Find out how you can implement strategies that focus on employee's wellbeing in the workplace!
Mental health has been a rising well-being trend for organisations post-pandemic. With the hybrid working model becoming popular with many companies, businesses are trying to become more conscious of their employees’ mental health.
In this blog post, we will be exploring the implications of what mental health can have on organisations and how they can take steps to address these issues.
Protecting employees’ mental health is crucial to creating a positive workplace culture. Failure to prioritise mental health can have costly outcomes for organisations, such as decreased productivity and increased absenteeism rates. According to Entrepreneur, seven out of ten people worldwide struggle with mental health issues.
Common workplace mental health issues include anxiety, depression, and stress. Overall, these are concerns that impact many employees globally. Anxiety and depression affect a significant portion of the workforce, with 51% of long-term sick leave attributed to these factors.
Failing to recognise these common mental health issues prevalent in employees can cause:
According to Gitnux, 60% of employees feel emotionally detached at work, and 19% reported they are miserable at the workplace.
If organisations fail to prioritise mental health issues, these problems can quickly worsen. Employees may feel uncomfortable speaking out about their challenges, resulting in missed opportunities to provide them with the help they need. This puts them at risk of developing anxiety, depression, and stress. It’s important for organisations to address mental health concerns to ensure their employees are well-supported.
There are many ways a business can take proactive steps to put mental health first in the workplace.
Creating a Culture of Support
Having a conversation about mental health is important when creating a supportive culture. Leaders should ensure all employees are determined to make their workplace safe for mental health problems. This can include normalising conversations around mental well-being, reducing stigma around mental illness and getting issues out into the open as quickly as possible so they can be dealt with.
Raise Awareness of Signs
Ensure everyone knows the signs of burnout, stress and anxiety, and develop tips for employees to recognise and help manage the challenges. Many workplaces do not actively educate employees on the signs of mental health problems.
Encourage Healthy Habits
Introducing tips towards living a healthier lifestyle can help boost employee morale. Having “mental health days” that encourage employees to get active by going outside and participating in activities can also positively contribute to their mental well-being.
Employee Appreciation
By actively celebrating and appreciating employees’ hard work, employers can create a culture of recognition that encourages and motivates employees to continue performing at their best. This can increase job satisfaction, employee engagement, and business outcomes.