Guidance for Managers
A positive and supportive manager/employee relationship is integral to fostering an environment that encourages good mental health in the workplace. In this section we will examine why this relationship is so important, skills and knowledge managers should look to develop, key steps to supporting employees’ mental health, addressing issues common for record keeping professionals, and how to support someone experiencing a mental health crisis. With the incidences of those experiencing mental health issues being high in the record keeping community, and with a number of clear challenges specific to the field having been identified, being proactive in your support for mental health is an essential part of being an effective manager.
The Importance of the Managerial Relationship
The relationship between an employee and their manager is pivotal to their state of mental health in the workplace. A Gallup study found that 70% of the variance in team engagement levels can be attributed to managers, as they create the conditions that promote the behaviours of engaged employees, or cause the converse [13]. When a strong manager-employee relationship is in place it helps build trust and good communication. It also creates an environment where employees feel supported, valued, and motivated, leading to greater engagement, performance, and staff retention [14]. When the relationship breaks down the opposite will be true. Overall, the skills that make someone a generally good people manager will also have a big positive impact on the mental health of the people they supervise.
These conclusions have been borne out in research investigating mental health within record keeping professions as mentioned in sub-section 1.4 above, with strong indicators that there is much work to be done in building more positive and productive manager-employee relationships. In the DPC survey, respondent numbers who replied neutrally or negatively to feeling supported by their organisation (50%) were comparable to those who provided similar responses to being able to share issues with their manager (55%) and had experienced a difficult relationship with a manager (46%).
The topic of managerial relationships was also one of the most touched upon in written responses to both the DPC research and the survey carried out to support the production of this guidance, both in terms of the impact of positive and negative relationships. Positive responses indicated that good manager-employee relationships made individuals feel supported and valued, made them feel more comfortable in sharing issues, helped build confidence, and enabled them to make better choices in relation to their mental health. Responses relating to negative relationships described direct links between them and issues such as stress, anxiety, and burnout, as well as being a key motivator for those who had to leave a role and/or organisation due to mental health issues.
Therefore, investing in and nurturing manager-employee relationships is essential to supporting employee mental health.
Duty of Care
In understanding the importance of the employee-manager relationship it is also useful to describe in more detail the concept of “duty of care”. It is both a moral and legal obligation for an individual or organisation to take reasonable steps to keep others safe from foreseeable harms. Legally, it is a key concept that underpins both health and safety and equalities legislation, as well as being a separate legal principle in relation to negligence.
In the workplace, duty of care requires employers, and by extension those in management positions, to provide a safe environment, proper training, and welfare support for their employees. For managers this relates to the following core responsibilities:
Confirming that necessary risk assessments are in place and are followed
Providing a safe working environment
Ensuring employees have received appropriate training, receive clear instructions, and are adequately supervised
Supporting mental health and wellbeing
Keeping communication open
These responsibilities should, therefore, provide the foundation for development and successful maintenance of relationships with employees under your care.
Fostering a Positive Managerial Relationship
Positive relationships between yourself and the employees under your care are not something that can happen instantly, rather it is something that needs to be built over time. Therefore, it is essential to be aware of key strategies for doing this, so you can consciously take steps to achieve this goal.
Key strategies include:
Communicating openly – listening with intent, guaranteeing confidentiality, and providing honest, supportive feedback.
Building trust – making sure you share information in a timely manner, follow through on commitments, and are accountable.
Supporting growth – helping employees to identify and achieve their learning and career goals.
Prioritising wellbeing – respecting their work-life balance and ensuring they have the support they need when experiencing issues.
Resolving conflicts early – addressing any disagreements promptly and fairly before they become major issues and being willing to escalate issues to HR or more senior management if needed.
Modelling good behaviours – adhering to working practices that support good mental health yourself will encourage others to do so too.
Putting these strategies into action will help create an environment where employees will feel supported and valued.
Key Knowledge and Skills to Develop
To enable you to effectively support the employees you supervise, there are a range of key skills you will need to possess, and knowledge required to underpin them. Many of these skills largely fall under the heading of people management, which are often considered to be “soft skills”. These types of skills can be harder to define and develop than more technical or process related skills and knowledge but are absolutely essential when managing staff. In this sub-section we will examine the range of skills and knowledge that can help you successfully support the mental health of employees you manage.
