Mindfulness, Health and Work

Ruth PassmanSenior Policy Adviser

Department of Health North West

Mindfulness, Recovery and Work The Policy Context

• Liberating the NHS : Referenced the importance of work in recovery• Healthy Lives, Healthy People is the first Public Health strategy to give equal weight to

mental and physical health. There is also a clear statement that employment needs to be addressed in order to tackle health inequalities

• A Vision for Adult Social Care: Capable Communities and Active Citizens similarly includes many references to the value of employment and the need for services to integrate employment support.

• New Drugs Strategy: Shift of emphasis from treatment to re-integration,and re-enablement• Giving Green Paper: DH Volunteering Exemplar time, knowledge, skills, enthusiasm,

assets, care, energy

• The Boorman Review: Meeting the Needs of the’ Invisible Patients’: the health and social care workforce (49% NHS staff survey respondents said stress had impacted on the quality of their patient care

Health and Work

• Increasing recognition that good work is good for health• • But bad work makes people ill• • Department of Work and Pensions is now aware that getting

people into work is only PART of the job• • Keeping people in work is a shared responsibility: employer,

individual and GP/clinical staff.• • Retention is good for businesses and individuals

Good Work or Not?

• Uncertainty, job insecurity, fixed term contracts, temporary working, high demand/low reward; low autonomy/low control effects employees’ health

• Depression, absenteeism, difficulty sleeping, unexplained physical pain, suicides have been flagged up as major telltale signs

• Bullying related to poor job dissatisfaction, increased symptoms of stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms compared to those not exposed to bullying

Poor Work- Health Impact

• The combination of high job demands and low job control leads to poor mental and physical health

• Increasing job demands/perceived low level of reward predicts higher levels of burnout and poor self rated mental health.

• Lack of job control related to increased morbidity, sickness absence and poor mental health.

• Poor work is associated with higher levels of spill over from work to family life and vice versa.

• The effects on middle managers own health and wellbeing include sleep disturbances physical health problems and depressive symptoms

What Needs to Change. Black Report 2008

• Inadequate systems : Health, Work and Well-being not part of training curricula or clinical practice

• Poorly-supported healthcare professionals. No OH advice for GPs on rehabilitation of patients to work.

• Next generation• Little attention to building mental and emotional

resilience in our future workforce

What needs to change?

• • Lots of research shows that people with health conditions (including mental health) want to retain employment

• • Professional advice and systems don’t always support this

• • Research in the North West to get a better understanding of the support and help needed

• • Help shift culture – personalised approach

What is being done?

• EU Funded project – to research attitudes and responses to mental distress and illness in the workplace (New Economy)

• Will develop a toolkit for GPs• University of Liverpool – developing a primary care

online training resource• GM Fit for Work Pilot – support to stay in work• Big challenge and culture shift

What is ‘mindfulness’ and how can it help?

• Mental health benefits

• Physical health benefits

• Wellbeing and ‘connectedness’

Mindfulness in a workplace context

• Benefits

• Take time out

• Increased creativity

• Increased productivity

• Wellbeing

How do you begin?

• Using Mindfulness to decrease reactivity at work

• Dealing more effectively with workplace stressors

• Mindfulness to support employees facing employment uncertainty

• Mindful staff groups• Online training

Mindful Employers Network:Workplace Wellbeing Charter

1. Leadership 2. Attendance Management 3. Health and Safety Requirements 4. Mental Health and Wellbeing 5. Smoking and Tobacco control 6. Physical Activity 7. Healthy Eating 8. Alcohol and Substance Misuse

Other Resources

• Mindful Employer – training courses• Centre for Mental Health – Workplace

Programme• Local and business-based training• BiTC Emotional Resilience toolkit – free• Line Manager training –retaining people in

employment support issues

Coach-MentorsCo-producing Mindfulness in the Workplace and in

Public Service Delivery• Using Mindfulness to decrease reactivity at work• Dealing more effectively with workplace stressors• Mindfulness to support employees facing employment

uncertainty• Increased creativity, productivity and Wellbeing• Building mental and emotional resilience in our workforce• Collaborative skills share and skills build- blurring the

professional community divide• Job and Life Coaching approaches alongside co-training• Co-creation of services

Coach-MentorsCo-producing Mindfulness in the Workplace and in

Public Service Delivery• Using Mindfulness to decrease reactivity at work• Dealing more effectively with workplace stressors• Mindfulness to support employees facing employment

uncertainty• Increased creativity, productivity and Wellbeing• Building mental and emotional resilience in our workforce• Collaborative skills share and skills build- blurring the

professional community divide• Job and Life Coaching approaches alongside co-training• Co-creation of services

Staff Wellness Day & Community Mentoring Launch 10 January

Disproportionate Impacts of Redundancy

Overcoming Barriers to Employment for GONW Legacy staff and vulnerable staff groups

'Getting out to Get On’

Career transition support through workplace coach-mentoring scheme Non traditional community mentoring opportunities to provide transferable skills

experience

“Communities have never been built upon their deficiencies. Building communities has always depended upon mobilising the capacities and assets of people and place”

(Kretzman and McKnight 1993)