What to look out for
Common signs of mental ill health can include:
- Taking more sick leave
- Taking less care with appearance
- Sudden weight gain or loss
- Working too many hours or taking on too much work
- Arriving late to work and missing deadlines
- Changes in behaviour when socialising, e.g. erratic or unacceptable behaviour, drinking or smoking more
- Being more angry, irritable or argumentative
- Being more withdrawn than usual, or losing confidence
- Being over-excited or euphoric (this might happen if they're worried they'll be seen as depressed and try to compensate)
- Struggling to concentrate, making errors in their work
- Problems with memory or organisation
- Overreacting to problems that come up
Share this list with all your staff, and make sure that your line managers in particular are familiar with potential warning signs. A staff member who is struggling may prefer to go to a friend or