In today’s fast-paced world, mental health is like the silent software running in the background of our daily lives – crucial, yet often overlooked. As employers, it’s key to recognise this and provide more than just token gestures toward wellbeing.
Imagine creating a workplace that doesn’t just aim to succeed but also supports its members’ mental upgrades – that’s where we’re heading with these next-level strategies.
Open Dialogue and Education
Let’s set sail with our first move: fostering an environment where talking about mental health is as normal as discussing weekend plans. Picture this – instead of awkward silences or stigmatising whispers, we cultivate an atmosphere where conversations about anxiety or stress are met with understanding nods rather than raised eyebrows.
But it’s not just about talk; knowledge is the compass. Employers can provide key resources and learning opportunities, akin to ensuring every crew member knows how to read the stars for navigation. From mental health first aid courses to lunch-and-learn sessions with experts, we’re charting a course towards awareness and support that empowers everyone on board.
Adapting the Work Environment
Now, let’s turn to the physical and temporal landscape of our daily grind. Imagine bending the rigid structures of old into something more like a willow tree – strong yet flexible. It’s about understanding that sometimes life throws us a curveball and being adaptable is not just kind but smart business too.
Offering flexible work hours and embracing the benefits of remote working options is akin to letting employees choose their tools in a workshop, ensuring they have precisely what they need to craft their masterpiece – productivity with a personal touch. By doing this, we don’t just say we care; we show it, accommodating for the ebbs and flows of mental health needs with grace and agility.
Remote working is especially advantageous, as studies have shown that employees are 22% happier if they’re able to fulfill their responsibilities away from the office. So as with all of these tips, it’s worth adopting because of its positive impact on business productivity and employee retention, as much as for its altruistic advantages.
Building a Robust Network
Your employees are a team of superheroes – and while every hero has unique powers, sometimes even they need backup. That’s where having a dedicated support squad comes into play. It’s about solidifying a network of professionals ready to swoop in, from counselors to mental health advocates.
By integrating Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) and access to therapy sessions, employers provide that hotline heroes can call when the weight becomes too heavy to carry alone. In conjunction with effective team building activities, this will ensure that every person in the organisation has the same framework of support at their disposal.
It’s worth touching on the fact that team building activities are not just good for morale, but also for business success and innovation. As pointed out by McKinsey, when colleagues tackle tasks not directly related to their jobs in unison, they actually get more done than they would do in hours of focused meetings, because the change of scenery and place lets them tap into more efficient modes of communication.
Encouraging Breaks and Downtime
Zoom out to any high-functioning ecosystem, and you’ll notice – rest is not optional; it’s essential. In this spirit, empowering employees to take regular breaks without guilt is akin to allowing fields to lie fallow, ensuring they can regenerate and yield better crops.
So how about designing spaces for respite or encouraging ‘mental health days’? That way when they find a therapist, it’s also easy for them to take time away to really focus on their sessions with a professional, rather than this feeling like a rushed or squeezed-in supplement to their busy schedule. It’s like setting up hammocks amidst the hustle, a tacit nod that recharging is just as crucial as the work itself.
Introducing Wellness Workshops
Imagine each employee as a gardener tending to their plot of wellness; employers can provide the seeds and tools for a thriving garden. This is where self-care initiatives come into play, not as fleeting fads but as cornerstones of workplace culture. With 67% of people citing self-care as a productivity booster, it’s good for business as well.
It’s about offering workshops that teach mindfulness, stress management techniques, or even yoga classes – think of it as equipping your team with watering cans and pruning shears. By investing in these tools, we help employees cultivate their personal gardens of mental health, allowing them to bloom alongside their professional achievements.
Strengthening Employee Confidence
In a world where trust can be as elusive as a quiet moment on a Monday morning, and managing insecurity in employees is a daily struggle, building it within the workplace is paramount. Think of trust in leadership like the steel beams in a skyscraper — without it, the whole structure wobbles.
It’s about transparency and consistency; being clear about company goals and how each role contributes eliminates uncertainty. Regular check-ins where employees are truly heard is like adding reinforcing bars to those beams — it solidifies the framework.
When staff feel secure that their leaders have their back, it boosts morale and creates an environment where mental health can thrive under sturdy, trusted leadership. And given that just 9% of people have hit their career peak, according to Gallup, instilling confidence involves both job security and top-level support.
Implementing a Health-Focused Benefits Package
Another must-know aspect of enhancing employee’s mental health is crafting a benefits package that gives a serious nod to their cognitive wellbeing. Now, we’re not just talking about your garden-variety health insurance; I mean a package that’s got its sights set on supporting the noggin as much as any other muscle in the body.
We’re living in times where 76% of employees report experiencing at least one mental health symptom, according to Mind Share Partners. This is why you can’t sit still when it comes to doing your bit with benefits that address concerns here.
Indeed some companies are stepping up their game by incorporating wellness stipends into their benefits. What’s a wellness stipend, you ask? It’s like giving employees some extra dough specifically for keeping their mind right. This budget can be used for things like mindfulness apps (yeah, ones like Headspace or Calm), which are getting really popular nowadays. In fact, the meditation and wellness app niche grew by over 54% between 2019 and 2021, according to Business of Apps.
Crafting Personal Growth Plans
Personal growth plans that aren’t just about climbing the corporate ladder but also sculpting a masterpiece out of one’s own life. It’s no secret people are more stoked when they’ve got something to look forward to, and not just in their day-to-day tasks, but in ways that enrich their soul outside office walls too.
Here’s a little nugget for you: the LinkedIn 2020 Workplace Learning Report highlighted that only 27% of chief execs are actively supporting personal development for their employees, yet far more team members would stick around longer at a company if it invested in their learning and betterment. Now, imagine meshing professional aspirations with personal ambitions – maybe someone wants to master Spanish or pick up graphic design skills because it sets their world on fire.
This isn’t some highfalutin idea; these growth plans include clear steps for professional journeys as well as support for personal goals linked to mental wellness. Let’s say an employee digs painting or rock climbing – these activities can reduce stress, according to experts. So the plan could involve flexible hours or even sponsored courses tying back into reducing burnout rates and upping job satisfaction.
The Bottom Line
We’ve laid out the pieces of a strategy designed to weave mental health support into the very fabric of an organisation. When these practices become second nature, we won’t just see a workforce; we’ll witness a community where wellbeing is part and parcel of the job.
Author: José Luis Martín Cara – Writer & Head of SEO, LinkBuilder.io
Photo credit: Tima Miroshnichenko
