How to Improve Employee Mental Health in the Workplace
With a few workplace changes you can promote mental health for your employees.
Mental health is an important issue that affects everyone. It's normal to feel stressed, worry about things, or have moments where you don't feel like yourself. When it comes to the workplace, mental health can affect productivity and overall business performance. If employees are suffering from stress or struggling with their mental health, their work may suffer as well. If you're an employer who wants to make sure your employees are healthy both physically and mentally, there are steps you can take to improve employee mental health in the workplace and support longevity in your employees.
Promote open communication & Discussion Around Mental Health.
The most important thing that you can do to improve employee mental health is create a culture in which employees feel comfortable talking about their mental health and wellness. To begin doing this, you should:
Mention the importance of mental health promotion in your job descriptions and interview questions. This will show potential employees that it's okay to talk about their mental health issues at work, which could make them more comfortable disclosing these concerns once they've been hired by your organization.
Explore mental health & wellness in performance reviews. If an employee mentions needing support for their mental well being, use this as an opportunity for discussion and open up lines of communication between yourself as manager or supervisor, so that you know how best to help them move forward with their goals.
Mention mental health in employee handbooks or other company documents if possible. Include available programs and benefits, policies and company culture/ norms.
Make Mental Health Benefits Available & Accessible.
Being able to access mental health supports is an important part of improving employee mental health in the workplace. Providing robust mental health benefits and support for employees will help them know where to go if they need assistance or what resources are available. This can be done through offering on-site services as well as off-site, allowing employees to have integrated access or maintain privacy and confidentiality. Companies should also allow employees to use work time if needed by providing them with paid sick leave or vacation time. This not only increased employee access to support, it also reflects that the organization truly values employee wellness in practice, not just policy.
Implement a Workplace Wellness Program and Promote Preventative Mental Health Services.
To help improve employee mental health, consider implementing a workplace wellness program during work hours (if possible). This will increase employee engagement and overall productivity by helping employees take care of themselves both physically andmentally. This type of program may include exercise classes such as yoga or Pilates, educational seminars on topics like stress management, or even mindfulness training through access to meditation apps.
Mental health promotion equals prevention, so if your workplace is needing to implement a new workplace wellness program, reach out to us and allow us to get creative in meeting your company and employee's needs.
With these small steps you support the mental health of your employees.
These are just a few ways that you can help improve the mental health of your employees. As you can see, it’s a process that requires time and effort on both ends—but if done right, it can be incredibly rewarding. It’s important to remember that no two people are alike when it comes to their mental health, but there are still steps that all organizations can take towards wellness in the workplace.