Why Supporting Employee Mental Health is So Important
Simply put, a healthy and happy employee is a more productive, engaged and satisfied employee. Supporting employee mental health could not be more important.
Of course, we are all humans at the end of the day and we should care about the people we spend the majority of our time with, so supporting their mental health is important. It is also important for your business too and, by prioritising employee mental health and wellbeing, you will see less employee turnover, increased retention, and strong corporate culture.
This has a domino effect on your customer relationships; the longer employees stay with your company, the stronger the customer relationships become. The more experience gained over the years within the company can be utilised to enhance client experience and, therefore, satisfaction.
If you’re concerned about how you’re taking care of your employees’ mental health, here are some ways in which you can introduce support in the workplace.
How to Support Your Employees’ Mental Health
Create a Strong Support System
One of the most significant moves you can make is by ensuring your employees know that you are there to support them. Open up your line of communication and encourage a conversation with them. No matter what concerns they may have, whether it be work-related, home-related, family-related, make sure they feel comfortable enough that they can confide in you about it.
It’s important to create a support system in the workplace, so your employees don’t feel like they have to tackle any problems on their own. Whether they confide in your or not, the fact that you have let them know that you are there if you need a chat is sometimes enough for them to relieve stress.
Drive a Work-Life Balance in Your Team
Burnout is a real thing and with the move to remote working, the line has been blurred between home life and work life. It’s all too easy to continue working after 6pm, through your lunch break and at the weekend, but this isn’t healthy. It’s up to you, as the employer, to prioritise your employees’ health and wellbeing.
Although it’s easier to implement in an office environment, you should still try to encourage your employees to take these breaks and finish on time. Set an example yourself by logging off at these times and keep an eye on whether they’re online or not too. Also, annual leave allowance is there for a reason and your employees should always be urged to take time off for themselves. Keep on top of how many days they have taken and ask them to book some holiday if they haven’t for a while, to support and drive a work-life balance.
Put Policies into Place & Prioritise Wellbeing
Take the time to learn about mental health issues and familiarise yourself with the early warning signs, so you can effectively employ mental health and stress management. Employers should build a culture of trust and support within their company which enables them to identify any changes in individual employees’ behaviour and put support in place right away.
You can do this by creating concrete policies and methods to ensure employees receive the assistance they require. Mental health should be included in employee inductions and training, so they are aware that the company views this as important and the entire team is there for support. Helpful tools and information should be easily accessible and clear channels and two-way communication should be created so everyone is heard.
Looking out for your employees and supporting their mental health is incredibly important for them, for you and for your company. Creating a safe and secure culture as well as an open and supportive workplace environment, both existing employees and new ones will benefit greatly.
