In these past years, the coronavirus outbreak threatened the world. Studies have shown that the Covid-19 pandemic hurt the economy, leading to financial crises worldwide, breeding job security fears and uncertainty among employees, and causing mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression. With rising pressure on today’s workforce to work effectively with less staff in a challenging market environment, it is more important than ever that employees can attain and maintain optimum mental health.
Therefore, it is important to understand mental health and identify solutions that will help employees and organizations to reduce the risk of mental health issues. Mental health should be a topic of conversation in the workplace, and employees should also have the tools they need to maintain their mental health. We aim to do just that in this article.
Mental Health in the workplace: Why Companies Should Worry About Their Employee’s Health
Importance of Employee Mental Health and well-being
Mental health is emotional, psychological, and social well-being. When employees are mentally healthy, they will be more productive and innovative at work. They will also be less likely to miss work because of illness and seek treatment if they do not feel well physically or emotionally.
Mental health is essential for employees because it can affect their productivity and performance at work.
Employers should provide support and resources for their employees’ mental health to help them perform their best at work.
Related: Nine (9) Habits Of Mentally Strong People In The Workplace
How Managers/HRs can support employee mental health
There are many things employers can do to support their employees’ mental wellness at work. They include:
- Eliminate stigma surrounding mental health issues.
- Provide training to managers and supervisors regarding employee mental health and recognizing concerns.
- Encouraging mindfulness practice at work.
- Employers/HRs can provide an open platform for employees to talk about their days, problems, and concerns.
- Providing opportunities for physical activity at work
- Encouraging social connections with coworkers
- Providing resources for managing stress
We will take each of these steps into consideration below.
Eliminate stigma surrounding mental health issues.
The stigma surrounding mental health is a social issue, not an individual one. It is important to remember that the person who struggles with mental health isn’t the only one affected by stigma. The way we treat other people can be just as damaging to their well-being as their self-perception or experience of mental illness.
Related: Sleep Deprivation: A Major Health Problem in Today’s World
Provide training to managers and supervisors regarding employee mental health and recognizing concerns.
Managers and supervisors are often the first lines of defense for employees who may have difficulties with their mental well-being. They must understand what signs of these issues look like and how they can help support those experiencing them.
How to start? Educate these managers and supervisors about mental health signs or allow them to take a mental health training course. Employers should also set up workshops for managers and supervisors.
This training will give them insight into potential behaviors (e.g., chronic lateness; declining work performance). Once you’ve identified potential issues with an employee, you’ll have a better idea of how best to offer support while still respecting their privacy or confidentiality concerns.
Encourage mindfulness practices at work.
Mindfulness is the practice of focusing attention on your current experience in a non-judgmental way. Practicing mindfulness can help you achieve greater focus, which reduces stress and anxiety.
There are several ways to encourage mindfulness at work:
- Create a comfortable space for employees to practice alone or with others. It could be an office room dedicated to relaxation and meditation or just an area where employees feel comfortable closing their doors for some peace.
- Provide resources such as books or online videos that explain how to practice mindfulness at work. You may even want to hold regular workshops about the benefits of practicing mindfulness at work!
Employers/HRs can provide an open platform for employees to talk about their days, problems, and concerns.
It’s essential to support your employees’ concerns and understand that not everyone is comfortable discussing their mental health at work. Be empathetic towards those who don’t feel they can share their problems, and offer a variety of methods for speaking up or getting help if they want it.
You could ask questions like: What kind of support do you need? Is there anything specific that would help you feel better at work? And make sure that there are resources available (Mental Health Specialist) for those who need them. If someone opens up about their mental health problem, they’ll have somewhere productive to start.
Provide opportunities for physical activity at work.
There is a wealth of evidence that physical activity can help improve mental health. There are many ways to incorporate exercise into your workday by encouraging employees to leave their workstations.
An easy way to do this is by having walking meetings; meeting with colleagues in an open space rather than in a conference room will help encourage movement while reducing stress levels. You could also promote walking breaks every 30 minutes, for example, allowing employees to stand up and stretch during those times instead of sitting at their desks all day long.
Encourage social connections with coworkers, both during and after work.
It’s essential to encourage and facilitate connections between coworkers. Employees should know their coworkers through social media connections, meeting up outside of work through team-bonding events employers set up. There should be policies to discourage cyberbullying on social connection platforms.
Employers can help their employees manage stress in the workplace by offering resources.
Stress is a common problem in the workplace. It’s one of the leading causes of mental health issues by many factors: long hours, conflict with coworkers, lack of communication from management, and more.
But how can employers provide resources to manage stress in the workplace? Here are some tips:
- Offer Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). These programs allow employees to receive counseling and support services.
- Encourage employees to take breaks throughout the day. Ensure there are ample opportunities for employees to take breaks throughout their workday; this will help them stay focused and avoid constant burnout.
- Educate managers/HRs on employee stressors and symptoms. You should know what causes stress in the company. It will proactively address problems before they become issues.
Key takeaways
- Employees are more likely to be productive if they feel supported within their workplace, including companies fostering good mental health in the office!
- Companies should create a culture where employees feel comfortable talking about mental health.
- Employers should look out for signs that an employee is struggling with their mental health and be prepared to intervene appropriately.
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