Mental Wellness At Work
Mental wellness in the workplace goes beyond an occasional day off to allow employees to rest. “Productivity” is often a buzzword for many companies—and although having productive employees is important to generating revenue and maintaining daily operations, to truly have productive employees, general mental health must be a top priority.
What can employers do to support mental wellness?
For many employers, creating a company culture that values and supports mental health is a necessary first step in improving mental wellness at work. When an employer provides their team with autonomy and resources, their employees may feel supported and trusted to take time to invest in their own mental health.
Employers and HR professionals have the ability and resources to provide a powerful support system for their employees. Here are a few ways your company might be able to support your staff:
- Wellness initiatives and increased awareness
Consider giving employees access to education and resources from national mental health organizations. Your company can also develop your own health, wellness, and fitness initiatives to increase connectivity and support across your organization.
- Encourage work-life balance
Instead of encouraging productivity to a detrimental level for employee wellness, consider encouraging a healthier work-life balance for employees. Offering flexible work options can help reduce burnout in the workplace while simultaneously providing greater mental stability for employees.
- Observe employee engagement
Pay attention to your employees. At small organizations, it may be easy to witness employee burnout—and the opposite, engagement. At larger companies, engagement surveys may be an important step in charting the engagement and attention of employees. Low engagement can be an important factor in poor mental health and wellness.
What can employees do to support mental wellness?
Although employees may have less of an impact in changing the company culture, employees can certainly take their mental wellness into their own hands and encourage those around them to do the same.
- Take a break
Downtime—or taking a break—is necessary. Contrary to the definition of productivity, the very act of “doing nothing” is an important precursor to doing something; that’s why it’s essential that workplaces embrace more breaks. Not only does taking a break from your desk improve your mental clarity, your motivation and your creativity, but it also reduces your risk of heart disease, diabetes, depression, and much more. Remember that working longer does not necessarily equal working better—remind yourself to take a break from time to time to give yourself time to relax and come back to your desk refreshed.
- Try to separate your work self and your non-work self
In the age of constant communication, it’s incredibly easy to always be working and readily accessible to your team. Try to limit yourself from endlessly checking your email or your Slack channels after you’re “off the clock.” For those who work remotely or set their own schedules, it can be challenging to set times to stop working when the work world is always accessible and waiting—but remind yourself to take a break. Turn off your notifications and let yourself live.
- Avoid multitasking
We’ve all heard this before—multitasking isn’t productive. Try to turn your computer on Do Not Disturb or mute your notifications for a few hours. The notifications from Slack and email never end, so it’s up to you to decide when you need space to focus without distractions.
In the end, regardless of your job or your workplace culture, it’s essential to prioritize your mental wellness in your work. It might be hard to create a new habit—like that ten-minute walk around the block—but it’s valuable for your work and your productivity.
