How to Improve Employee Mental Health
October 11, 2021 | 
Mental health
SUMMARY
Marketplace Chaplains discusses key strategies for improving employee mental health. It emphasizes promoting a healthy work-life balance by encouraging time off and reducing after-hours work expectations. It highlights the importance of open conversations about mental health, educating managers to recognize signs of mental stress, and providing chaplain services for support. Additionally, helping employees manage their workloads and offering flexible scheduling are suggested as ways to reduce stress and improve overall well-being.
HIGHTLIGHTS
- Encourage work-life balance to reduce stress.
- Foster open conversations about mental health in the workplace.
- Educate managers to recognize signs of mental strain in employees.
- Provide mental health resources, such as chaplain services, for support.
- Offer flexible scheduling to help manage employee workloads.
Many business leaders think that their employees’ mental wellness is unimportant, or perhaps none of their business. However, how employees think, feel, and behave has an impact on everything from productivity and collaboration to their ability to keep the workplace safe.
Assisting employees in improving their mental health may be one of the most important steps an employer can take to improve an individual’s well-being as well as the company’s overall health; absences, decreased productivity, and higher healthcare costs are just a few examples of how mental health issues cost businesses money.
Here are a few strategies that business leaders may use to create a mentally stable workplace.
Promote A Work/Life Balance
Making a big point of being happy that people are coming in early and working late, or expecting them to work from home in the evenings, is detrimental to your company’s long-term success. Without a good work/life balance, production will suffer, and workers will be more prone to burnout.
It’s far better to help workers to take frequent vacations where they can disconnect from the workplace. Don’t expect everyone to respond to email 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Encourage everyone to have a full and meaningful life outside of the workplace; people who participate in activities, spend time with loved ones and take care of themselves become better workers, and their mental health is much improved too.
Discuss Mental Health In The Workplace
Don’t be reluctant to discuss stress, depression, anxiety, or other mental illnesses as a matter of course within the workplace. Make it obvious that everyone struggles to maintain mental health at times and that it’s far better to talk about problems than to keep them bottled up.
Managers should be educated on the symptoms of mental illness and trained on how to react properly. A compassionate discussion between a supervisor and an employee can be helpful in persuading a person to seek assistance when they need it.
If you don’t feel confident in talking about mental health yourself, then it can be a good idea to offer chaplain services to be there for your staff. In this way, you can be sure that they are getting the advice and help they need, and they can talk to someone other than you, which might make them feel more comfortable about opening up.
Help Your Employees Manage Their Workloads
Do your workers have little control over their job, a heavy workload, and frequent time constraints? They may be more vulnerable to mental health issues and decreased well-being if that is the case.
Employees may not be able to have complete control over their workload and hours. Help them identify areas where they can make their own choices and manage their own time. Make certain that your staff is properly trained so they can perform their duties in the right way, potentially saving them time and stress. Look for chances for advancement and make sure you’re accessible to provide assistance and ideas. Be as adaptable as possible. Flexible scheduling has been shown in studies to enhance staff productivity and decrease absenteeism, as well as promote better mental health.
