Integrating Mental Health into HR Strategy at French SMEs

At an SME, integrating mental health into HR strategy means connecting workplace situations with decisions about organization, management and employee dialogue. It is helpful to start with concrete problems and work towards practical decisions, rather than relying on an overall indicator alone.

My answer in brief

The clearest approach distinguishes organizational signals, workplace situations and decisions to be made. Look at what is actually happening before choosing an action, then connect it to organization, management or employee dialogue. For a group operating in several countries, maintain a shared framework while adapting the arrangements to the local context and involving employees. A manager’s role is to listen and direct someone to a professional, not to make a diagnosis.

Which organizational effects should you look at to set the HR direction?

To set the HR direction, track absenteeism, turnover and the workplace atmosphere: France’s national health insurance system, Assurance Maladie, lists these among the disruptions to company operations associated with psychosocial risks.

These indicators are starting points, not a diagnosis. Keep them separate and connect each one to a useful question: what change calls for a decision about organization, management or employee dialogue? A dashboard is useful when it helps you choose an action, not when it combines different signals into a score that is difficult to interpret.

Human Déclic offers flexible, customizable outsourced HR services, including support with work organization, team management and employee dialogue. To choose a lever, start with the signal that calls for a concrete response, then link the proposed action to one of these areas.

Which workplace issues should you examine first in an SME?

In an SME, start by looking at constant work overload and a lack of autonomy, factors mentioned in a resource on work-related exhaustion. According to Assurance Maladie’s definition, the term “psychosocial risks” generally covers work-related stress, internal violence and external violence.

To make the review useful, describe a specific workplace situation, then distinguish the elements related to organization, decision-making latitude or the allocation of responsibilities. This method makes it possible to discuss the work and potential changes without reducing the issue to a general impression.

Workload alone is not enough: the INRS, France’s occupational health and safety institute, says it is not the only factor to consider when assessing psychosocial risks. To also examine the balance between demands and autonomy, the INRS describes “job strain” as an imbalance between high demands and a lack of autonomy, in other words, a tense work situation.

How can you align group priorities with local realities?

To align group priorities with local realities, set a shared framework, then adapt working arrangements to each country’s context and involve employees in decisions that affect them.

Research describes the local context of the host country through regulatory, cognitive and normative dimensions, relating in particular to rules, cultural knowledge and social norms, in a study of HR practices in multinational enterprises. A shared framework does not require identical arrangements everywhere: distinguish what forms a common principle from what needs to be adapted.

For an outsourced or shared-time HR function, the choice is not limited to transferring a group policy. Look for support that provides strategic advice on policy, pay and culture, as well as legal and cultural adaptation to the local context and a familiar, local HR contact.

What role can managers play without being asked to diagnose?

Give managers a role in listening and directing people to support, not diagnosing. They can listen when someone raises a difficulty and direct them to a professional, without trying to make a diagnosis or provide care.

To give them a useful framework, clarify what they can listen to and whom to refer to when the situation goes beyond their role. They can help name a work-related difficulty and clarify possible next steps without assigning a disorder to an employee. An INRS document extract mentions unclear roles, conflict and harassment. These subjects can inform a discussion about work and responsibilities without becoming a label attached to an individual.

For a mental health first aid training option, Human Déclic offers French Mental Health First Aid (Premiers Secours en Santé Mentale, PSSM) training open to anyone aged 18 and over, lasting 14 hours. Each session has between 8 and a maximum of 16 trainees, according to the training information page.

How can you include remote-working situations in the HR approach?

Include remote work by examining specific situations rather than assuming it affects everyone in the same way. Inserm, France’s National Institute of Health and Medical Research, says the effects of remote work on mental health are less clear and that it may contribute to stress and anxiety in certain work situations.

To guide the analysis, describe the tasks involved, the coordination required and the difficulties associated with remote work. Then distinguish organizational questions from those that call for a discussion with management or the team. An issue to clarify may lead to adjusting a working arrangement, structuring a discussion or adding the subject to employee dialogue.

The INRS notes that periods of isolation, particularly during remote work, appear to encourage addictive behaviors. Include this in the analysis of remote-working situations without drawing conclusions about an individual on that basis alone. The most useful approach is still to link each situation to a specific HR lever.

What support can help move from observation to action?

To move from observation to action, choose support according to the need: assess the situation, get the process started or structure it. The INRS offers “Faire le point RPS,” an assessment tool for small businesses. The occupational health and prevention service is another source of support the company can call on to get the process started, according to INRS resources on prevention.

Assurance Maladie describes a five-step approach to preventing psychosocial risks: preparation, analysis of work situations, development of an action plan, implementation, then monitoring and evaluation. It also says that an external expert can structure the process and facilitate employee dialogue with a neutral, independent perspective.

Before choosing support, define the question to address and the decision you expect to make. This helps you select a suitable starting point, then choose the support needed for the next steps.

When is HR support not the first option?

An urgent or conflictual situation should be dealt with first, rather than starting with an assessment of psychosocial risks: the INRS recommends dealing with these situations before using its assessment tool.

It is therefore useful to distinguish an immediate need from broader HR work. If a situation requires an immediate response, start by addressing it. Work on organization, management or employee dialogue can then address a different need without replacing that initial response.

The right format depends on the question: whether to act on a current situation or open a discussion about work and HR decisions. Making this distinction helps you choose what to do next without asking an assessment tool to resolve an urgent situation.

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common HR issues?

Factors to examine include constant work overload and a lack of autonomy, according to a resource on work-related exhaustion. For organizational effects, absenteeism, turnover and the workplace atmosphere are indicators cited by Assurance Maladie.

What I take away

Choose a specific workplace situation to examine. Link it to a concrete question, then to the HR decision it can inform. The approach becomes clearer when each source of support meets an identified need.