Awareness of Common Mental Health Issues and Symptoms
While you should not be expected to have an in-depth knowledge of mental health issues, their diagnosis and treatment, a high-level understanding of the main types and those most common in the workplace is important. This will help you spot symptoms when someone might be experiencing issues, allow you to communicate with them with empathy and understanding, assist in identifying any adjustments that can be put in place to aid them, and ensure you know how to signpost them to any additional support they need. You may be able to access relevant training and information from your organisation or via a recognised mental health charity (see Appendix Three for suggestions).
Understanding Employee Rights
Providing effective support for employee mental health requires a solid understanding of their rights in this area. This will help you to ensure that good practice is in place to ensure issues are avoided where possible and you know your responsibilities and the scope and boundaries of how you should help if they do occur. Key steps here include familiarising yourself with relevant organisational policies and procedures covering issues such as mental health, wellbeing, absences, equality, and health and safety. This should also include awareness of services that are offered, such as Employee Assistance Programmes and training options. You can also gain an understanding of applicable legislation and related employees’ rights through guidance provided by organisations such as Acas in the UK and the Workplace Relations Commission in Ireland.
Communication Skills
Good communication skills are at the heart of being a supportive and approachable manager. It is important to be able to communicate clearly and with compassion, empathy, and patience. You need to be able to build trust with employees that they know you offer a space for them to safely share issues and that you will react with sympathy and without judgement.
One of the most important techniques to help build a positive relationship is active listening. It is the deliberate practice of giving the person you are speaking with your full attention, making the effort to fully absorb their meaning, and responding with intention and understanding. The practice of active listening helps to build trust and avoid misunderstandings.
There are many resources available online for free that can help you to understand and develop active listening techniques, but at its core it requires you to:
Give your full attention, setting aside phones and other distractions.
Use open body language, such as maintaining eye contact, nodding, and leaning forward slightly to indicate engagement.
Resist interrupting, giving the speaker the space to finish their thoughts. This is particularly important when they are speaking about something difficult such as a mental health issue or if they have any communication or processing difficulties.
Ask open-ended questions, starting with words like “what” and “how” to encourage deeper thought and ensure you have properly understood the situation. This can also help the speaker internally process and understand their issues.
Summarise and paraphrase, restating the main points to help confirm a mutual understanding.
These techniques are not only useful with current employees but are also effective in interview scenarios to help encourage candidates and ensure they are able to fulfil their potential.
Another key element of communicating as a manager relates to motivation. It is, therefore, important to learn when and how to support employees through encouragement and praise for work well done. Feeling appreciated at work is a key element in developing a sense of belonging. To build strong skills of this type, you may consider undertaking training on coaching and/or mentorship.
Work Planning and Management
Being able to effectively create workplans and monitor their execution is another core skillset required by managers when supporting employees and their mental health. This goes beyond just project management skills to incorporate performance management, understanding different planning and documentation methodologies, and how to collaborate with employees on this process using communication skills mentioned above. Having these skills will help you work with employees to develop plans that work for their individual strengths and challenges without putting them under undue pressure and stress.
To help with this process you should develop skills and knowledge relating to:
Breaking down work into clear tasks and goals, so that there are clear expectations on both sides.
Time management and resource allocation, to ensure the volume of work assigned is proportionate to the employee’s skills, role, and the time available, as well as ensuring they have the resources they need.
Delegation, understanding when you should delegate tasks, how to develop trust in their ability to complete tasks, and how to avoid micromanagement.
Performance review, knowing when and how to review an employees work in a way that is constructive and supportive.
Training may be available on these skills via your organisation or external sources. With both these skills and communications skills, practice and iterative review of your own performance is also important. Consider discussing skills and techniques with peers and your own manager, as well as seeking feedback from the employees you supervise.
Steps to Support Employees
As a manager there are a wide range of actions you can take to help support the mental health of the employees you supervise. In this sub-section we will introduce some of the most important actions you might consider, including what to do and how they can help employees.
Raise Awareness of Organisational Support Available
The first action to consider is how you can act as an amplifier for the organisational support that is offered to employees so that they know what is available and how they can access it. You will need to begin by gathering information to facilitate this process. This can involve reading relevant policy and procedures, identifying information available via organisational intranets or shared drives, and consulting with knowledgeable colleagues, such as leaders of relevant wellbeing groups or HR staff members with responsibilities in this area.
