Mental health is a topic that is rising in prominence within the energy sector, however, with less than 4% of employees accessing the support offered by firms, experts asked if a change in tactic is needed.
Businesses across the UK, not just in the energy sector, offer employee assistance programmes to support workers in a range of ways, including when their mental health has taken a hit.
However, even a quality, health, safety, and environment (QHSE) expert from the oil and gas sector did not know the full extent of support on offer when she needed it.
Shabnum Hanif, managing director of mental health firm IntrospeXion, questioned if the practice of employee assistance programmes (EAPs) is as useful as energy firms think they are.
© Supplied by DARRELL BENNS / DC TShe told an Aberdeen event: “We think as businesses that EAPs are the right thing to do but statistics show us that the uptake of EAPs in the UK sits at a shocking low of around 4%.
“That highlights that EAPs are not the answer.”
David Leiper, chief medical officer for Harbour Energy, explained that EAP “utilisation is about 4%, maybe slightly higher, but not much” at the UK’s largest producer of oil and gas.
“Not to be critical of the EAP but sometimes they try too hard to do too much,” Leiper added.
“It becomes a catch-all for everything from finance to legal advice to relationships advice to mental health. To get access, you have to go through a call handler and people don’t want to have to tell their story twice, it’s difficult enough to tell it once without going through someone who’s not a professional.”
‘Offshore workers are 15 times more likely to attempt suicide’
In 2023 the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) produced a report that found 40% of offshore workers experience suicidal thoughts while on duty.
“Offshore workers are 15 times more likely to attempt suicide than onshore workers,” Hanif explained.
“We need to be putting stuff in place for that and whether that is additional support like psychologists offshore or having mental health first aiders, look to do that because it’s not a huge amount of money to spend.”
The IADC findings sent shockwaves throughout the UK’s energy sector, prompting a renewed focus on mental wellbeing in the North Sea and the launch of a mental health white paper.
© Supplied by Kenny Elrick/DC ThomSince then, the Mental Health in Energy group has been set up to encompass firms from across the energy sector and support positive mental health initiatives.
The new organisation is set to produce the findings from a survey taken by a range of workers across the North Sea early next month as it aims to drive a step change in the mental wellbeing of workers.
Chairman of the North Sea Chapter of the IADC, Darren Sutherland, told delignates: “At that session, we launched a white paper, after the panel session we did the working session with everybody and about 200 people from across industry asked several questions about what do we do next and the outcome was what we call the Mental Health in Energy Charter.
“It’s essentially a framework and it’s really important for me to point out that it’s not policy, it’s not law, it’s not something you have to do or have to comply with everything that’s in it, it’s simply a framework to guide companies on their journey to improving mental health.”
Understanding what EAPs offer
Despite North Sea businesses promoting the importance of mental health best practice, the approach many are taking could use some tweaks.
Clair McNair, vice president of QHSE at Borr Drilling, said: “We’ve got a few different forums that we can use to help support people.”
She explained that her business released “this great EAP”, however, communication around the programme was not strong enough.
“There was something on the wall and I think it went out with the pack but I noticed there wasn’t much communication about it and what it entails.”
Following this, McNair “went and had a look” at what the programme offered employees and how they could access support.
“Even with having a look, it didn’t give me the full scope of what it covered,” she continued.
© Supplied by Aspectus Group“I was looking to speak to a solicitor about a family issue and it was my friend who works in HR who said, ‘Do you not get some free solicitor advice with your EAP?’ because I was quite stressed out about a situation.”
After asking the department behind the EAP McNair was told “I don’t know” if the solicitor was covered.
“I went and had a phone call, and you did, you got a few different sessions with lawyers for free and then it got me asking questions about what else is free under this programme.”
Following this, Borr Drilling conducted “communication with a greater audience” to ensure that its staff understood what was covered under the EAP.
“There’s a few people now use the lawyer service under that scope and are maybe not aware of some of the counselling services,” McNair told the Aberdeen audience.
Are EAPs ‘faceless and depersonalised’?
Lenny Collins, managing director of Dron and Dixon added that his firm also has an EAP and argued that “it’s something we should have because some people will want to use that service.”
However, how an EAP is implemented is key to ensuring its success.
“Obviously, the conversations that take place are confidential but the feedback that I’ve certainly received is that it becomes quite a faceless and depersonalised service where you receive generic information and I think when people are going through challenges, it needs to be a bit more structured and personalised,” Collins explained.
Harbour Energy’s Dr Leiper echoed the points made by the Dron and Dixon boss: “I think perhaps for mental health, it needs to be more specific and give people easier access.”
Businesses have a legal obligation to protect a worker’s mental wellbeing as well as their physical safety and because of this EAPs are “really important to have”.
© Ryan Duff/DCT MediaSarah Munro, employment lawyer for Pinsent Masons, commented: “We see it often used at the end of an HR process where you’re inviting someone to a meeting and at the end in a letter you would say ‘we appreciate this can be a stressful process, please feel free to use the EAP service.’
“I think that is why, even if there’s not a huge uptake, it’s really important to have because taking that step, almost in writing, to show to somebody I understand that you’ve been invited to a disciplinary or you’ve raised a grievance, this is difficult and it bring the human element back into it by saying ‘I know that it’s hard, make sure that you seek support if you need it’.”
Following the event Hanif said that the importance of keeping a human “in the loop” throughout a mental health consultation process is paramount and that she aims to do this with her mental wellbeing-focused business.
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