How to Support Employee Wellbeing and Mental Health

How to Support Employee Wellbeing and Mental Health

It’s Mental Health Awareness Week, so the perfect time to think about how to support employee wellbeing and mental health. We are living in a post-lockdown world and increasingly aware of the fact that mental well-being is incredibly important – at home and in the workplace. Common problems at work include stress, anxiety, and burnout and for many people these are regular occurrences.

Because of this, companies need to be not only aware of the problems when they happen so that they can respond in the right way, but also need to create a healthy work environment. By ensuring that the place of work is somewhere where everyone feels supported and respected, you will help make sure your staff members are as healthy and happy as possible. This in turn will help reduce work-related mental health issues such as stress and burnout.

6 Practical Tips for Supporting Employee Wellbeing and Mental Health

Employee recognition software experts Mo have outlined some of the best ways you can level up your employee well-being game, by incorporating different activities and support systems into the workplace. Find these tips below. And if you’re an employee yourself, you can share them with your boss!

1. Create Dedicated Spaces for Mental and Physical Wellness

Companies are increasingly understanding the value of offering dedicated areas that encourage physical and mental health within the workplace. For example, when designing a workplace, you could consider including colourful spaces for creative thinking or a calm room for mediation. Green spaces are excellent too. If possible, a small garden space where employees can enjoy recharging during their breaks and more around for a bit would be a great addition. Spaces like these provide your employees with an escape from the high-energy demands of the workplace, allowing employees to reset and refresh and feel ready for the next part of their workday.

2. Events & Activities That Promote Wellbeing

It’s a good idea to organise regular team-building events for your employees. Choose activities and events that focus on relaxation and enjoyment instead of competitiveness. This is a great way to boost workplace morale. Look into activities such as group yoga sessions or mindfulness workshops or even things like cooking classes. These kinds of events teach useful skills and promote good mental health at the same time. All while lowering stress levels and cultivating a sense of community within your team.

3. Create Support Systems That Matter

Many businesses are increasingly collaborating with wellness professionals to offer things like on-site counselling services, stress management and resilience courses. Programs like these are an excellent way to ensure that your employees have fast access to the support and assistance that they require, when they need it.

4. Encourage Open Conversations

It’s getting more common that companies hold frequent mental health check-ins. These promote an open dialogue culture within the workplace and an opportunity for employees to discuss mental health and physical health topics. During these check-ins, employees can express their emotions and challenges in a friendly environment without the fear or being judged. This openness is a wonderful way to de-stigmatize mental health issues and encourages employees to seek help when they are struggling.

5. Offer Flexible Working Arrangements

Another way to promote wellbeing in the workplace is to adapt work practices to meet the requirements of your employees. This can be achieved by offering flexible working hours and the option to work from home full-time or part-time. You can also include “duvet days”. These options and policies will enable individuals to work in the ways that best support their health needs and lives. This in turn will have a positive impact on workplace productivity and happiness too.

6. Empower Managers through Training

To be able to support employees correctly, managers must be trained to recognize indicators of mental distress and how to respond to such circumstances with sensitivity. Arranging for managers to have training sessions from mental health organizations, such as Mind, is a great way to ensure this. These sessions cover subjects such as spotting distress signs and building supportive settings to empower and enable leaders to act in a deliberate and responsible way.

Conclusion

Creating a workplace that truly promotes mental and physical health is a worthwhile investment in the company’s future. By doing so, you build the foundation for employees to not only survive but thrive. The many advantages of making such an investment are obvious. You will soon see higher employee happiness rates, increased innovation, and a livelier, engaged staff who enjoy being in the workplace. Let’s make this Mental Health Awareness Week a turning point for your company by incorporating these ideas and tips. Your workplace will be a haven of wellness in no time!

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