Steps to share this information might include:
Forwarding relevant resources to your supervisees/team
Have a standing item on team meeting agendas to highlight support and initiatives
Encourage participation in training or information sessions when available
By sharing this information, you are signalling to employees your support and prioritisation of their mental health and wellbeing, and this will encourage them to make use of services that are available and feel more comfortable sharing issues with you when they arise.
It is essential that when sharing information that you do not share any confidential information or single out any particular employees, especially if they are currently experiencing issues or have experienced them in the past. It must also be done with sensitivity, making sure not to cause additional distress. For example, sharing information on suicide prevention could promote a trauma response from someone who has recently experienced a suicide-related loss.
It will also help establish good practice and behaviours by those you supervise if you are seen to embody those qualities yourself. Modelling good practice includes:
Making sure you take breaks as needed
Using your annual leave allowance
Taking sick leave when needed
Not frequently working outside of your regular working hours
Being willing to share your personal experiences, where appropriate
Understanding Individual Needs
Any efforts to support the mental health of an employee need to begin with understanding their individual needs. It is essential to recognise that every person’s experiences of mental health, both good and bad, are unique, as will be the support they require. For example, one person experiencing depression may need their workload lightened temporarily to give them the space and energy to recover, while another person may respond better to keeping busy, but refocusing on tasks they find particularly rewarding.
It is, therefore, important to make space to talk with employees about their wellbeing and to ensure they feel comfortable doing so. This aligns with an approach often referred to as person-centred management, where employees are equal partners in planning steps to support their wellbeing. The core principles of person-centred management are:
Individuality – Leaving behind a “one size fits all model” and recognising that everyone had their own unique values, choices, issues, and needs.
Dignity and Respect – Ensuring people know they are valued, that their perspectives are being listened to and understood, and that their privacy will be protected.
Empowerment and Choice – Providing people with the information they need and the ability to make informed decisions about their own wellbeing with support and guidance from their manager.
Partnership – working with individuals rather than doing things for or to them.
Using a person-centred approach has been found to improve employee-manager relationships and leads to improved outcomes.
When starting conversations with employees about their mental health and wellbeing, it is also important to appreciate the importance work can have in respect to these issues. Being in work can be a central component of improving and maintaining a person’s mental health. In particular, where there is a positive organisational culture and they find their role fulfilling. It provides routine and structure, can provide a sense of purpose, and increase feelings of self-worth.
In terms of how to structure conversations about mental health and wellbeing, a useful tool is the “Navigating Uncertainty: A Human-Centred Assessment Compass for Digital Preservation Practitioners” framework developed by the POWRR project [15]. Although it was developed with digital preservation practitioners in mind, it contains nothing specific to this area of practice and so is relevant to all information managers and record keeping professionals. It defines six aspects of work and wellbeing that can be assessed across four different levels of progress. The six aspects are:
Sustainable Resourcing
Confidence and Self-Efficacy
Support and Belonging
Institutional Safety and Validation
Emotional Resilience
Reflection and Growth
Working through the framework with an employee will allow you to assess together their mental health and wellbeing across the six aspects. This can, in turn, help to identify strengths and challenges, and provide clarity on how support can be provided. That support might be in the form of reasonable adjustments or other activities such as providing professional development opportunities or referral to services from an employee assistance programme. Outcomes of these conversations might then be captured in a Wellness Action Plan, which we will describe in the next sub-section.
Lastly, when taking steps to understand the mental health of an employee you supervise, it is crucial to be aware of the role masking might have in how they present their current state of wellbeing. Masking is the conscious or unconscious act of hiding one’s true behaviour, emotions, or state of being to help fit in or meet social expectations. It is a common trait of neurodivergence but can also be adopted by those experiencing mental health issues. In the workplace, high performance can be used as a mask by an individual who is close to burnout, or anxiety might be masked by what seems like conscientiousness or perfectionism.
To spot masking, it is important to watch out for any changes in behaviours or attitudes, even if the employee is still performing well. It is, also, another reason why creating a safe and supportive environment for employees to share issues is essential. An employee is far more likely to disclose issues they are experiencing before they escalate if they feel they will be listened to and supported.
