Simple ways to increase mental health in the workplace

Simple ways to increase mental health in the workplace

In the modern world, 264 million people suffer from depression and most of them are also suffering from symptoms of anxiety. The recent study done by the World Health Organisation (WHO) has found that depression and anxiety disorders cost the global economy 1 trillion annually because of the loss of productivity. Poor mental and physical health can negatively affect employees. This will affect job performance and productivity, communication with other co-workers, physical and daily functioning. Therefore workplaces that promote mental and physical health are more likely to reduce the problems regarding mental and physical health. This helps them to improve productivity and gain rapid growth in the industry. Organisations can promote awareness about mental health and risk management among their employees. Furthermore, companies can implement below listed simple initiatives for the workplace to improve mental and physical health. 

Organising a mental health day  

Companies can organise mental health days and events apart from normal events such as Christmas parties. In mental health days, HR managers must explain how the company is valuing their employee’s emotional well-being. Activities can be done regarding mental health and this will help to identify employees who need professional treatment. Having HRIS system in house will help companies to track all the employees’ records through the employee management system and it will help the HR services to give them the specific treatment when needed. 

Emotional well-being is a must 

Organisations can implement plans which offer incentives and credits to employees for achieving wellness goals apart from sales target. Some of the wellness goals are quitting smoking, attending wellness classes and reducing weight. Also, things like healthy eating, doing exercise and team mental health building activities can be done outside the office. These kinds of initiatives help organisations to have fitter and healthier employees. Also, these activities help to improve cultural platform inside the organisation and also helps to boost organisation’s brand image internally and externally. Using enterprise social network, companies can share tips and trends regarding improving mental health. 

Provide in-house treatments 

This solution is more suitable for large scale organisations which runs with a large number of employees. HR services can establish on-sight treatment facilities for their employees. Having a trained professional in the organisation provide significant benefits to employees. This will be a good opportunity for the employees, who willing to get professional assistance but have not been able to seek it because of various reasons like distance and time. These kinds of activities help their employees to feel that they are truly valued by their employer. 

Communication is must 

Establishing communication between the management team and employees are very beneficial for any organisation. Scheduling regular meetings and doing encouraging discussions will help the employer to build trust and communication within the organisation. Better communication will help managers to understand their employee problems and it will help them to provide solutions. That will lead to building more trust and loyalty among both parties. Stress relief activities and campaigns can be done under manages supervision. Having a better business social network and other business social media platforms will help employees and managers to keep in touch with each other. 

Starbucks is already practising these kinds of mental health services. Through their mental health insurance Starbucks offers inpatient and outpatient mental health care. Apart from that, they offer six free visits with a mental health provider through its employee assistance program. Above mentioned initiatives can be used to increase mental and physical health among employees and that leads to an increase in the productivity of any company. Having a HRIS system will make processers easy for the companies because using employee management software will help companies to record and manage data effectively and efficiently. 

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  • Last modified on Monday, 21 October 2019 07:18
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