Looking after your own, and the mental health of your staff is extremely important. In the often very busy, non-stop world of domestic staff, it can often be overlooked. You might love your job, so hardly take any breaks. Or maybe you really need the money, so take certain things on the chin you actually do not want to or are able to do. Recognising, and making time for mental health and wellbeing is important to keep your domestic staff happy and healthy. Which in turn will reflect on how well they will be able to do their job. So it’s an important win-win situation. Keep reading for our top mental health tips for domestic staff!
What are the mental health tips for domestic staff, that you as an employer, but also as a member of domestic staff, can take on and apply in your job?
Take a break
This might not be the first thing you think of when talking about work. But taking a break is extremely important for your mental health, and often something that can be forgotten in the domestic staff industry. Of course, you are not in an office job where you work set office hours. Things might happen and change last minute, which is the nature of the industry. That does not, however, mean that you should not be getting or taking any work breaks. Even a 10-minute break can make a big difference for your mental health and wellbeing.
According to UK law, employees are entitled to at least a 20-minute uninterrupted break if they work more than 6 hours per day. As an employer, you can decide to give longer breaks, or more often if you see fit. It is important for staff to be able to switch off and have that time as complete non-work. Try to not look at your phone on your break, or on your laptop. Can you go outside for a little stroll or fresh air? A change of scenery, even if it is a different room, can already make a big difference too.
A Safe Space To Talk
Is there someone in your team, that might not be your direct supervisor or boss, you can talk too? Having a dedicated mental health person in any domestic staff team can be really valuable. This person would be available to talk, to listen and to offer advice without any judgements or consequences. Having a safe space to talk, to share worries and upset can make a big difference. often, staff will hesitate to talk to a manager or direct supervisor about these things. As you might worry about it affecting how you are viewed at work. But having a separate person your team can go and talk to, without any consequences, can ease people’s minds a lot already.
Work on Team Building
If you have a team of domestic staff closely working together, it is important to schedule activities that encourage team building. And team bonding. People get stressed, and things might get heated during working hours. But to keep any issues at bay, it is important to build a strong team bond. To create a space where people feel connected, and supported. It is not about everyone becoming best friends. But for there to be an understanding of each other, and each other’s differences. To accept and respect those, and to learn to work together.
Planning regular team outings – unrelated to work – can be a great thing to do to encourage team building. This can be an active afternoon outdoors, or perhaps learning a new skill or enjoying an outing to a theatre or event. Organising these fun events will create a positive atmosphere. Excellent team-building activities are those where they will be required to work together, in a fun way. Problem-solving in the outdoors, cooking a meal together, creating an art project. There are many different options out there, so find something that suits your team and make a regular habit of it!
Allow For Work-Life Balance
Finally, when looking at mental health tips for domestic staff, this is potentially the most important one. This can be a tricky one, especially in the fast-paced, often high pressured domestic staff industry. But having a good work-life balance really will improve the mental health of any person. So making sure people will not work too much overtime, is a very important first step. Again, things can happen, and there is nothing wrong with working hard. But structurally doing overtime, coming home late and not seeing your partner, family or children can really wear someone down. Is there one person who is always picking up the late-night, or weekend shifts? Can that be swapped and more evenly distributed? Are your staff expected to answer work emails even when at home? Can a limit be put to that?
It can seem like little things – but they can make an enormous difference in everyone’s wellbeing and mental health. So make sure to talk to your domestic staff. Listen to their concerns. And find a balance where you can give them a healthy, and happy workplace!
How Polo & Tweed Can Help
Hopefully, you found these mental health tips for domestic staff helpful. If you are looking or further guidance, or training from your domestic staff team, Polo & Tweed can help! As well as ready-made training courses, we can create fully tailor-made training options to suit your team. From improving practical skills and knowledge to working better as a team. Whatever it is you are looking for, we can create a bespoke solution for you. So why not get in touch with us today and we can chat about all the options we can offer you!