships can be established and the productivity and performance
issues can be minimized and also reduces the risks of grievances and tribunal claims
(McDowell and Fossey 2015). However, the major issue is that in most cases management is
unable to identify the problems which the employee faces. The various indicators which can
be noticed by the management for mental health problems are given below in point format:
 The decline in productivity or communication or even uncharacteristic behaviors of
the employees are possible signs of certain problems which make be related to mental
issues. Signs like sleeplessness and stress signatures are also common signs which the
tlls the management of the declining health of the employees (LaMontagne et al.
2014).
 Absent records of the company will be able to portray the attendance of the employee
and irregular attendance can be considered as a sign of mental health disorder of the
client.
 The level of responsibility which the employee is given and the critical factor of the
work is also a contributing factor to the mental health issues which can arise in an
employee of the business.

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In the above case the HR manager of the business is responsible for ensuring that the
above indications are noticed and also responsible for the well being of the employees of the
businesses.
Causes of mental health issues in the workplace
The current Mental Health in Workplace Report reveals that near around 42.4% of the
workers have agonised from huge stress, which in turn led to severe physical as well as
mental health issues of these workers. There are some main causes of mental health problems
in the workplace, which are explained below-
Increased workload
This is one of the major reason behind mental health problems in the workplace with
near about four out of ten naming as the leading cause. In fact, there are several causes which
includes- hitting deadlines (8.7%), managing clients (3.7%) and managing employees (4.2%).
It has been opined by Karanikolos et al. (2013) that, an increased as well as unmanageable
workload leaves the workers frazzled. As a result, this adversely impacts the mental health
condition of the employees. In order to manage this increased workload, the organization
provides training and development to the employees. The training and development that are
provided to the employees involves- time management training, utilization of task
management software, implementation of morning briefings.
Financial concerns
It has been found out by the researchers that near about two out of ten workers agree
with the fact that financial concerns has been one of the major causes of the mental health
problems. It has also been seen that near about 6.8% jobs of the employees were insecure,
which in turn led to mental health problems of the laborers in workplace. Recent evidences
also found out that the workers are mainly stressed about the money paid to them. As a result

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of which the average households takes mortgage into account. It has been cited by Henderson
et al. (2013) that, mental health and money are usually linked with each other. As the
individuals finds it difficult to manage money, it creates stress and mental health issues
among them. Some of the practical steps that few organizations take in order to help their
workers deal with the financial situation includes – proper support, affordable loans, paying
them in proper time, providing them pensions, providing training as well as education.
Workplace bullying
It has been found out by some researchers that near around one out of ten workers has
said that bullying in workplace has one of the leading reasons behind mental health problems
of the individual at workplace. As per Beehr (2013), bullying might have devastating result in
an individual’s life. It has been stated by workplace bullying Institute that the victims might
suffer from serious mental health problems involving- panic attacks, anxiety, depression and
so on. It has been estimated that near about 75% of the individuals are bullied in the
workplace, which in turn causes well- being of the workers. It has been evaluated by ACAS
that productivity, turnover rate of staff, bullying related absence cost a huge amount of
money to the business (Einarsen and Nielsen 2015). The organisation in the modern world
has adopted few strategies in order to curb workplace bullying, which involves- raising
awareness among the individuals, writing formal anti- bullying policies and os on.
Real world example of mental health problems in workplace
It has been evident from recent studies that one police officer named as Jose aged
between 45-50 years has been experiencing lot of mental stress owing to huge demands of the
job. He has been continuously having difficulty in sleep and also decreasing his appetite.
Moreover, he also experiences headaches as well as muscle tensions on regular basis.
However, he realized that all these mental health issues were occurring due to workload. For

