Every employer has a duty of care towards their employees. As all organizations aim at having a productive workforce, it doesn’t make sense to ignore the mental well-being of your staff. You should remember that your workers’ mental health affects their work performance. If you’re concerned about doing good business, below are some key tips you need to consider to improve your employees’ mental health at work.
- Enhance awareness of mental health problems
Tackling the causes of mental ill-health can be considered as an effective strategy to increase employees’ awareness about mental well-being issues. You, being an employer, should make the first move to ensure that your staff is properly informed about mental health matters.
- For instance, you can make the information about mental health available in your workplace by placing some resources on the bulletin boards. By doing this, you’ll be able to enlighten them that keeping one’s mental well-being is essential.
- You can make use of mental health professionals to provide seminars or training for all employees, most importantly to managers and supervisors. That way, you’ll be teaching them how to take care of their well-being at work.
- You should also remember that speaking openly about certain mental health problems can help in encouraging them to seek professional treatment as soon as possible. By tailoring information about available support services nearby, you’ll be able to assist them to address their needs.
- Have regular conversations with your staff
Having conversations with your employees is one way of reaching out to them. By doing so, you’ll be able to openly communicate with them about how and what they’re feeling about their work.
- Bear in mind that checking on them once in a while can help you determine some work stressors. If they appear to be overly-stressed, it’s best to communicate with them and work together to come up with potential solutions to their difficulties.
- You should also ensure that no employee is working in isolation. It’s important to make reasonable efforts to keep lines of communication open and clear at all times. In fact, a regular meeting can go a long way in keeping in touch with them, thus you’ll be able to avoid the risks of mental health problems at work.
- Identify and control some sources of stress at your workplace
As an employer, it’s your responsibility to support staff who have been experiencing mental distress, either work-related or not. You are in fact, duty-bound to ensure that stressors arising from work are controlled.
- You should keep in mind that promoting your workers’ mental health starts with you. Due to a range of physical and mental problems brought about by stress in a workplace, identifying its sources can be helpful. You should ensure that your employees are safe from any personal injuries to not interfere with their performance at work.
- Remember that sources of stress if uncontrolled can result in long-term, devastating health problems. That’s why you should take note of the following aspects of works which can trigger your employees’ stress levels:
- a) Controlling or demanding work environment
- b) Heavy workloads or demands
- c) Lack of support from the employer
- d) Sudden changes in work roles
- By managing these work aspects as early as possible, you’ll be able to boost your employees’ mental well-being, thus realizing the benefits of having increased productivity and lower staff turnover in the long run.
- Think of ways to improve your employee’s mental health
As an employer, you should keep in mind that having a conducive and favorable working environment can improve your workers’ well-being. To provide a mentally healthy workplace, you need to consider some strategies mentioned below:
- Encourage a balanced work-life type of environment – Too much work can affect your employees’ mental health. While long hours of work can increase productivity and profitability, fatigue can hurt their well-being.
- Involve employees in their work – Employees feel appreciated and motivated when you engage them in their work. As a result, they’ll not be susceptible to any work-related stress. Also, be sure to acknowledge their expectations which will help them attain their goals.
- Maintain positive working relationships with your employees – It’s vital to ensure positive working relationships with your staff. Any form of bullying, discrimination, and harassment in the workplace can trigger mental health problems for them.
- Sponsor social events and fitness-related activities – One way of taking good care of your workers is providing them with opportunities to exercise and socialize. You can give employer-sponsored gym membership plans and other physical activities to develop staff health.
- Try a flexible hour schedule – Giving your staff sufficient time to relax can protect their mental health. When they’re not over-worked, they’ll thank you by serving the organization with a stronger commitment.
Dealing with employees who are mentally distressed can be challenging and can lead to legal battles. But if you’re more than willing to make the effort to improve the working lives of your workers and the organization, you should do it now. You can benefit from a healthier and more productive management by helping your staff look after their mental well-being. To avoid the challenge of facing a wrongful termination suit, contact a licensed attorney to help you with your situation.
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By Lea Taylor
Lea Taylor is a law writer who spends much of her time writing pieces on law topics for the common reader. Lea is the resident comedian of the office, often cracking jokes to lighten the mood. She always has a delightful story to make everyone smile.