Why mental health in rail needs action from multiple directions
In rail, mental health can be a problem both in terms of its impact and how to deal with it. Staff need to understand the multiple effects mental health can have in rail. It can affect individuals but also affect how well teams perform. Unsupported poor mental health can also cause serious safety issues. The industry needs to consider multiple routes to getting mental health needs addressed. Two resources, RED episode 63 and the Railway Mental Health Charter, showcase what some of these routes are.
Bullying in rail
In our RED safety videos, episode 63 shows an example of how mental health can be affected within rail. At first glance it focuses on bullying within rail. It shows why it is so important to help individuals who are being bullied or who feel they are being bullied. It explores how bullying can occur and what its effects on individuals or teams can be. It also shows clearly how different members of the same team might feel they are being bullied in different ways. Everyone needs to be aware of how bullying may impact colleagues’ mental health and what the signs of this might be.
However, bullying within rail isn’t only important because of the personal suffering of those subjected to it. Like many issues in rail, bullying also has ‘spill-over’ effects. ‘Spill-over’ effects are when an activity or action that starts in one area, such as individual mental health or feeling bullied, also has effects on another area, such as safety.
RED 63 starts by exploring the effects of bullying at the level of the individual but also shows the equally important impacts on safety. Sometimes these effects can even be fatal. Therefore, bullying really needs attention to improve both individual wellbeing and industry safety.
Promoting, managing and supporting mental wellbeing
Mental health also needs prolonged and targeted actions throughout the railway, supported by evidence and tailored by individual organisations to meet their needs. This is what the Railway Mental Health Charter (RMHC) provides. The RMHC is a joint initiative of RSSB and Southeastern. Lee Woolcott-Ellis, the Mental Health Lead Manager at Southeastern, knew that it had been really helpful to have a clear plan to tackle mental health issues and doing so had improved Southeastern’s success in this context. They’d also shared their approach with other rail companies which helped to raise the profile of mental health in rail.
Southeastern had used the ‘Time to Change’ pledge, but that finished in March 2021, so a new tool was needed. This gave Southeastern and RSSB the opportunity to tailor what was available to meet industry needs. Firstly, Lee identified that there was a need for a tool that didn’t require the payment of an expensive fee to the hosting organisation. RSSB already provides services and resources for its members to use to improve the railway. So collaboration between Southeastern and RSSB was an obvious first step. Secondly, based on the experience of using the Time to Change pledge to develop a strategy for improving staff mental health, Lee suggested initial actions for the RMHC , and then worked with RSSB experts to improve it further.
The end result is the RMHC briefing document and action planner. The RMHC is focused on seven areas for action to improve mental health in rail. The RMHC recognises that mental health in rail requires action from multiple directions not just one. In addition, organisations can sign up for free. By signing up they demonstrate their commitment to improving mental health. And they can use the RMHC Action Planner too, which helps structure an organisation’s actions to its priorities. Overall, this helps change rail mental health from being a short-term focus to an ongoing part of the way the railway operates.
Mental health in rail may be complicated with spill-over effects. Collaborating with industry experts helps reveal the barriers and how to handle them so that RSSB’s services and resources support the prevention of mental health problems and their effects significantly..