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this he focused more on small mistakes and overviews the positive feedback that he attains
from this work.
Another example of mental health issues that has been occurring in workplace is that
the employees working in the call centre are having several mental health issues owing to
work pressure (Ganster and Rosen 2013). Moreover, some of the employees also faces
bullying in the enterprise, which in turn led to numerous mental health related issues of them.
In order to overcome with this mental stress, few call centre has been providing training and
education to their employees. However, this facilitates few workers to come out of mental
stress and lead a healthy life.
Actions taken by the management of the organization regarding this issue
The actions that the management of the organizations have taken in order to mitigate
this mental health issues of the individual are explained below-
 Few organization arrange meetings in order to discuss several concerns as well as any
kind of support measures
 Now- a-days the management of the business also takes into account various kind of
adjustments in order to assist the individual regarding mental health related
conditions.
 They also provide proper training and development to the employees so that they can
overcome their mental health issues
 Now- a – days the management of the organization try to have good communication
with the employees so that it can relieve them from mental stress
 The management of few companies also provide gifts or any other kinds of rewards
for the good performance of the workers. This in turn motivates the employees to stay
in the organization for longer period of time.

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 The management of few enterprises also maintain proper records of every discussions
as well as processes in order to clear the view of the employees, so that they do not
become responsible for the individuals mental health related issues.
 The managers of the companies also provide open as well as comprehensive working
environment. Moreover, the training managers also takes initiative as well approach
the matters of the employees sensitively by taking consultation with HR( Human
Respurce).
 The managers also motivate their workers to overcome these mental issues and focus
on the work.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that the employees now – a days are
much more suffering from mental health issues due to workload, workplace bullying and low
wages paid to them. It has been seen that the unemployment rate in an economy increases
owing to this factor. In addition to this, youth suicide rate also increases owing to their mental
health problems. However, the government along with the management of the business have
been working collaboratively in order to mitigate this issues and improve the individual’s
mental health condition. The management of the companies are also implementing effective
strategies and practices for helping these individuals come out from mental health issues.

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References
Beehr, T.A., 2014. Psychological stress in the workplace (psychology revivals). Routledge.
Cottini, E. and Lucifora, C., 2013. Mental health and working conditions in Europe. ILR
Review, 66(4), pp.958-988.
Einarsen, S. and Nielsen, M.B., 2015. Workplace bullying as an antecedent of mental health
problems: a five-year prospective and representative study. International Archives of
Occupational and Environmental Health, 88(2), pp.131-142.
Galy, E., Cariou, M. and Mélan, C., 2012. What is the relationship between mental workload
factors and cognitive load types?. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 83(3), pp.269-
275.
Ganster, D.C. and Rosen, C.C., 2013. Work stress and employee health: A multidisciplinary
review. Journal of Management, 39(5), pp.1085-1122.
Henderson, C., Williams, P., Little, K. and Thornicroft, G., 2013. Mental health problems in
the workplace: changes in employers’ knowledge, attitudes and practices in England 2006-
2010. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 202(s55), pp.s70-s76.
Karanikolos, M., Mladovsky, P., Cylus, J., Thomson, S., Basu, S., Stuckler, D., Mackenbach,
J.P. and McKee, M., 2013. Financial crisis, austerity, and health in Europe. The
Lancet, 381(9874), pp.1323-1331.
LaMontagne, A.D., Martin, A., Page, K.M., Reavley, N.J., Noblet, A.J., Milner, A.J., Keegel,
T. and Smith, P.M., 2014. Workplace mental health: developing an integrated intervention
approach. BMC psychiatry, 14(1), p.131.

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McDowell, C. and Fossey, E., 2015. Workplace accommodations for people with mental
illness: A scoping review. Journal of occupational rehabilitation, 25(1), pp.197-206.
Nielsen, M.B.D., Bültmann, U., Madsen, I.E., Martin, M., Christensen, U., Diderichsen, F.
and Rugulies, R., 2012. Health, work, and personal-related predictors of time to return to
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Qureshi, M.I., Iftikhar, M., Abbas, S.G., Hassan, U., Khan, K. and Zaman, K., 2013.
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