26.05.2020 Sabrina Ludwig 12759

How do managers deal with mentally stressed employees?

Tired, irritable, exhausted: A job and children can be a mental challenge in themselves. If crises are added to this, mental stress is pre-programmed. How managers can recognize and address mental stress in their employees at an early stage.

"The longer stress lasts, the more the employee's cognitive performance declines. This is due to the hormone cortisol, which is released in large quantities during stress," says Dr. Udo Wortelboer, a specialist in psychiatry and psychology. "If there are no breaks to recover, it can attack the brain cells, resulting in an increase in exhaustion, depression and memory problems," warns Wortelboer. He has been working intensively on the topic of mental health in the workplace since 2015 and advises managers and team leaders in external companies on behalf of the work-life balance provider pme Familienservice.

Back to work three months earlier thanks to early intervention

However, our healthcare system offers hardly any preventative services with regard to mental health. Anyone seeking treatment has to wait three to six months. "However, clinical experience and scientific data show that the length of time before treatment begins is a key factor in the further course of the illness. This means that the earlier a patient receives treatment, the better their chances of recovery," says Wortelboer. An evaluation of 16 studies has confirmed the enormous effects of early intervention on the psychological well-being of employees. Employees who were offered psychological help by their employers returned to work an average of 91 days earlier. For employers, this means that they can prevent absences and total absences of their employees with preventive support measures.

Recognize signs among employees at an early stage

"If employees who were otherwise lively and very sociable are suddenly quiet and withdrawn, managers should take a closer look," advises Wortelboer. "Are there any other signs and changes that indicate psychological stress? Is the person concerned still performing their tasks as well as before? Or are they suddenly unreliable and even missing phone appointments? Team leaders who only talk to their employees on the phone during the crisis should listen to their voice. Has it changed and does it sound more depressed? These can all be signs that the person is under stress".

Respond, but do not diagnose

The management coach advises managers who notice changes and stress among their employees to seek an open discussion with the people concerned as soon as possible. "It is important to remain neutral and not make any psychological or medical diagnoses. Managers should only address what they perceive, such as: 'You got very loud in the webinar yesterday. I don't know that about you. What affected you? It can certainly help to ask: "What is your need? What do you expect from me as a manager and how can I support you?".

According to Wortelboer, before managers approach an employee about their changed behavior, they should answer the following questions for themselves:

4 tips for managers: leading from the home office

1. convey security and be transparent

As a manager, it is important that you don't beat around the bush. Be clear and realistic. Drive by sight and only address problems that are foreseeable. Don't make promises you can't keep. But don't minimize problems either. Think carefully about what you want to tell your team.

2 Who are your employees? Take a look at private circumstances

Who is your employee, and are there any factors on a personal level that could be difficult, especially now during the crisis? What is the living situation of your employees? Who has a family, who lives alone? Who lives in the city and who lives in the countryside with a large garden? Also ask your employees how they are doing and whether they need anything else to be able to work better from home.

3. replace the missing analog communication with digital communication

Also check at a professional level whether anything has changed that could be a burden for individual employees: Has your team always worked virtually? Or are these structures completely new now? If this is a new way of working, then it is important to replace the lack of analogue communication with digital communication and organize regular short team meetings. Ideally via webinar with video so that the participants can see each other. A digital coffee round to talk about private matters can also replace the lack of "real" face-to-face communication for many and maintain the team structure.

4. motivate your employees to try out new techniques

Employees who struggle with virtual communication and new technical tools should be taken by the hand. Not everyone deals with change in the same way. Why should you give up the tried and tested if it has always worked? Allay the concerns of unsure employees by calmly showing them how a webinar works, for example, and what benefits it has.
 

Dr. Udo Wortelboer, Specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy, worked in a managerial role in a clinic for psychiatry and psychotherapy until 2017. Since 2015, he has been working intensively on the topic of mental health in the workplace. Today, he works in an advisory capacity at an occupational health center and for the pme Familienservice , among others.

• Nigatu, Y.T., et al (2019): Indicated Prevention Interventions in the Workplace for Depressive Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis: American Journal of Preventive Medicine 56(1): e23-e33.
• Reifferscheid, A., ett al. (2019): Return to work after depressive illness - Evaluation of a retrospective case-control study of a company-based integrated care model. Fortschr Neurol Psychiatr 87(02):121-127.