Mental health, just like our physical health, is something everyone needs to take care of, and this is no different in the workplace. Mental health issues, lead to time off work and decreased productivity. According to the World Health Organisation, the global economy loses around $1 trillion a year in productivity due to depression and anxiety. To maintain a happy team is to maintain a motivated team.
Mental Health in the Workplace
First and foremost, it’s always good to be aware of your team’s mental health. Here are some basic mental health facts that all employees should be aware of:
1 in 6.8 people in the workplace experience issues with their mental health
The most common causes workers cite for their mental health issues are long hours, heavy workload, job insecurity and conflicts with colleagues or management
Symptoms of underlying mental health issues can include a drop in performance, excessive anxiety before work, trouble getting or staying asleep, and social withdrawal
What Can Managers Do to Protect Their Employees’ Mental Attitude?
Since a large portion of the workforce is now unplanned remote workers, it can be even harder to monitor your employees’ or colleagues’ emotional health and stress levels. It’s particularly important to maintain regular one-on-ones, and group catch-ups whenever you can. Other than increased communication, there are many ways to maintain a healthy attitude and positive atmosphere among team members. Here are some helpful tips.
Teamwork
Encouraging team members to lean on one another outside of meetings is a great way to create a community feel within your team. Everyone should get the chance to connect with their colleagues at least a few times a week. Setting a day once a week to host a retrospective can encourage people to be open about their projects, workload, and general wellbeing. When everyone is aware of each other’s challenges issues can be solved quickly and efficiently. Over time, leading to a boost in productivity and camaraderie.
Strike a work-life balance:
It’s important that all team members maintain a healthy work/life balance and that your team’s energy is not consumed entirely by work, encourage your team to plan breaks, and go for walks during their lunch hours. Colleagues need to switch off at the end of the day and unwind. Too many managers shy away from implementing work/life balancing measures, for fear of distraction, and presumed lower productivity. But this in itself can be counterintuitive.
Learn
Giving the team chance to learn and improve gives a sense of variety whilst giving employees the confidence they are working for a company that cares about their future and career progression.
To find out more about improving your team's experience and encourage a healthy work/life balance, get in touch today for an informal chat.
The information on this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this website is for general information purposes only.
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