Creating a Wellness Plan
A Wellness Plan (WP) - also known as a Wellness or Wellbeing Action Plan - is a tool that allows a manager and employee to work together to identify and document what will keep the employee well at work, what causes them to become unwell, and how to address mental health issues if they experience one. They are useful for all employees, whether they experience mental health issues or not.
Having a WP facilitates a proactive approach to mental health and wellbeing and helps employees to feel ownership of the steps needed to stay well at work or manage issues if they arise. It can also be a helpful tool for opening up a dialogue between you and employees, allowing you to better understand their context and needs and to more effectively support them. They are also particularly helpful during a return-to-work process where they can provide structure for discussions about what support they will need and which adjustments might help.
Developing a WP can take some time, including multiple meetings with the employee, but the first step is to discuss what a WP is and to talk through any templates you might use. At a minimum a WP template should cover:
How the employee works – including their current working arrangements (e.g. hours contracted, if they work in the office and/or from home, and if there are any flexible working arrangements in place) and if there are any characteristics of their working style they think impact their wellbeing (e.g. preferring face to face conversations, for instructions to be provided in a written format, or a desire to have a mentor).
What they need to stay mentally healthy at work – including what currently helps, what situations or behaviours (from themselves or others) might trigger issues, and steps that could improve the current situation or reduce triggers, including adjustments.
Experiencing poor mental health at work – including how mental health issues might impact on their work, warning signs you or their colleagues might look for, how warning signs could be addressed, and any other support that could help.
Templates for WPs are available from a wide range of sources, but good starting points are Mind, Mental Health Reform or SAMH. When planning meetings to discuss a WP, you should identify a space where the employee will feel comfortable. This might be in a private, quiet space within your physical working environment, at an external location like a coffee shop, or online if the employee works remotely. You should also make sure to provide sufficient notice of the meeting, to ensure that they have enough time to prepare their thoughts in advance. Notice should include information about what the meeting will involve, its intended goals and a copy of any template(s) to be used. During meetings you should aim to use active listening techniques and a person-centred approach as described, to ensure that the employee feels comfortable and that the development of the plan is collaborative and meets their unique needs.
As with any plan, it is also important to review and update it. At a minimum you might plan for annual review sessions, but you should also consider revisiting the plan if the employee experiences any specific issues and/or submits a request for new reasonable adjustments.
It is also worthwhile remembering the impact that modelling good practice can have on the employees you supervise. Putting into place your own WP will help establish their importance and encourage engagement with and acceptance of the process.
Agreeing Adjustments
As described in section 2.4 above, putting in place reasonable adjustments to support employees is an important step in supporting mental health, and one that is required by equalities legislation in both the UK and Ireland. Adjustments are a key method for ensuring that those who experience mental health issues or challenges can have equitable opportunities to access work and then be successful once in a role.
Suggestions for reasonable adjustments most often begin with the employees, but it is important to note that they might not know what adjustments they can ask for or which ones will help them. You should, therefore, be prepared to help them identify potential adjustments and to discuss which might be suitable. It might be necessary to trial and review adjustments to see what might work best. A list of potential types of adjustments is included in section 2.4, and information on adjustments that are useful for those with specific issues can often be found via related charities (see Appendix Six).
Ideally reasonable adjustments should be put in place as soon as a qualifying employee starts with the organisation to ensure they have the support they need, but they have the right to request them at any time. Requests may be submitted later due to reasons such as changing needs or if an employee did not feel comfortable disclosing an issue early in their employment or to a manager they viewed as unsympathetic. Many people fear that asking for an adjustment is an indicator of limitations on their part, so it is essential that when talking about them they are framed as positively as possible. It is also important to remember that consideration of reasonable adjustments for job applicants during the recruitment process is required.
As the requirement for reasonable adjustments is a legally held right for employees, it is important that they are handled fairly and with due consideration. There is also a legal requirement that they are considered within a reasonable time, for example, simple requests should usually receive a response within a couple of weeks. If there are internal procedures for processing reasonable adjustments, these should always be followed, and all requests and decisions should be documented.
The process for making and handling a request for reasonable adjustments will likely include the following steps:
A request is made – this can be made in a meeting, via written correspondence like an email or letter, or via a formal process if in place, e.g. using a form supplied by HR.
A meeting is agreed and held – usually held between the employee and their manager, although HR or union representatives might also be present, this should be used to find out more about the request. This might include discussion of why the request has been made, what adjustments could be put in place, and how they will help. It is important that you listen to the employee and understand their needs without making judgements or assumptions.
