Introduction
At the workplace, have you ever found yourself stressed about a lot of challenging situations? However, instead of paying attention to your mental health, you find yourself taking up the next project and feeling exhausted by the end of it. Mental health at the workplace needs to be taken seriously. According to multiple studies, mental health is an important aspect of the overall well-being of the workforce. As per a recent WHO report 15% of employed adults are having mental disorders in 2019.
Workplace Mental Health
When we talk about the mental health of an employee it includes psychological, emotional, as well as social well-being within an environment where they are working.
At the workplace, every individual strives to show their best possible selves. To attain this, employees often indulge in behaviour like taking challenging work which could cause anxiety, or doing overtime. All of these factors if not addressed beforehand can cause burnout.
When an employee works in an environment where there is open communication regarding their concerns, they feel valued and it increases the trust of an employee towards the organization. This fosters the spirit of an employee to take initiative for their organization leading to increased turnover. Support from managers increases the confidence of an employee to take up the challenging situation which contributes to the identity of an individual at work.
Importance of Mental Health in the Workplace
1. Increased Productivity : A key aim of every organization is to increase productivity. Productivity depends on the workforce. When an employee can deal with challenging situations at the workplace effectively, it increases their ability to think clearly and work as per their potential, thus increasing overall productivity.
2. Support at the Workplace: Support at the workplace looks like creating a space where employees have flexible working hours, an easy way of communicating with their leaders and respecting each other’s perspectives.
3. Positive Environment: Every individual likes working in an environment where they feel supported and valued. Thus creating a positive workspace is necessary in order to build a sense of trust and commitment of the employees towards their organization.
4. Employee Retention : Support from employers helps in building trust, which increases the chances of an employee staying in the organization.
5. Reduce cost: When an employee feels happy and satisfied, it reduces the chances of an individual resigning. This reduces the cost of an organization for hiring a new workforce.
Effects of Mental Health in the Workplace
At the workplace, individuals face several challenges that can contribute to the risk to their well-being. This can include thoughts about doubting their self-worth, uncertainty in job responsibility, heavy workload, high-performance pressure, and inflexible working hours. All of this takes a huge toll on the mental health of an employee. If these stressors are not identified at the early stage it can lead to health concerns like diabetes, thyroid, anxiety and more.
A recent article stated a strong correlation between poor mental health and a decrease in productivity. (de Oliveira, C., Saka, M., Bone, L. et al, 2023)
When managers are unable to create an environment in which employees feel supported and valued it impacts the motivation of the employee to work as per their highest potential. This can lead to errors and mistakes, affecting the overall quality of the product or service.
Workplace Mental Health Support
As per the research it has been found that to increase mental health knowledge and reduce stigma, workplace training should be based on best practice principles of contact-based education, with contextually relevant examples and support from all levels of the organization. (Moll SE, VandenBussche J, Brooks K, et al, 2018).
In the organization, since leaders are at the top position it is necessary if they can come forward and talk about the workplace stressors that they face with an aim to normalize the conversation around it. This will encourage other individuals to seek help for their stressors leading to destigmatizing the notion of mental health.
Support at the workplace can include flexible working hours, open communication, sharing and respecting each other’s ideas creating a positive work culture.
Workplace Mental Health Program
Workplace mental health programmes are the initiatives taken by leaders to create a healthy working environment. Every day employees spend an average of 8-10 hours at their organization so managers must create a place where the employee feels valued and heard. These programs can include providing psychological counselling to individuals who are struggling with mental health concerns by trained Mental Health Professionals.
As well as conducting training sessions on various topics like workplace burnout, resilience at the workplace, and work-life balance to encourage healthy well-being. Understanding this will help both employers and the workforce to identify the early signs of mental health concerns and take early interventions.
Managing Mental Health in the Workplace
Creating a workspace where the employee’s mental well-being is a top priority is necessary. Let’s try to explore some ways to create it:
1. Mental Health Training : Managers need to develop well-being programmes like conducting workshops with mental health professionals at the workplace to create awareness about workplace stressors. This training will help the workforce to build resilience as well as incorporate stress management activities at their workplace.
2.Supportive working Environment : At the workplace, when employees feel that their concerns are being taken seriously, they trust their leaders more. Managers can create a supportive environment by encouraging open communication about their issues.
3.Empanelled Counselors : These days organizations are collaborating with mental health professionals with an aim to create a space where employees can openly share about their workplace concerns without the fear of being judged.
4.Creating a relaxation space : Encouraging meditation and mindfulness gaps between working hours can help an employee to feel relaxed. This can boost an employee’s performance.
Conclusion
In today’s world, leaders must take active steps in their organisations to talk about issues related to mental health. Mental health needs to be seen as a necessity.
References
de Oliveira, C., Saka, M., Bone, L. et al. The Role of Mental Health on Workplace Productivity: A Critical Review of the Literature. Appl Health Econ Health Policy21, 167–193 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40258-022-00761-w
Moll SE, VandenBussche J, Brooks K, et al. Workplace Mental Health Training in Health Care: Key Ingredients of Implementation. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. 2018;63(12):834-841. doi:10.1177/0706743718762100