People working from Monday to Friday, 9-5, spend almost 25% of their lives at work, so employers have a responsibility to ensure that their mental health is being looked after. People are often told to leave their personal problems at the door, but this is easier said than done.
In 2019, mental health has a much more prominent profile than it did ten years ago, but progress is still being made. Too many employees suffer in silence due to the stigma that still surrounds talking about mental health; fear of exclusion and prejudice could be the barrier preventing people from speaking up.
A step in the right direction
71% of employees reported that they would have the confidence to recognise signs of poor mental health, according to the mental health at work report 2018 – this is a 7% increase since 2016. 45% of employees believe that their organisation does well in supporting those with mental health issues, and although this has risen from 40% in 2016, that is still less than half of the workplace that actively feel supported in their roles. Rising from 22% in 2016 to 30% is the number of line managers who have taken part in mental health training as part of their work, which reduced figure could have a knock-on effect on the other statistics.
Having someone to talk to
It’s important for workplaces to have a person that employees can talk to about their mental health, whether this is the HR woman/man or a different role within the business. According to MIND, the mental health charity, more than one in five people (21 percent) have called in sick to work to avoid the stresses of the workplace, with 14 per cent resigning from their roles. Which is a large chunk of staff affecting business as a whole. Employees can feel safe in the fact that there is a neutral person within the business they can talk to about any
Communication is key
It’s easy to get caught up in the tech bubble if you work with computers all day – this could mean that you tend to have more chats over email rather than in person. Getting up out of your seat and chatting to the person who you were going to email a little note to will release the necessary endorphins to relieve stress and will actually be more efficient.
The people you work with are more than just colleagues and team mates, they can offer valuable support, so it’s imperative to dedicate time into nurturing those relationships. Maplewave, a business intelligence consultancy in Canada, get together at the start of the day to throw personal and work problems on the table before employees offer ways to conquer them, this not only boosts teamwork and communication but also clears any problems that may get in the way of efficient work.
Learn and progress
It’s inevitable that things will go stray from the track from time to time, accepting these obstacles and getting over them is how we learn and progress as humans. Heavy traffic causing you to be late for a meeting, an event falling flat, these are the things that builds stress in employees, and they’re frame of mind won’t be in a productive place. Shifting the focus from stressing your mind to focusing on the positive things you can change won’t only help you be more productive but will also leave you feeling calm and composed when it matters most.