Nearly one in five Americans suffer from mental illness which is a common experience in the modern age. COVID-19 worsened this problem and had a significant impact on a lot of people’s mental health. As a result of COVID-19, remote and hybrid working was very quickly implemented with very little policy and procedure to support workers at the ready. This has greatly affected the mental health of the workforce overall, as seven in ten individuals who work from home feel isolated.
In fact, the average person may spend 90,000 hours at work over a lifetime. Therefore, it stands to reason that work can profoundly impact our mental health.
By now organizations should understand that a happy worker means a better business and if they didn’t know that before the pandemic, they certainly understand it now. Their businesses are made more successful and profitable by the people who work in them. Thus, it is vital to the success and survival of their organization to ensure the mental wellbeing of their workers.
Therefore, in this article, we have highlighted 5 things you can do to positively impact the mental wellbeing of your workforce, which in itself holds many benefits for your business.
Our 5 tips for Employers
1. Awareness
This step is vital as, to help employees with their wellbeing, you first have to raise awareness of it and the factors that most influence mental health in the workplace. We all go through times where we struggle with our mental health, and it’s important that as a business you promote awareness around these issues.
Raising awareness can help to promote discussion about topics that are important to your employees.This will benefit not only your workers in understanding how to manage their own mental health but also leadership in understanding what factors most impact the wellbeing of their workers. Ultimately, this will promote a work culture of openness and trust.
2. Training
Training can have a positive impact on the wellbeing of your workforce in many different ways, creating a culture of support and trust within your organization.
Firstly, organizations must identify workplace triggers, allowing them to get to the root of the problem and put in place policies and procedures to manage them.
Secondly, leaders should be trained in understanding worker wellbeing and how to best manage and help their team members. It is especially important that they are trained in managing and supporting hybrid teams, as the world of work becomes more remote than it was before the global pandemic.
Lastly, by providing employees with training on mental health and stress management, they can acknowledge when they are struggling and understand what policies, procedures, and resources are available to them.
Mental wellbeing training and additional guidance are key to successfully managing a post-pandemic, increasingly hybrid workforce.
3. Social
Building connections and bonds are what often make us feel lighter and less isolated. In fact, on many occasions, people stay in a role because they have good relationships with their colleagues. For some workers, social interactions can be the deciding point between staying or leaving.
This doesn’t mean that all colleagues need to be intimate friends, however, the priority is to create a positive social environment where workers feel comfortable and work well with their colleagues. This can be achieved through team-building exercises, social events outside of work, creating dedicated areas for socialization, and more.
4. Learning & Development
If we are doing the same thing daily then it’s easy to become bored and feel that our lives are monotonous and repetitive. This is where learning and development come in, as it can make employees feel more engaged and provide them with opportunities to improve their skills. Additionally, workers will feel more valued in the belief that you are committed to their development, which in turn improves their loyalty to your organization
A recent study showed that 74% of workers felt like they weren’t achieving their full potential in their current workplace as a result of a lack of development and learning opportunities. This shows that workers value opportunities to learn and develop in their workplace and this is something they would look for in a new employer.
5. Regular one-to-ones
Regular one-to-ones can be incredibly impactful on workforce wellbeing. It not only allows supervisors to check in on their team members but also provide workers with company updates and talk about training opportunities that they may want to partake in.
Additionally, it helps to build a bond with the employee, allowing leaders to get to know them better and vice versa. It can foster mutual trust and would help supervisors to identify when the worker is struggling or if any workplace factors are having a negative impact on their wellbeing.
Final thoughts
Workforce wellbeing should be a top priority for any organization and with the rapid implementation of remote/hybrid working, it is more important than ever to ensure there are policies and procedures in place to support your workers. However, doing just one of these things isn’t enough, instead, a combination of these methods will help to improve the mental wellbeing of your workers on a long-term basis. Employees need to be able to trust their supervisors and feel comfortable in their work environment, but it is also crucial for leaders to be able to identify the risks and provide support where it is needed.
Chloe Mumford
Author
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