A Mental Health Crisis At Workplace? Here Is How To Assess And Assist

10 min readMay 13, 2023

We have all experienced sadness, anger, frustration, and grief as part of the human experience, but what happens when a tragic or stressful situation takes these feelings to the extreme?

People who feel overwhelmed and incapacitated risk experiencing a mental health crisis. Some mental health conditions can also develop in a person’s 20s or 30s (or change with age), which can also cause a mental health crisis.

What is a mental health crisis?

A mental health emergency (also known as a mental health crisis) is any situation where a person’s mental health state puts them at acute risk and prevents them from being able to function and care for themselves.

In prior years, it was common to refer to these crises as “nervous breakdowns.” That isn’t a medical diagnosis; it’s a vague term and can be demeaning. We prefer mental health emergency because it accurately describes the situation — there is an emergency at hand, which is based on mental health concerns.

Signs of a mental health crisis

These signs of mental health crisis range from subtle to extreme — and sometimes dangerous. These can include:

Inability to take care of hygiene
Loss of appetite
Intense and sudden mood changes
Psychosis
Paranoia
Anger
Violence
Suicidal thoughts
Self-harm or extreme negative self-talk
Isolation

During a mental health crisis, the behaviors, thoughts, and feelings that can occur put the person at risk of hurting themselves or others, functioning effectively in a community, and/or caring for themselves.

These signs may happen progressively over a few days or weeks.

A mental health crisis can stem from many different places:

Change of relationship
Personal losses: death, estrangement, or relocation
Conflict with loved ones, friends, or co-workers
Trauma or experiencing violence
Stress at work or school
Drug or alcohol use
Undiagnosed, untreated, or changing mental health condition
New medication or missing doses of regular medication

How to help co-workers in a mental health crisis

A mental health crisis can happen anywhere, including the workplace — especially in a high-stress job. If you’ve noticed some of the signs above and suspect your co-worker may be struggling with mental health concerns, there are a few ways to support them.

If you are not in danger, stay calm and listen to the person in crisis. Ask what they need to ease their immediate symptoms: Do you need a drink of water? Would you like to go to a quieter space? Is there anybody I can call for you?
Listen to them and empathize with their feelings — be careful not to advise on how to “fix” the problem. Allow your peer the space to express what’s on their mind.
Ask for help from others around you.
It might be best if someone can stay with the person in crisis and someone else can get help from the right people at your workplace.
If you do not feel safe or the co-worker is violent, do not stay in the same physical space and call for help immediately.
A workplace needs to have crisis management processes. Check with HR to see if there is one and review the plan and procedures.
Managers and leaders should examine if they have a work process for handling health emergencies.
If your workplace doesn’t have a mental health crisis management process, encourage your HR team to create one.
Understand that mental health crisis is like a physical health crisis. When we get the flu, we need time off to heal and regain strength; the same applies to mental health crises. It’s normal. It’s common. It’s okay.
When your co-worker returns to the office, let them take the lead — if they want to talk, be open to talking if you are comfortable with that. If they don’t, continue working and engaging like you were before.
Ensure you treat your co-worker as you usually would with kindness and empathy. Talk with a coach or counselor if you’re struggling with the experience.

Don’ts:
You should not:

Start the conversation with the person by talking about how your struggles have affected your work behavior
Make the person talk about their mental health problem if they don’t want to
Ask questions that create pressure like “What’s wrong with you?” or “Are you stressed or something?”
Rush in with another question without listening to the answer
Diagnose the person with a mental illness or use diagnostic terminology unless the person uses it
Try to act as a counselor, tell the person what to do, or offer the person remedies or treatments
Tell the person that they need to stay busy, get out more, ‘snap out of it, or ‘get your act together’
Be patronizing, blame, accuse, treat the person as an invalid or embarrass the person by saying things like ‘everyone is noticing…’
Assume the person’s problems will just go away
Minimize the person’s problems by comparing them to your problems or those of other people
Say “I’ve had the same experience” unless you have
Make assumptions about whether any sickness absence of the person is ‘genuine’

Role of HR Department in Managing Mental Health Crisis

One in six people in England aged 16 to 64 have a mental health problem, and it is computed that absenteeism because of mental health issues amounts to the UK economy around £34.9 billion per year.

With 12.7% of all sickness absence days in the UK are associated with cognitive ailments. This is the case with the entire world.

And, these are not statistics that cannot be overlooked, especially by you, as the HR of the company. Human resource management and mental health go side by side in a successful, flourishing organization.

Increasing workplace stress, job insecurity, and heavy workload are bound to increase the stress levels of your colleagues. Human Resource Management should take care of the staff’s mental and health difficulties and safety concerns.

Role of Managers in Managing Mental Health Crisis

Managers need to strike a balance between caring for their employees and not getting too personal. In many workplaces, people develop close friendships with each other.

But, for some people, substance abuse problems and mental issues are still taboo. Many people who are dependent on drugs are secretive about their habits for fear of being stigmatized and alienated.

As a manager, it is your job to be proactive and learn information on stress, depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. This is one way to spot red flags and arrange immediate help.

You can help your employees by:

1. Let everyone know that your workplace is a drug-free workplace. Random drug tests may be required for your employees if they want to continue to work.

2. Reminding them that help is available if they need assistance to address their mental health issues or substance abuse problems. Work with human resources to develop health and wellness programs that emphasize prevention.

3. Explaining the employee assistance programs, private health insurance, and no-cost support groups that are available for employees struggling with mental health problems.

