With company support, people can get access to wellness programs. When that happens and people feel good about themselves, they tend to perform better. A culture of creativity, collaboration, innovation, better decision making, and even resiliency takes root. Government policy has increasingly called out the responsibility of employers to safeguard the mental health of their employees, but firm incentives have not, as yet, been implemented. It’s important to recognise that an employee’s performance or behaviour can be affected if they are experiencing a mental health problem. There is often a difference between how leadership perceive internal mental health programmes and the experience and knowledge of an organisation’s employees. Reduction of these perception gaps requires following-up on the implementation of new initiative by tracking of internal knowledge levels and increasing communication of successful programmes. Organisations should adopt an organisation-wide approach to promoting the mental wellbeing of all employees, working in partnership with them. This approach should integrate the promotion of mental wellbeing into all policies and practices concerned with managing people, including those related to employment rights and working conditions. One of the most important things you can do for your employees is make it clear that it’s alright to talk about mental health. Opening that dialogue and encouraging discussions can make a really big difference, and this most certainly shouldn’t be dismissed if you’re serious about making your workplace somewhere that people feel protected and safe.
When employees are able to get creative and take ownership over mental wellness practices at work, you’ll have better buy-in and more variety in the ways your office supports mental health. Promoting health and preventing harm to mental health and wellbeing is important because it’s the right thing to do: leaders and managers have a social and corporate responsibility. Most of the world’s population spends one-third or more of their adult time working. Work plays an important role in individual and family self-sufficiency and is critically important to one’s sense of identity and life purpose. Work and family/personal life are not separate spheres as once considered, but rather people take personal experiences, including stress and mental health to work and vice versa, they bring work experiences, reactions and stress home and into their communities. Regular reviews – structured appraisal systems (as well as informal catch- ups) help you see if employees are happy in their job, to discuss any issues and determine what support they might need. Setting objectives – having clearly defined goals, roles and responsibilities supports mental health and wellbeing. Employees should be involved in setting their own objectives. Don't forget to send out proper internal communications around how to manage an employee with anxiety in your organisation.
A Culture Of Open Dialogue
Consider offering a healthcare package available that includes cover for psychologists, counselors and a host of alternative medical treatments. Services like this often include a confidential 24-hour support line that covers mental health and wellbeing support. Workplace health promotion programs have proven to be successful, especially when they combine mental and physical health interventions. The workplace is an optimal setting to create a culture of health because ommunication structures are already in place and programs and policies come from one central team. If your employer offers mental health days – discretionary leave to look after your wellbeing – take these, and make sure you use them well. A two-year study on team performance by Google revealed that the highest-performing teams listed psychological safety as a top priority. They discovered that this type of security helped team members feel comfortable with being vulnerable in front of one another. T Mental health is still the elephant in the room in most workplaces – employees are reluctant to raise the subject for fear of discrimination, while managers often shy away from the subject for fear of making matters worse or provoking legal consequences. This culture of silence means that opportunities to support someone in the workplace are being missed, resulting in staff being off sick or falling out of the workplace altogether. For employers not investing in wellbeing initiatives, managing employees with mental health issues can be a difficult notion to comprehend.
One in four people will experience a challenge around mental health in their working life. Maximus works with individuals, employers and government to deliver effective and personalised services. Stress can affect anyone, in any workplace and at any time. But if it isn't dealt with, it can have catastrophic effects on health, wellbeing and ultimately business productivity. Research found that 12.8 million working days are lost to stress every year. Another survey revealed that 1 in 5 of us call in sick due to stress. The writing's on the wall: stress is damaging to small business success. Depression in the workplace can change an employee's behaviour, although, admittedly, the red flags may not be as noticeable - especially if you're lucky enough to not know what you're looking for. Whatever our age, background or role in life, from time to time we all have problems, whether emotional, legal, financial or work related. Those of us working from home have had no choice but to be transparent about our lives, whether our kids have crashed our video meetings or our coworkers have gotten glimpses of our homes. When managers describe their challenges, whether mental-health-related or not, it makes them appear human, relatable, and brave. Communication that emphasizes that leadership cares about concepts such as employers duty of care mental health should be welcomed in the working environment.
Really Listen
Organizations have the power and responsibility to improve their employees' wellbeing. When leaders and managers cultivate the whole person at work -- not just the employee -- they promote the success of every individual in the organization. Organisations need to provide information to all employees on their specific roles and responsibilities relating to mental health. This might cover areas such as work health and safety, discrimination, privacy and taking care of their own mental health, and should be tailored for different levels and specific job functions. Supporting mental health at work is one of the smartest investments a company can make. When employees feel valued, they’ll be happier and more productive at work and lead more meaningful lives outside the office. Managing and supporting people who are nervous or anxious about returning to the workplace calls for careful planning. Employees need to understand the steps their employers have taken to ensure they will be safe and that their wellbeing is genuinely a high priority. Mental health is our emotional, psychological and social wellbeing. It affects how we think, feel and act. Wellbeing is how we feel about ourselves, our relationships and our lives. Together, mental health and wellbeing can affect how we handle stress, the choices we make and how we relate to others. Subjects such as workplace wellbeing support can be tackled by getting the appropriate support in place.
Being in good mental health is important to individuals, organisations and society, and adopting approaches that help keep us in good health, and being resilient to the pressures of life, is essential. When you’re burned out, problems seem insurmountable, everything looks bleak, and it’s difficult to muster up the energy to care, let alone take action to help yourself. But you have a lot more control over stress than you may think. There are positive steps you can take to deal with overwhelming stress and get your life back into balance. One of the most effective is to reach out to others. By acknowledging that mental health is a workplace issue, we create opportunities to help people when they need it. Mental health is an integral part of how we feel about our jobs, how well we perform and how well we interact with colleagues, customers and clients. Just as you may have had a favourite teacher, you’ve hopefully had at least one key figure who inspired and developed you like no other. Be the leader you needed when you first started work. And take a minute to think about what that may look like. Similarly to any change that happens within organizations, discussions around workplace wellbeing ideas need planning and implementing properly.
Investing In Emotional Wellness
Many people spend more time in the workplace than at home. That’s why it’s essential to create a work environment that’s focused on the well-being of its people. As companies realize the link between their employees’ mental health and their performance, many have started to implement workplace wellness initiatives. Mental health can be a wide-ranging and even vague concept, with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) defining it as ‘how we think, feel and behave’. Mental ill health ranges from specific conditions to collections of less precise symptoms. The mental health charity, MIND, lists more than 30 types of mental health problems, including bipolar disorder, anxiety and panic attacks, eating disorders, loneliness, obsessive-compulsive disorder, phobias, sleep problems, stress and suicidal feelings. Complement colleagues for work done well; it will make you feel as good as them. Encouraging a collaborative and supportive working environment where people are appreciated can really help improve mental health at work. Don’t let disagreements fester, deal with conflicts straight away. One can uncover extra intel about Employee Mental Health Programs Schemes on this Health and Safety Executive entry.
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