Wondering how best to make life better for your team? The answer is in mental healthcare. Making a work environment one that is supportive, fun, and positive can lead to improved efficiency and, yes, employee retention. Today, let’s explore various ways of supporting mental health in the workplace.
Why Mental Health Awareness is Important
Nobody likes to talk about mental health in the workplace because it’s a very personal issue. Poor mental health could be costing your business though through lost productivity and lack of passion. Happier employees are more driven to meet goals, improve their performance, and provide real value to your business.
How Can You Support Mental Health in the Workplace?
Offer Mental Health Training
Stress, depression, and other mental health concerns that are left unaddressed can lead to dissatisfaction and burnout at work. Some people don’t speak up about their mental health problems because they may not even notice the symptoms. Other times, they may feel like their concerns aren’t being valued or respected, in which case they don’t see the point in letting others in on their struggles. Training your team to notice the signs and set struggling co-workers up for success is an excellent first step.
It’s also important that your team knows how best to handle these concerns so that employees don’t feel called out or ostracized due to their mental health concerns, as hinted at in the previous paragraph. They may also feel that others aren’t holding themselves accountable for the stresses placed on the employee in question, which can be just as unhealthy, as the burden is then shouldered by the employee alone.
Addressing these risks is crucial, as you’re all in this together! If you offer mental health training, make sure that confidentiality and inclusion are cornerstones of your teaching. Moreover, everyone should be able to improve from it as a more supportive team.
Focus on Company Culture
One of the ways to reduce the impact of mental health concerns on your business is to focus on a workplace culture that encourages everyone to take care of their personal needs. Many people who experience burnout at work feel that taking a mental health day could land them in hot water, so they remain silent and push forward as best they can.
The problem with this is that they become occasionally distracted due to being mentally overworked, lose focus, and have trouble motivating themselves when something’s not right with their mental health. Your business would benefit more from allowing employees to take needed time off, rather than by making them feel they can’t take time off unless they’re sick.
Review Your Benefits Plan
Does your company insurance plan cover mental health services? Many health insurance plans are beginning to provide coverage for therapy sessions and mental health diagnostics. If your health plan isn’t covering these things, then you should reconsider your benefits package.
Keeping your employees ahead of mental health concerns is just as important as making sure they take care of their physical health. Untreated depression or anxiety can lead to substance abuse, for example, which can have a disastrous impact on your workplace. If mental health is included in their insurance coverage, your employees are more likely to seek the help they may need.
Don’t Forget About Mental Fitness
A proactive approach to mental health can go a long way to maintaining employee happiness. Mental fitness involves activities and exercises that can decrease stress, improve concentration and elevate employees’ moods. According to Healthline, daily mental fitness exercises can improve your team’s ability to come up with solutions to problems and to make better decisions on the job.
You can encourage your employees to participate in activities such as meditation, trivia games, logic games, and making positive affirmations to improve their mental wellbeing. These exercises can have immediate and long-term health benefits, all while decreasing the risk of neurological disorders later in life.
Reducing Employees’ Stress Goes a Long Way
Employers are beginning to notice a significant boost in productivity when they encourage employees to do things that they find relaxing. If they’re becoming extremely stressed at work, advising them to take some time off can have a huge positive impact on their productivity when they return, though they may understand the need to put their health first and take appropriate action.
Regardless, be supportive of your employees. One of the reasons why many people don’t take the mental health time they need is that they’re reluctant to use a sick day to do so. Some businesses are beginning to allow workers to use sick days to focus on their mental health. If you encourage this with your own staff, you could see a boost in productivity, which justifies the time off in itself.
How DBA Supports Mental Health
Need a hand with improving mental health at work? DBA allows you to offer your workers comprehensive benefits packages that meet their needs so they can live healthy, happy lives. If you’re looking for a group insurance plan that covers your staff’s mental health needs, we can help. Contact us today to see how we can help your business give back to your hardworking and dedicated team!