Additional information may need to be gathered – if the employee’s needs or the adjustments they have requested are complex, there may be a need to gather additional information. This may include a letter from the employee’s doctor or other relevant medical professional, or the need to complete an occupational health assessment.
A decision is made – Based on the information provided, a decision will be made on whether to grant the adjustments by a person with relevant authority, usually the employee’s manager or an HR professional. Notification of the decision to offer or deny reasonable adjustments should be made in writing. If granted, the notification should set out a timetable for their implementation, if denied, clear justification for this decision should be provided.
Any agreed adjustments should be documented – this might be done in a Wellness Action Plan (see Appendix Four) or a Disability Passport (see Appendix Five). This ensures that the employee has proof of the decision in a format that can be shared if they move to a new manager and/or role within the organisation.
Unless there is a strong business reason to deny the request for a reasonable adjustment, it is good practice approve requests where possible. One barrier to approval that you might experience is where the needs of different employees are in conflict. For example, a neurodivergent employee may be sensitive to bright lights, which causes them distress, and asks for them to be lowered, but they share the office with someone who has a visual impairment who would not be able to see in low light. If this happens, it is important to balance the needs of those in question as much as possible. In this case, that might mean switching office occupancy to match those with similar needs.
Finally, it is important to remember that an employee’s needs may change over time, so adjustments should be reviewed at regular intervals to ensure they are still required or fit for purpose. For example, an employee experiencing anxiety may have found the office environment stressful and moved to working full-time from home. Over time, through treatment, they may find their anxiety lessens and wish to change to a hybrid working pattern to help build stronger connections with colleagues. Any changes to adjustments must be documented in the employee’s wellness action plan, disability passport, or similar record.
Advice on handling reasonable adjustment requests is available from Acas in the UK and the Workplace Relations Commission in Ireland.
The Importance of Check-Ins
No matter what approach is taken to support employees’ mental health, it is good practice to make sure you are having regular check-ins. There are no set requirements for how often these should happen, rather it is best to establish what will work well in conversation with individual employees. Needs may also impact on the frequency, for example, an employee experiencing issues might benefit from weekly check-ins, whereas another employee who is thriving might only want check-ins on a bi-monthly or quarterly basis. It is, however, helpful to ensure you schedule more informal sessions as well as formal meetings such as performance reviews.
Check-ins might cover a wide range of issues, such as:
Discussing current work and priorities, including identifying challenges, barriers, and acknowledging successes.
Ensuring the employee is making room for self-care, such as checking they are taking sick leave when needed, that they are using their annual leave entitlement, and that they take the breaks they need.
Checking that any support and adjustments remain fit for purpose, or if changes need to be made.
Professional development needs, covering what might be required to support their current work as well as continued development.
Reviewing the support you are providing as a manager, sometimes referred to as a 360̊ review, this ensures accountability and facilitates your own reflection.
At the end of any check-in session, remember to review key takeaways and actions and to update any relevant documents, such as wellness action plans or disability passports, appropriately.
As with before, using a person-centred approach and active listening techniques will help to make check-ins more effective.
Supporting an Employee Experiencing a Serious Mental Health Issue
No matter the proactive steps we take to support mental health, more serious issues can arise. This might include a need to help someone in an emergency situation who is experiencing suicidal thoughts, psychosis, mania, or significant paranoia. In these situations, it is important to understand what you can do to help in the moment, what the limitations of that help are, and how you can aid them to find the more substantive help they will likely need.
Firstly, you will be able to provide emotional support by:
Listening – Giving someone space to talk, either immediately or when they are ready, can be helpful in itself.
Offering reassurance – Seeking help can be lonely and scary, letting someone know they are not alone can offer reassurance.
Staying calm – This will help them feel calmer too and show them they can talk to you without causing upset.
Being patient – It’s important to let them have the space to express themselves at their own pace, and the same for seeking help.
Trying not to make assumptions – Try not to assume that you know what has caused the issue or what will help [16].
Talking with the person will help you assess if the situation is an emergency or not. If you suspect they might be having thoughts of self-harm or suicide, it is OK to ask directly, but sensitively, about this. This will not put those thoughts into their head. It will also be useful if you know if your organisation has Mental Health First Aiders and who they are, as they will be able to offer help, advice, and aid in assessing the situation.
