A 2018 publication of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States reported that nearly 20% of adults in the U.S. have a mental illness.
Meanwhile in the United Kingdom, the Mental Health Foundation estimated that 12.7% of sickness absence days can be attributed to mental health conditions.
Work doesn't have to burn out employees. In fact, the workplace can help support employees' mental health by prioritizing workplace wellbeing.
These eight strategies can help encourage employees to do their best work, while respecting wellness and mental health.
Content Overview
1. Build Personal Relationships
4. Create a Healthy Environment
1. Build Personal Relationships
First, when it comes to workplace wellbeing, there isn't a one-size-fits-all solution.
Each individual employee will have their own circumstances and needs. If you're a leader or manager, make time to check in with employees in a one-to-one meeting. Keep conversations professional, but feel free to discuss how their work and personal lives may intersect.
For example, does a parent on your team need a schedule with less overtime to be home with their children? Is there an employee struggling with a disability that's affecting their work? Are there financial issues in their private lives?
Work to build rapport so employees can discuss the personal matters that they may need a hand within the workplace.
2. Normalize Mental Health
More and more, companies are realizing that it isn't realistic to keep mental health and the workplace completely separate. Pressuring employees to bottle up their stress only leads to worse outcomes, including lower motivation at work and higher employee turnover rates.
It's important to normalize mental health in the workplace. Hold workshops or training sessions on mental health. Mention it in emails and other company-wide communications. Discuss signs of stress that employees should watch out for, and offer practical and flexible solutions.
The truth is that work can be stressful at times. Help to normalize these feelings and ways to overcome them. Stress should necessarily be seen as ‘all bad’. Kelly McGongial is a health psychologist who has identified such a thing as ‘good stress’. Kelly presented a TED talk on this subject, titled, ‘How to make stress your friend’.
3. Prioritize Self-Care
Self-care is a buzzword these days, but for good reason.
Self-care can help employees to slow down, stop, recharge, and make adjustments when their physical or mental health is being sacrificed. And for leaders in the workplace, there should be opportunities created for self-care at work. Leaders should be trained in how to help their employees achieve this.
For example, employees should be encouraged to take breaks where they can move around and de-stress. There should also be no pressure put on employees to answer emails or calls outside of work hours.
A relaxing break, the occasional chat at the coffee machine, or a quick self-massage to relieve tense shoulders can all be small acts of self-care that, over time, can help employees feel recharged.
4. Create a Healthy Environment
Employees don't have to visit a gym or park to be immersed in a healthy environment. Wellness can be a part of your everyday workplace environment, too.
Bring plants into the office to improve air quality. Encourage employees to go outside during their breaks - a 30 minute walk will help reduce stress hormones and create more energy. Keep healthy snacks or free water bottles in the kitchen.
You can even implement daily times for stretching or doing yoga as a team. Or, if your job requires hours of sitting, bring in standing desks and ergonomic chairs.
5. Bring Fun to Work
When there's already a packed work schedule, it may seem like there's no time for fun. But when you make time for fun in the workplace, employees are less likely to get burned out.
Employees then have the energy and motivation needed to do their job. In this way, investing in fun time is investing in work time.
Get your employees away from their daily duties, and encourage them to participate in a fun activity at work. For example, schedule an hour each week for an art class or plan a monthly board game competition.
6. Get Talking
During times of stress or personal trouble, employees need someone to talk to. But not everyone has a friend or therapist available.
Encourage employees to talk to a counselor, even bringing one on-site if possible. You can also foster an environment of peer support between employees. A designated coach or mediator can also help when issues arise.
Loneliness can be just as dangerous as heart disease or a mental health disorder. Make sure your workplace is one that is friendly and supports social bonds.
7. Be a Good Example
Especially if you're managing or leading in the workplace, it's important to set a good example. And this includes modeling workplace wellbeing.
Take care of yourself and your health. As a manager, create a reputation for yourself as someone who cares about work-life balance. Don’t send emails in the evening or over the weekends - help your employees enjoy their time away from work.
This can help others to do the same.
8. Listen to Feedback
For wellbeing strategies to work, they have to have your employees in mind.
In other words, base your strategies on the unique needs of the employees that make up your company. That means they should play a role in some of the ideas discussed and the decisions made within the company, thereby increasing their feeling of autonomy.
If you haven't already, create a system where employees can give feedback and offer suggestions. There should be an environment established that is truly open to feedback, both positive and critical. Employees should feel that their ideas are being heard and their voices matter.
When implementing wellness and employee engagement strategies, talk to your employees first. Would these strategies really help them? Do they need to be altered a bit in order to work? Is there another solution you hadn't thought of? Their feedback is invaluable to your workplace's culture and success.
Workplace Wellbeing Delivers Results
Prioritizing workplace wellbeing enhances your employees' work and their personal lives. When we stop ignoring the need for mental health and wellness strategies at work, we can start creating new solutions that drive performance and make our organisations productive.
Learn more about how to support employees in the workplace with our effective employee engagement programmes!