4. Focusing on finding solutions when problems arise. Addressing problems sooner rather than later can help your employees and the workplace recover sooner.

5. Dealing with problems rationally and devoid of emotion. It is important that you suspend judgment and hold your criticism in order to help employees decide what to do next.

6. Being consistent and applying your human resources department’s policies. Some companies give employees additional chances, while others automatically terminate employees if they have failed drug tests and pose a risk to safety.

7. Monitoring the existing work and productivity of employees. If an employee’s quality of work suddenly drops without any obvious reason, the employee could be encountering problems.

8. Making everybody accountable for each other’s behavior. Each person should understand that they are all like cogs in a wheel. Everyone needs to perform their functions properly for the wheel to continue rolling. A weak part can have disastrous consequences.

The role of managers is to ensure that the culture of the organization promotes support and open dialogue and recognizes the value of each employee. Managers should lead by example in promoting this culture of openness, and mental health policies should reflect this. The workplace is already a high-pressure environment without managers adding to the stress.

Workplace Mental Health Statistics Every Business Leader Should Keep in Mind

1. Employee Stress Statistics

57 percent of American workers, an increase of 8 percentage points from the previous year, reported experiencing everyday stress. (Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace: 2021 Report)
Concerns about their stress levels over the past year were expressed by 88.1 percent of workers. (Pathways’ Mind at Work: A Report on Employee Mental Health)
Almost a third of employees say their stress levels are high to unusually high, and 94% of workers say they experience stress at work (American Institute of Stress)
Three-fourths of workers think that they are under more stress at work than they were a generation ago. (NIOSH)
Stress is a factor in 16% of employees quitting their jobs. (Korn Ferry)
The most agitated, anxious, and furious people in the U.S. are young people between the ages of 15 and 49. (Gallup)
Stress results in the loss of 550 million workdays annually. American Psychological Association)

2. Employee Depression Statistics

As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, 29% of employees say they are depressed. (Gartner HR Study)
Approximately 20% of the time, depression makes it difficult for someone to fulfill physical job duties, and about 35% of the time, it impairs cognitive function. (Center for Disease Control)
In Q4 2020, more than 70% of employees expressed some concern about their depression levels. (Pathways’ Mind at Work: A Report on Employee Mental Health)
The percentage of workers who obtain treatment to manage their depressive symptoms is just 57% for moderate depression and 40% for severe depression. (Center for Disease Control)
America’s current depression costs society $210 billion annually. (Analysis Group)

3. Employee Burnout Statistics

Nine out of ten workers worry about their level of burnout. (Pathways’ Mind at Work: A Report on Employee Mental Health)
In 2021, more than half (52%) of survey participants reported experiencing burnout, a 21% increase from pre-COVID polls. (Indeed’s Employee Burnout Report)
In the past year, there has been a roughly 2-to-1 increase in the gap between men and women who report feeling burned out. (McKinsey & Co.’s Women in the Workplace Report)
Employee burnout is up 44% from a year ago, according to survey results. (Robert Half)
Employees who are burned out are less likely to participate in surveys regarding their burnout, and the most burned-out workers may have already quit their jobs. (McKinsey & Co.)

4. Work-Life Balance Statistics

In 2021, employees’ concerns about work-life balance ranked third. (Pathways’ Mind at Work: A Report on Employee Mental Health)
According to 19% of workers, “flexibility and/or work-life possibilities” have the biggest influence on their job satisfaction. (PwC’s Employee Financial Wellness Survey)
Work-life balance is very important to 72% of employees when contemplating a new career. (Statistica)

5. Employee Substance Abuse Statistics

36 percent of employees claim that since the pandemic started, their struggle with addiction or substance misuse has gotten worse. (The Standard)
One in four workers is worried about their degree of substance use. (Pathways’ Mind at Work: A Report on Employee Mental Health)
57 percent of workers reported losing 10+ hours a week of productivity as a result of substance abuse. (The Standard)

6. Employee Engagement and Productivity Statistics

Only 36% of workers are enthusiastic about their jobs and workplace. (Gallup)
In 2021, there could be up to 15% of workers who are actively disengaged. (Gallup)
Nearly 20% of workers expressed extreme worry about their productivity levels in 2020. (Pathways’ Mind at Work: A Report on Employee Mental Health)
Business units and employees who are highly engaged earn 21% more money. (Gallup)

7. Statistics on Employer Wellness and Mental Health Programs

To address COVID-19 concerns in 2021, 53% of firms established mental health initiatives. (PwC’s 2021 Health and Well-being Touchstone Survey)
Although 63 percent of workers believe their workplace is unhelpful, 72% of employees want their companies to support mental health and well-being. (Peldon Rose)
Employers increased or introduced wellness programs at a rate of 44%. (PwC’s 2021 Health and Well-being Touchstone Survey)
Compared to non-participants in the companies’ wellness initiatives, 70% of employees who are enrolled in report higher job satisfaction. (Alfac’s Workforces Report)
Accessing care is difficult, according to 67% of workers with mental illnesses. (McKinsey and Co.)

What Does Ahealo Offer?

Ahealo is a platform that can be referred to as a mental health marketplace that doesn’t only provide consultation services for mental health problems but also provides extensive training programs for cooperating businesses to increase profits the business and the productivity of the employees and employers. The target of training is usually CEOs, Managers, Line Managers, and Employees of the particular companies.

If you want to know about our workshops and training topics, please visit our website ahealo.com or contact us through our email address. You can also reach us on our social media platforms.