You Are Not Alone – Support For Managers
Your employer has made an investment in staff wellbeing. Care first provides a confidential service for information, advice and counselling which is available to staff free of charge. As a Manager you may be responsible for compliance with Health & Safety legislation and your ‘duty of care’. Knowing how to make the most of Care first services will help you to help your people.
Services
All staff have access to the following services:
- Freephone advice, information and counselling service
- 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year
- Care first Lifestyle site
Managers have access to additional help:
- Support and information service for Managers
- Management consultancy
- Informal management referral to initiate ‘In the moment’ support for an employee
The level of support a Manager is able to give will depend on the nature of the problem and the time available. Help from Care first may also be appropriate.
There are a number of options:
Self-Referral
Encourage the individual to contact Care first on the dedicated Freephone helpline number – a confidential service which is available 24 hours a day. The person who answers will be a Counsellor and the employee only needs to identify the organisation they work for. The caller can maintain contact with one Care first telephone counsellor at a mutually agreed time over a period of weeks or they can be referred for structured telephone or face-to-face counselling if appropriate.
Management Support
If the problem is unfamiliar or complex – or if the employee is denying the problem and resisting the opportunity to seek help – you may find it useful to talk to Care first yourself. We can discuss the wider implications and likely effects, and explore options for appropriate management of the employee. However, in view of confidentiality, we will not confirm or deny whether an employee has called Care first.
Informal Management Referral
If the situation is unusually sensitive or the employee is extremely distressed, with the consent of the employee, you can make an Informal Management Referral. You will be asked to hand the phone over to the employee who is seeking support, so you will need to be with the employee in person and in a position to do this. You can then leave the area to
allow the individual to have their initial call with Care first. Any further support agreed will not be disclosed to the Manager.
Management Consultancy
Care first provides professional management consultancy to deal effectively with a wide range of people problems. If you want to discuss your approach to sickness absence, bullying or harassment, grievances, disciplinary action or any other difficulties you are having with your staff, just call the freephone number for informed advice.
Noticing problems
Both workplace and personal problems can affect the performance of an employee at work. For some, the combination of workplace difficulties with personal concerns can lead to a deterioration of performance at work. Change can be a major source of pressure: even changes that are positive, such as responses to innovation and improvements in efficiency, can provoke negative reactions among employees.
For some individuals it will not be possible to contain their anxiety and work effectively. As a Manager, you may be the first to identify those who are not coping well. Indicators that somebody may not be coping include:
- Poor workplace relations
- Poor time-keeping
- Becoming withdrawn
- Increased errors or accidents
- Tensions and conflict in workplace
- Reduced work output
- Loss of motivation and commitment
- Deterioration in personal standards
- Increased sickness absence
- Emotional outbursts
More information and Management support is available by accessing the Manager’s Area on the Care first Lifestyle site https://carefirst-lifestyle.co.uk/extranet/managers-area
*Your log-in details will be unique to your organisation and available from you HR department.
MHFA (Mental health First Aider) Support Service
Care first supports the MHFA’s from your customer organisation by making available, the use of the help line to offer immediate support should you have a difficult conversation with someone which has impacted you. A call to Care first is not supervision. It is a one off support call to help you within your role as an MHFA.
More information and MHFA support is available by accessing the below link on the Care first Lifestyle site.
https://carefirst-lifestyle.co.uk/extranet/health/mental-health/mental-health-first-aid
*Your log-in details will be unique to your organisation and available from you HR department.
If you would like to view the Webinar on ‘Care first Management and MHFA (Mental Health First Aider) Support Service’ this is being delivered live on Friday 24th March, please use the below link to register for this session –
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4073241310120812379
If you are unable to join the webinar live, a recording of the session can be accessed using the same link above after the webinar has taken place.