2024-04-19 12:00:00
L’Usine Nouvelle – Psychological disorders are an important cause of long-term work stoppages. Is this the reason why ResMed France trained mental health first aiders among its employees?
Sophie Mauranges – Absenteeism was not the driving force behind our approach. Above all, we wanted to develop a holistic approach to occupational health, with its mental health dimension. With the evolution of the HR function, our role increasingly consists of advising managers and the rest of ResMed’s 350 employees in France. 90 of them work on our Saint-Priest site, near Lyon, from the design to the distribution of our anti-sleep apnea medical devices.
Generally speaking, many employees come to us to confide in the subject of mental health, but this has long remained a taboo. From 2019, we therefore trained our HR team on the subject. We then offered this training to CSE elected officials and then to all employees who wanted it following the Covid crisis. Today, 42 people are mental health first aiders, it works very well. The initial training lasts two days. To provide it, at the moment, we are working with the training organization Infipp and the association supporting the return to employment of people with mental disabilities Messidor. These structures are authorized by the First Aid in Mental Health (PSSM) France association. Booster shots are then very important to adopt this culture of prevention over time. This approach is also part of our desire to develop inclusion at ResMed, with the desire to change representations and have a benevolent look at the subject of mental health.
How does your network of mental health first responders work?
The training teaches us to know and identify different psychological disorders such as anxiety, depression, addictions, for example to alcohol, suicidal crisis, up to schizophrenia. The objective is not at all to know how to make a diagnosis, we do not claim to be caregivers, but rather to be able to welcome a person in a crisis situation, without being judgmental. I would never allow myself to tell a person showing signs of depression that all they have to do is get better. Then, you have to know how to guide the employee who is suffering. A bit like a physical health first aider who will carry out first aid actions while waiting for the firefighters to arrive. In practice, jargon begins to be used internally. We hear people say ‘I put on my PSSM hat’ when we want to discuss with a colleague a suffering that is not necessarily work-related, but rather relates to personal life.
When a crisis situation emerges, how do you intervene in the organization or workload?
We recently had the case of an employee who was extremely invested in her work, who worked continuously, without ever giving up, to the point of sometimes having tears in her eyes. In these cases, our role is to embody our inclusive, safe and caring approach. We remind you that it is not management that requires you to work so much, that the person can take breaks, vacations, etc. Doing this is already enormous. When the vulnerability is very pronounced, as in the situation I have just mentioned, we suggest that the person be accompanied by a work psychologist. This allows us to address underlying subjects: often, people who are suffering experience a clash of values, with injunctions resulting from their education which interfere with life at work. The work psychologist works with the employee, but also with his manager. It really allows you to talk regarding things that aren’t right.
What obstacles did you have to overcome to deploy this training?
I didn’t face many obstacles. We quickly received a very warm welcome from the elected staff members. Then, working in the health sector obviously helps. This attention to mental health makes sense for employees. Then we demonstrated consistency. We have been trained since 2019, there is monitoring… We are not on display, but on an approach that is credible in the eyes of employees.
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