Open discussions about mental health are a fairly recent phenomenon. While this is a step in the right direction, there needs to be more emphasis on mental health in the workplace, and for good reason.
A recent poll conducted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) revealed that 15% of employees between the ages of 18 and 29 consider their mental health to be on the poor end of the scale.
The same poll also revealed that 70% of senior employees have not been provided with the necessary training on how to have discussions surrounding mental health with their teams.
The state of your employee’s mental health also has a substantial impact on your business, extending far beyond the individual. According to the World Health Organization, sadness and anxiety account for 12 billion lost working days each year. This equates to a staggering $1 trillion in missed output.
With the importance of the issue established, let’s get right into it.
Given how competitive and stressful the work has grown in recent years, mental health is an understandable concern. With this in mind, let’s take a look at the most common factors influencing mental health at work, their impact on those who suffer from them, and what you can do about it.
Stress and burnout are the leading employee mental health challenges today.
Medically speaking, stress is the body’s normal reaction to a difficult environment. In the job, this could be due to tight deadlines or an especially hectic day. Surprisingly, a small amount of stress might be advantageous, giving you bursts of energy to help you get through activities.
However, when the body is stressed for an extended period of time, it develops burnout, which is a state of emotional, mental, and physical shutdown.
Prolonged stress and burnout result in one suffering from constant aches and pains, fatigue, trouble with digestion, disturbed sleep, and, in more serious cases, a compromised immune system.
The influence on an employee’s mental health is significantly greater. Anxiety, sadness, and cognitive deterioration are the most prevalent consequences of chronic stress and burnout.
At work, an employee suffering from stress and burnout will show a drastic drop in productivity. They will seem disinterested and disengaged with everything around them and will tend to skip work more often due to frequent illnesses.
According to the Work in America Survey conducted by the American Psychological Association(APA) this year, nearly 67% of employees are experiencing at least one negative mental health outcome due to workplace burnout.
As people in a position bring about changes in your organization, here are a few strategies to consider to address this challenge.
For a deeper dive into actionable strategies, you can explore this guide on reducing stress in the modern workplace, which offers additional insights to help manage stress effectively.
According to Forbes, anxiety is the most common mental health ailment among Americans in the job. Unlike burnout, anxiety is particularly difficult to treat because it is frequently caused by “anticipation” of certain occurrences.
In the job, this could range from imminent deadlines to the basic fear of having to deal with one’s coworkers.
Workplace anxiety can have a wide-ranging impact on employees. Emotionally, it frequently produces feelings of dread, uncertainty, and self-doubt. An employee who is struggling at work tends to go into a downward spiral of overthinking, indecisiveness, and a persistent dread of failure, all of which have a negative impact on their cognitive ability.
Employees who suffer from anxiety struggle to prioritize tasks or respond correctly to difficulties because their minds are always in a state of fight or flight. Their continual dread of failure frequently causes individuals to disconnect from duties and other team members, which can drastically impair both their individual and team performance.
Suppose you implement the suggestions we offered in the previous section of this blog. In that case, you will have already established a solid foundation on how to improve anxiety-induced mental health problems in the workplace.
That said, since anxiety stems from uncertainty and the fear of failure, you could consider the following solutions.
Depressive Disorder, more commonly known as Depression, is characterized by a persistent sense of despair and hopelessness, as well as a general disinterest in virtually every aspect of life.
Depression in the workplace results in a drop in concentration, missed deadlines, and, in certain cases, actively avoiding interaction with co-workers.
Unlike burnout and anxiety, which are caused by workplace stress and chronic stress, depression is caused by unresolved emotions (especially those that have not been addressed for a long time).
Prolonged bouts of depression can worsen pre-existing health issues and raise the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Depression can wreak havoc on one’s mental health in the workplace – the aftereffects of which can extend to entire teams.
