7 ways of investing in employee mental health are a very significant factor that most of the employers fail to notice and hence it harms their organization's quality of services and the employee's productivity. Now that it is clear, we have brought 7 ways of investing in employee mental health.
1. Gain knowledge about mental health
Who will the first aider of their mental health problems? But it is impossible for you if you are not well versed with the knowledge of mental health, mental health disorders, their symptoms, causes and other do's and don'ts for better mental health. Therefore, you must have basic knowledge of the importance of mental health in the workplace so that you can notice through their behavior or thoughts if they require professional mental health service.
When you are trained to managing employees with mental health issues, this in itself can lead to their quick recovery. Along with this, learning coping mechanisms to deal with stress and anxiety will give you personal benefits too. Learning how to communicate effectively and raising your emotional intelligence can play a major role in forming a positive work environment. Only when you have mental health literacy will it ensure the mental health awareness in the whole team of your organization.
2. Analyze the causes
How will you be able to prevent the mental health problems in your employees without the analysis of its causes? Various aspects can cause minor mental health issues such as anxiety and stress that can grow up to be major disorders. They should get professional assistance, but it will be best if it is prevented in the first place.
The various causes of mental health problems are the demanding roles, long working hours, orthodox seniors, bad relations with colleagues, insecurity about the job, strict rules, giving them less salary than they deserve, work politics, and favoritism. Hence, it becomes necessary that you keep taking feedback about how you have been to your subordinates. Moreover, effective and honest communication about the internal working of the organization will make them understand your reasons behind payment of less salary. Being accessible and having an open mind will prevent other causes from taking place.
3. Monitor the performance of your employees
Sometimes, they are not able to give their best at work due to their mental health problems at work. Hence, this will be a great hint to you to know about someone's worsening mental health. Likely, the cause of their problem is not in the workplace but some other aspects are bothering them. When you converse with them about it, you will be able to help them seek assistance and decrease their number of working hours, workload, make the deadlines flexible, and give them days off from work to recover and cope. Therefore, it is necessary to talk about various aspects of their performance such as absence, overtime, productivity, and downtime.
4. Creation of innovative mental health services at work
Isn’t counseling services been digitalized now? And this is what makes them more accessible to the employees who are working right now from the home. Mental health services are possible via video calls, phones, email, and texting as well. The employees might have anxiety due to the concern for the safety of their child and hence it will be a great relief to them if your organization is offering childcare facilities to them.
Apart from this, you can provide them with the webinars that talk about coping with mental health issues during COVID-19. In addition to it, it is always better to be flexible with the working hours and the expectations from them. This will spare them from the stress that occurs due to excessive workload and pressure.
5. Making Virtual support groups for them
Wouldn't it be very relieving for them when they can discuss their problems that come along with work from home? You can create an online support system for them which will give them a safe space to talk about their problems and look for better ways to cope with it. They can know how to easily handle the work and their family responsibilities, creating a silent home environment, managing to work with electronic devices for long periods among several other issues.
Letting them know that they are in a crisis together will make it very much helpful for them to be patient and thrive even in the hardest times.
6. Not to stigmatize
The use of words that make the employees with mental health problems a less normal is stigmatizing. If you present yourself to be a very rigid and orthodox person who thinks that mental health is not a thing then not an employee will reveal their mental problems to you. No treatment can make their problems worse thereby creating a threat to your labor that might affect the profit of your organization.
As a leader, it is also your responsibility to take efforts to create a safe and work environment without stigma. It will be very inspiring for your employees to know how you have dealt with your mental health issues.
7. Make mental health a priority
Isn’t mental health for employees equally important as physical health? You must convey the prioritizing of mental health. They are going to believe you only if you also follow what you teach them. They should be given holidays if they want to take a break to practice self-care. Giving them financial assistance to seek professional mental health in the workplace will encourage them to seek mental help.
Hence, these are the 7 ways to invest in employee mental health. It will be better by dealing with mentally unstable employees by giving them real work goals, not interfering in their hours of personal life, and encouraging a healthy and balanced lifestyle.