If the person is safe in the moment, you might offer to:
Support them in making a list of questions they have or steps they might take.
Assist them in identifying useful information and guidance from a related charity.
Sit with them while they call the Samaritans (116 123 in the UK and Ireland), NHS 111 if they are in the UK, or the Pieta helpline (1800 247 247) in Ireland.
Help them make an emergency GP appointment.
Check-in with them regularly while they are experiencing issues.
If they are not safe by themselves, you should help them call an ambulance and stay with them while they wait if you feel able to do so. If it is not possible to get an ambulance, you might help them find another way to get to A&E, for example, getting a taxi or finding someone to drive them.
If you are worried that they might be a danger to yourself or others, you should call the police for help. You might feel worried about getting someone in trouble, but it is important that you put safety first.
Due to the nature of this guidance, these recommendations only cover high-level actions you might take. To help with dealing with more significant issues if they arise, you may wish to encourage your organisation to develop a crisis plan. The mental health charity Mind offers further guidance on how to create a crisis plan.
Additionally, throughout and after supporting someone with more serious issues, it is essential that you also look after yourself. Make sure that you:
Take a break if you need one – you will not be able to help if you also become overwhelmed or exhausted.
Talk to someone afterwards - either a person you trust or a mental health professional.
Set boundaries and be realistic about what you can do – you are not a mental health professional and should not be expected to fulfil those types of responsibilities.
Share your caring role with others if appropriate – it is easier to support someone if you are not doing it on your own.
Finally, it is likely that any serious issues that happen in the workplace will need to be documented. You should be able get guidance and help with this from HR colleagues.
Supporting Record Keeping Professionals
In sub-section 1.4 of this guidance, we identified a number of key causes of mental health issues that are specific to, or particularly prevalent in the record keeping community. General support for mental health can help, but support tailored to specific problems will also have an impact. In this sub-section we will provide guidance on steps you can take to support employees who are affected by them.
Lack of Understanding and Appreciation of Record Keeping Work
Both the DPC’s research and the 2026 survey found that record keeping professionals carry a substantial advocacy burden due to the lack of understanding and appreciation of their work. Records, and the work undertaken to preserve and provide access to them, are essential from legal, cultural, and research perspectives but they are frequently undervalued. The specialist skills and knowledge required to undertake the work also required a significant investment in learning and accumulation of experience that should be acknowledged. Undervaluing this work and the professional knowledge and experience required to do it can cause a significant impact on the mental health of related professionals, contributing to issues such as anxiety, depression, and burnout.
Support that can help with these issues includes:
Giving positive feedback to record keepers so that they know their work is valued – this might be done at team meetings or one to one check-ins. You may also consider nominating an individual or the organisation’s service for an Archives and Records Association (ARA) award [https://www.archives.org.uk/awards] or similar.
Collaborate on planning for effective advocacy – ensuring they have the time and space to be able to approach advocacy in the most efficient and effective way possible.
Include record keeping professionals in relevant decision making – good leadership practice requires that decision-making is a collaborative process, so, ideally, record keeping professionals should be included, or at a minimum, consulted on any decisions that affect their work. This not only helps strengthen the manager-employee relationship but also ensures employees feel more valued and in control. This is particularly important if you are not from a record keeping background as the knowledge and experience they bring will be essential to ensure the right decisions are made.
Amplifying communications highlighting record keeping work – making sure as many people as possible can learn about record keeping and archives.
Helping records keepers identify advocacy opportunities – such as publications or blogs where stories could be shared, or meetings they could present at to promote and raise awareness of their work.
Supporting work to secure additional resources – including helping to identify internal and external funding opportunities, collaborating on proposals and business cases, and acting as a champion on their behalf.
Checking-in on how they are doing – making sure they have a safe space to talk about struggles in relation to these issues.
Understaffing, Workloads, and Fragmented Roles
Linked to the issues mentioned under the previous heading, many record keepers and the services they work in find themselves under huge resource pressures due to a lack of funding, insufficient staffing, unrealistic workloads, and jobs that incorporate the responsibilities and skills required of different roles. In addition to some of the suggestions provided earlier, such as supporting work to secure additional resources, the following steps can also help:
Ensuring role descriptions are accurate and appropriate – a lack of clarity around the responsibilities of record keeping roles can often be an issue. Making sure job descriptions are suitably scoped and accurate can help with ensuring workloads are not overwhelming. It is also important to ensure responsibilities are matched to their skills and knowledge.
