Unquestionably, mental health is the cause célèbre, but this does not always incorporate the psychological safety of employees. Leaders are either wary of conversations around mental health or those that do broach the topic rarely set clear boundaries and can become enmeshed in mental health issues. This can lead to giving unqualified advice, engaging in rescuing or fixing behaviours, or even self-disclosing their own mental health issues and this can quickly descend into a psychologically unsafe situation for all parties.

In fact, research reveals that 38 percent of HR managers state they have conversations with employees about their mental health outside of working hours, a quarter don’t set time limits on conversations with employees about their mental health and a similar number, say they become overly involved in employees’ personal lives and/or mental health issues. A lack of boundaries can also jeopardise power dynamics at work. For example, if a manager or HR professional attempts to give counsel to an employee around their mental health or displays a rescuing or co-dependent behaviour or veers off into sharing their own mental health experiences, it can be difficult for the employee to put a boundary in place with someone more senior to them. Often, the result is that employees come away from these conversations feeling unheard, unsupported and regretting they ever spoke up.

Ultimately, organisations that develop a culture of openness win out when it comes to psychological safety and mental health. But it is vital that managers recognise that their role is to facilitate employees to gain appropriate support when they need it, rather than trying to fix mental health issues themselves. In the end, if an employee talks openly about their mental health at work, managers must be able to navigate that conversation confidently and psychologically safely and often, the answer lies in common perceptions of mental health. Indeed, if an employee discloses a physical health issue to a manager or HR, it much be clearly understood that it would be inappropriate and potentially dangerous for them to then try to fix it. However, mental health is not always viewed within this same lens, so many people feel they are able to provide advice and offer counselling to colleagues. A central tenet to a framework for supportive conversations, which resonates whenever discussed, is that a manager would not try to fix someone’s shoulder injury if they disclosed that at work, so why would it seem right to try and fix somebody’s mental health issues?

Setting boundaries to accommodate healthy and supportive conversations is key to psychological safety and can be established with a clear framework. Knowing when, for how long and where supportive conversations around mental health should take place to maintain employee safety, is essential. Discussing mental health at work is a relatively new element, which typically means many managers do not recognise that enforcing guidelines is important and equally, they may not understand that it is their responsibility to do so. Indeed, it’s commonly believed that employees should have ‘as long as they need’ to talk about their mental health, when in fact it can be harmful to the employee to process these issues for too long. Knowing the appropriate length of time for these conversations and facilitating the employee so they can gain professional support is best practice for mental health issues or personal life difficulties. Additionally, the key to navigating psychologically safe conversations at work is to understand each distinct part of the conversation and to know how to transition from one part to the next in a safe way. If managers need to initiate a conversation with a colleague who is showing signs of a mental health issue, they should do so in a non-threatening, non-judgemental and supportive way that does not point out symptoms. If a colleague is willing to talk about their mental health, they want to be listened to and to be validated and so it is important to do so without interrupting and trying to provide any personal mental health anecdotes. Equally, it’s not a time to analyse, judge or encourage anyone to focus on the positives. For the majority of managers who are not mental health professionals, it is not psychologically safe to give advice or try to fix a colleague’s issues. Therefore, asking simple and explorative questions is important for leaders to show recognition of employee issues without soliciting unsafe advice. Ultimately, this should not be an attempt to resolve an employee’s mental health issues singlehandedly, but moreover signpost to professional support. This is more than a logistical step, it is a skill that, if not handled correctly, can be interpreted negatively by employees. For instance, being told to seek professional support can be viewed as a direction or even an accusation. Professional support should be offered using signposting questions rather than instructions.

Once each element of the conversation map has been navigated, HR and managers should bring the conversation to a close to ensure conversations with employees do not become lengthy, distressing or psychologically unsafe. It’s possible to demonstrate care by taking responsibility for bringing supportive conversations to a close in a reassuring, safe and skilful way, using well-turned phrases, particularly when signposting has occurred. Good phrases for bringing a conversation to a close include: “Let’s come to an end now” or “let’s finish now”. As an example, this could sound like, “let’s finish now and speak again once you’ve had a chance to talk to a professional.” There’s no question that psychological safety will be an imperative in the future. Mental Health First Aid initiatives have started opening the conversation around mental health, while reducing stigma and shame in society. However, boundaries around mental health conversations in the workplace need to be tightened for true psychological safety.

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