Mental Health is a much talked about topic at the workplace but with the rise in stress and anxiety. It is because of COVID-19, it has become rather imperative. Employers need to be more attentive and active in managing. And supporting mental soundness at the workplace than they ever were. The unprecedented time has made a lot of changes to the businesses and how they are done.
The worldwide lockdown increased demand for remote working as self-isolation remained the only precaution from the lethal virus. The sense of job insecurity and introduction to the entirely new working style made hundreds and thousands of employees feel uneasy. The discomfort and fear of the unknown soon became the root cause of rare mental disorders problems.
Mental soundness was always a concern. Whether a business is in talks with the best iMoving local moving companies for an upcoming relocation or there is a major change in the hierarchy of the organization, businesses have to think about employee mental soundness beforehand. But this time, things have hit a different chord. Previously, one out of every four employees were suffering from mental soundness problems. It is due to workplace pressure, with COVID-19, the ratio has shown significant growth. In this post, we will talk about handling mental soundness in the workplace. At great length to help business owners create a healthy working environment and happy employees.
Tips to Support Employee Mental Health:
There are different types of mental health. The current working scenarios are completely different than they used to be a year back. There are high chances that some of your team members would be in self-quarantine. While some infected, and others working remotely from the safety of their home. In such a time, companies need to be the core motivational element to boost the morale of the employees. And ensure great productivity, greater mental soundness, and positivity.
Encourage them to Speak:
One of the worst things about mental soundness is that it is considered an illness. Still, people consider mental soundness as a disease and avoid talking about it to save from embarrassment. This means that many of the employees suffer from the problem in silence instead of sharing their concerns with their supervisors or managers.
It is reported that most of the time, employees dealing with mental soundness problems take leave from work stating a false reason. There are ways to get mental disorders test. As a responsible business, you must take this opportunity to encourage your employees to talk. You must invest resources in developing an environment at the workplace that encourages employees to talk on such issues. The organization culture must promote and extend help to such employees instead of giving them a feeling that they would be sidelined or undervalued if they claim their mental soundness as a concern.
Make Social Contacts:
We are bound to work remotely which once the desired way of working, today makes us feel more isolated than ever. People, when they worked in the normal office setup, were able to chat with others, have an office banter, and also share good laughter with each other. The isolation has affected the wellbeing of most of the employees and decreasing social networks has become a key concern. It is important that you organize virtual social gatherings with your employees, send them a message a day that makes them smile and think positively for the time ahead.
Plan Team Activities and Meet-ups:
As aforesaid, it is the right time to extend your support to your employees, and organization meetings and team activities are a great way to do it. Set up a platform or use the existing ones to engage your employees for weekly meetups ups. You can organize various virtual teamwork activities and meetups that encourage the employees and provide them with some social connections in this tough time. For example, you can have Friday drinks together virtually or a daily morning catches up. You can also organize yoga sessions, mental soundness discussions, and more to keep the employees engaged.
Lead by Example:
Employees look to their managers and supervisors for inspiration. If you do not have the right enthusiasm for work, you cannot expect your employees to work that way. Moreover, if you yourself are not open about the topic of mental soundness with your employees, how can you expect them to be? You must give them the right confidence that they will be provided with whatever support they seek from you. Promote transparency as much as you can.
Mental soundness problems are critical and demand early intervention. Whether your employees are moving to a new location or dealing with the stress and anxiety created by COVID-19, it is important that they are provided the due support from you in every situation. Hope this guide will help you in handling and managing the mental soundness of your employees at your workplace and get the best performance and productivity from them in return.
Tell Employees to Disconnect on Weekends:
Employees who work too much tend to be anxious and depressed. A national institute for occupational safety and health report found that working overtime leads to poor health and increased injury rates. Employees need a mental break in order to do their best work for you when they return from their weekends
The stigma needs to on the downside:
Making employees understand about stress management, self care and mental soundness in meetings and in email communications can reduce the stigma which is related to mental illness
It is also called emotional health, and here is the emotional health definition.
When employees trust you won’t call them “crazy” for having a panic attack or fire them when they’re struggling with depression, they’ll be more willing to seek treatment. And fortunately, most mental soundness conditions are very treatable.
Below Given Points are Hints to Find out Employees Mental State:
- A sense of contentment
- A zest for living and the ability to laugh and have fun.
- The ability to deal with stress and bounce back from adversity.
- A sense of meaning and purpose, in both their activities and their relationships.
- The flexibility to learn new skills and adapt to change.
- A balance between work and play, rest and activity, etc.
- The ability to build and maintain fulfilling relationships.
- Self-confidence and high self-esteem.