Helping to prioritise tasks – trying to make progress in too many areas can lead to stress and burnout. Collaborating with record keepers to identify how to most efficiently focus staff time and effort and establishing priorities can help curb the desire to do everything at once and reduce risks to mental health.
Making realistic workplans – working together to make weekly or monthly workplans to help manage time and energy can also help to reduce stress and burnout. These should include ringfenced focus time for tasks that require attention and also include contingency time for unexpected additions like new meetings. Energy accounting [17], originally developed to help neurodivergent people manage or reduce the risk of burnout, is a useful tool for work planning as it helps to balance energy levels.
Checking to make sure staff are keeping to their contracted hours – it is not always possible to avoid out of hours work, but employees should be strongly encouraged not to make this the norm. Ensuring breaks and leave are also taken is important. Setting boundaries and having a work-life balance should be expected.
Self Confidence and Imposter Syndrome
Due to the increasingly complex nature of record keeping work, especially in light of the growing need to preserve digital records, and the specialist skills and knowledge required, many professionals experience issues with self-confidence and imposter syndrome. To reduce these issues and their impact on mental health, the following steps might be taken:
Provide regular and constructive feedback – in particular, highlighting successes and acknowledging achievements can have a significant impact on reducing self-confidence issues.
Support professional development opportunities – assist with the planning of continued professional development and making sure they have the time and resources to undertake activities is essential to growing confidence. While paid training and learning opportunities are the most obvious options, it is also possible to plan development at relatively low or little cost beyond the time taken. This can involve identifying tasks that will push their skills and experience further and also allocating protected time for development, such as a day a month. Tools like ARA’s competency framework can help with planning and the related registration and fellowship schemes can provide a framework for measuring progress.
Help to find a mentor – having a nominated person to talk to about professional development and related issues, such as confidence, can have a significant impact, whether a person is early in their career or more established. Helping to identify a suitable mentor, either within or outside of the organisation, can be an important step. Time should also be allocated within working hours for mentorship meetings and activities.
Loneliness and Isolation
Most record keeping professionals work alone or as part of a small team and this can lead to feelings of loneliness and isolation which can impact on mental health. Taking steps to encourage connections with others and foster a sense of belonging are key. This can be helped by:
Dedicating regular time for catch-ups – building a strong manager-employee relationship and making sure they know you are available for support and to listen can help reduce loneliness and isolation.
Providing opportunities to connect with other record keepers – connecting with peers can be invaluable in helping people to feel heard, understood, and supported. This can be through formal events like training or conferences, by encouraging visits to other record keeping services, or through informal channels like online meetups or messaging groups. There are also local peer groups in many areas and the opportunity to get involved with special interest “Sections” through ARA membership. Time should be allocated for these types of activities within the working day.
Encouraging participation in groups within your organisation – as described in sub-section 2.5 above, these might be groups that focus on a particular interest, be for those who belong to a certain demographic, or be centred around wellbeing issues. Participation in these groups can help reduce issues of isolation and loneliness and help build community, a sense of belonging, and support networks.
Working with Distressing Content
Record keepers might find themselves working with materials that include disturbing or distressing content, which can impact on mental health and cause issues such as secondary trauma and compassion fatigue. A significant amount of research and guidance has already been produced on this topic and links to key resources are included in Appendix One. There are, however, some key steps a manager should be aware of when helping to support a record keeping professional who is working with this type of content:
Make sure appropriate preparation is carried out – including planning how to break up the work with time away in-between sessions and that those undertaking the work have learnt relevant emotional resilience techniques.
Know key warning signs of issues – for example key symptoms that may manifest and be ready to act if you spot them or if concerns are raised by another colleague.
Be prepared to offer support when it is needed – make sure it is clear that you are available to provide a safe and confidential space to talk. Also consider scheduling more frequent check-in sessions for the duration of the work.
Make sure you are aware of relevant organisational support that is available – having information to hand on organisational support mechanisms, such as elements of an employee assistance programme, can help provide required support in a timely manner.
[14] https://www.truvelop.com/the-importance-of-strengthening-the-manager-employee-relationship/