When depression goes unchecked at the workplace, an employee either tends to take additional days off from work or tends to be physically present but mentally disconnected from the office environment, both of which affect team members who have to pick up the slack.
In cases of severe depression, individuals also tend to lash out at co-workers, which can create a toxic work environment. From a business standpoint, it can drive up your employee turnover rate as employees leave in favor of healthier work environments.
Getting through to a person suffering from depression requires a professional. You can, however, train your leadership and your HR personnel to improve their emotional intelligence in order to be able to:
Remote work has become the preferred mode of working for a lot of Americans. According to the Pew Research Centre, roughly 71% think it helps them balance their professional and personal lives. However, the same poll revealed that more than half of them lacked a connection with their coworkers, which led to a sense of isolation.
While some employees thrive by themselves, others find themselves isolated or alienated due to the lack of in-person social interaction. When this feeling persists for an extended period, it leads to feelings of anxiety, depression, and burnout, ultimately diminishing workplace engagement and productivity.
Social connections play a crucial role in maintaining positive mental health and workplace relationships. Regular interaction with peers, be it in-person meetings or simple chats during coffee breaks, improves bonding between team members. This, in turn, installs a sense of belonging at work, better team dynamics, and ultimately more productive teams.
To further explore how you can foster mental health support for remote teams, check out this detailed guide on supporting the mental health of your remote team.
Isolation and loneliness are tricky situations to combat as it does not similarly affect each employee. That said, there are a few actionable strategies you can consider:
A work-life imbalance has a direct impact on mental health and one’s performance at work. The first four challenges discussed above clearly elucidate the consequences when the lines between work and personal life start to blur.
Overworked employees often exhaust themselves to the point where they can no longer function effectively. Physically, prolonged overworking takes a toll on the human body and can impact everything from the immune system to the cardiovascular system. From a mental health perspective, chronic overworking can trigger one or even all of the above conditions.
This can impact morale and employee productivity at work. The impact also flows over to one’s personal life and can strain relationships, leading to a vicious downward spiral on both fronts.
Addressing the challenge of work-life balance is perhaps the easiest among the issues discussed here. Here are a few actionable steps you as leaders can implement to maintain a work-life balance and improve mental health in your workplace:
As leaders, you understand that you cannot change policies overnight to improve mental health in the workplace. Change takes time in the real world. That said, you can, however, identify employees who need support with their mental health and provide them with the support they need. The following are some tell-tail signs to look for:
“Mental health in the workplace” is not just a topic for discussion; it is a real-world problem that warrants immediate action. As leaders, you are in a position to be the change required to address all of the mental health conditions discussed above.
Any steps you take will help individuals improve their mental health, and entire teams can be impacted as a result, too. Remember, a healthy team (physically and mentally) is a productive team.
One of the first steps you can take to improve mental health is to raise awareness among your leadership and employees. You can do this via Engagedly, a comprehensive learning platform that can help you raise awareness, connect with your employees, conduct surveys to understand their needs, track their productivity levels, and appreciate their efforts. What’s more, you can stay connected with them via mobile, too.
Book a demo with Engagdely to learn how it can improve mental health in your workplace.
For more ideas on practical steps to improve mental health at work, explore these workplace mental health initiatives that can drive real impact and foster a healthier, more engaged workforce.
1. What can you do as a leader to improve mental health in your workplace?
As a leader, you can be a role model for everyone working beside you and for you. You can practice and promote maintaining work-life balance and create a safe work environment where employees can reach out for help when they need it.
2. Where should I focus my initial efforts to improve mental health in the workplace?
Team leads, and managers generally interact with the most employees. Your initial efforts should focus on equipping them with the skills to detect and deal with mental health problems.
3. How do I know that my mental health initiatives are working?
Regular check-ins and surveys are a great way to gauge the overall atmosphere in the workplace. You can also take advantage of Engagedly’s analytics features to track individual and team productivity over time to determine whether your mental health initiatives impact team morale and productivity.
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