Reasonable adjustments for mental ill-health

• Changing start and finish times to help an individual who finds rush-hour travel stressful, or who experiences morning drowsiness as a side effect of medication.
• Dividing a break up into shorter, more frequent chunks.
• Planning to use some annual leave for occasional breaks throughout the year, even in term-time, to support wellbeing.
• Allowing the individual to take annual leave at short notice if they are becoming stressed.
• Allowing an individual to attend medical appointments, therapy or support groups during working hours.  This may be an important element of keeping an individual functioning well.  Discuss with HR whether the individual needs to make up the time later or whether time-off may be allowed.

It may be helpful for a manager to keep an eye on an individual’s working hours and support them in maintaining a good work-life balance. Working long hours may be a sign that someone is struggling with their workload.

• Minimise visual distractions by using room dividers or partitions.
• Minimise aural distractions by reducing the volume of telephone ring tones and discouraging loud talk. Would headphones help to reduce distractions?
• If the individual works in an open plan office, consider whether there is anywhere private they can go if they need to concentrate or if they are distressed and need some privacy to recover or phone a family member for support. 
• Provide a quiet space for breaks away from the main workspace.
• Maximise natural light by seating the individual by a window.
• Consider buying a lightbox for people with seasonal affective disorder.
• Consider changes to the office layout:  people may be uncomfortable if they feel others can ‘sneak up’ unnoticed; others may welcome a more private spot.
• Although it may not be practicable to provide a personal or smaller shared office, this may be extremely helpful for some individuals, who may find working in a large shared office extremely difficult.

• Agree an advance plan for any recurrence of mental ill-health.
• Consider communication methods e.g.
  • using voice-mail to take messages (without slowing down the overall response time) if phone calls make a person anxious;
  • using email may give an individual time to give a more thoughtful response
• Consider regular homeworking.  This may be helpful in reducing travelling, or allowing an individual to attend appointments then make up hours, but there is a risk that the individual may feel isolated from their colleagues.
• Agree temporary changes to tasks when needed e.g. if someone is returning from a period of sickness absence. Can tasks be swapped within the team? Can “front-line” work be reallocated?
• Restructure a job for a permanent change of tasks.
• Agree an “early warning system.” Some people might want to ask a specific colleague to alert them if their behaviour starts to change in a way that suggests their mental health is deteriorating.  This could cue previously-agreed arrangements, such as reminders and help in contacting their GP.
• Permission to take time out when distressed: this could just be a few minutes away from the workstation, going out for some air, or having a short rest.
• Offer help with managing the workload e.g. prioritisation and planning. When an individual is unwell they may find it difficult to do things that they would normally achieve easily.
• Some people may find it helpful to have a “work buddy”.
• Offer mediation if there are difficulties between colleagues.
• Where mental health difficulties are work-attributable, the Occupational Health Service may refer individuals for a short course of counselling.