IGLOo Guide for Colleagues
Introduction
What can you do to help a colleague returning to work?
Many people do not know what to say or do when a colleague comes back
to work. Your returning colleague is likely to be experiencing mixed feelings.
They might be looking forward to returning to a sense of normality, but are also
likely to be apprehensive about how they will manage work and whether they
will be able to maintain their health when back at work. These concerns are
normal. In fact did you know that 1 in 6 people experience mental ill health and
1 in 3 ‘fit notes’ signed by doctors are for mental ill-health?
This guide is designed to help you support a colleague returning to work
following a period of absence due to mental ill-health. It draws from the latest
evidence to outline what works, and what does not, when it comes to helping
someone back to work.
We can’t do everything on our own. When people have been unwell they often
need help from others. Colleagues, friends and family, line managers and others
can help the individual build their IGLOo. Remember, an employee with
strong resources is much more likely to stay in and be productive at work.
What is stress, anxiety and depression?
Mental health is complicated. Everyone’s experience of mental health is slightly different. It is sometimes difficult to tell whether someone is experiencing stress, anxiety or depression. A really important sign is a change in the person’s behaviour – are they behaving differently? Here are some of the common signs and signals – you may find it helpful to share this information at work if you find it difficult to describe how your mental health impacts you:
- Behavioural signs – struggling with workload, low levels of concentration
and focus, difficulty in organising, low productivity, negative attitude, changes in motivation. - Emotional signs – feeling anxious or irritable, mood changes, changes in how you interact with colleagues, too much emotion, feeling isolated or socially withdrawn.
- Physical signs – tiredness, having sleepless nights, increased drinking and/or smoking, not feeling hungry, headaches.
Most people make a full recovery and are able to fully contribute at work following mental ill-health. But when employees are not supported on their return, they are more likely to relapse and exit the workplace.
Many returners have a different manager on their first day back and many do not have anyone to greet them on their first day. Use this guide to give you examples of ways you could make a returning employee feel safe, welcome and productive at work.
Understanding your IGLOo
We all need other people to help us stay happy and healthy. Everyone has their own set of resources inside and outside of work. We call this your IGLOo. Your IGLOo is made up of different resources that help you:
- Individual resources – like confidenc, self-care
- Group resources – help from colleagues, friends and family
- Leader resources – help from line manager, GPs or service provider
- Organisational resources – help provided by your organsation, volunteer groups or charities
Your IGLOo for returning to work following mental ill-health includes:
How strong is your IGLOo?
Use the checklist here to see what you can do to help your colleague build their IGLOo.
- 1. Look at the checklist. Read the statements in the ‘Do I…’ column. Answer ‘yes’, ’no’ or ’sometimes’. Mark your answer in the column.
- Use the checklist here to test the strength of your contribution to your colleagues’ IGLOo. If you answer yes to these questions, you help your colleague build a strong IGLOo. If you answer ‘sometimes’ or ’no’ think about whether they might like your help.
- What else could you do to help? If you answer ‘sometimes’ or ’no’ what could you do to make this part of their IGLOo stronger? It may be something you need to do, you need someone else to help you do, or you need to ask for.
- How do you make this happen? Think about what you can do to make this happen. Need help and advice? Ask friends and family, colleagues, Line manager, GP, Human Resources, Occupational Health, charities/
support groups, union reps
Remember...
Returning to work is not always easy, but
having support can make a huge difference.
If you are not sure what your colleague
would find helpful, ask them. Talk through
the checklist with them and identify some
concrete actions that you can take to help
them build their IGLOo.
Further Information
Resource
About the Contributors
These guidelines have been developed by a research team from Sheffield University, in partnership with Affinity Health at Work. The research was funded by the Productivity Insights Network, a multidisciplinary network funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. Supported by a diverse steering group of subject matter experts, practitioners, policy makers, employers and employees who have returned following mental ill-health, the research team followed 38 employees who had returned to work following a period of absence, and 20 line managers who had managed a returning employee. Using thematic analysis, the team identified the resources that employees reported helped them stay and be productive at work. Once the interviews had been analysed the steering group supported the design of the guidelines presented here.
Biographies
Professor Karina Nielsen is Director of the Institute of Work Psychology, University of Sheffield. Her research focuses on the design, implementation and evaluation of organizational interventions in the field of organisational health.
Dr Joanna Yarker is Director of Affinity Health at Work, a workplace wellbeing consultancy. Her work uses evidence based approaches to improve health and wellbeing at work for employees, teams, managers and organisations.
Thank you to the contributors for this section
