Every Little Thing You Need To Figure Out About Employee Mental Health Programs Approaches

The number of people on social platforms, particularly Facebook and Mocospace, discussing Employee Mental Health Programs Approaches keeps on growing daily. Tell me your thoughts on Employee Mental Health Programs Approaches?

Talking about your feelings can help you to maintain good mental health. It can also help you to cope when you are feeling worried. Speaking to colleagues about your feelings, or sharing a problem, is not a weakness. It is part of maintaining positive mental health and taking control of your wellbeing. Get to know your team well and you can start to recognise the signs of stress. Don’t rely on your staff to tell you they’re feeling stressed. By this point, their productivity and mental health will already have taken a hit. Keep a careful eye out, and you can help protect your team’s wellbeing. Feeling emotionally drained or stressed at work is directly correlated to distractions in the work environment, lost productivity, and uncertainty about the future. But failing to manage this stress properly can result in total burnout or lead to serious mental health issues like depression and anxiety. And that’s only half the equation. These mental health issues can cause physical problems, like high blood pressure and chronic diseases. Work is a major part of adult life, and many adults spend more time in the workplace than they do at home. As the workplace increasingly becomes a destination rather than a place where people have to be, companies are faced with the challenge to address mental health and well-being at work. Creating a work environment that inspires people and makes workers happy will not only contribute to business success, but it will also go a long way in attracting and retaining the best talent. Staff will only be reluctant to report symptoms if they feel this will incur a negative response. There must be open communication in your organization. The employee has to be in a position to trust their employer will stand by them. Not only will this be an essential part of the recovery process, it will send out positive signals about the company values. Organising charity events at work generates a feeling of belonging within your team. The act of generosity is associated with enhancing community identity and promoting wellness across the workplace. Volunteering provides a way for individuals to express their values, strengthening social relationships within the office.



There is no doubt that the further development of digital tools and services for managing mental health has been a welcome development not least to help mitigate some of the impacts on more traditional service provision. Such tools and services will continue to be needed to meet need 24/7, augment and enhance existing services, support capacity and reach those populations under-served by traditional service models. Every UK business has a duty of care requirement to look after the health and safety of employees, including their wellbeing. But our research has shown that less than 1 in 5 people are aware of their employer having a mental health and wellbeing policy. In light of this, promoting and protecting staff wellbeing in the workplace is important for every business. One of the most desired – and easiest to implement – wellbeing initiatives is simply to recognize employees for their effort and achievements. A recent survey shows that 70% of employees say recognition makes them feel emotionally connected to peers while another 70% say recognition makes them happier at home. The impact of a recognition-rich culture cannot be understated. If a colleague confides in you about what’s going on with them, showing vulnerability, you may feel that it’s now your sole responsibility to help them (especially for those of you who are natural carers and fixers). This is not true, and a responsibility you shouldn’t shoulder alone. An opinion on workplace wellbeing ideas is undoubtebly to be had in every workplace in the country.

Self-reported Mental Health

In an interview for the Washington Post, Stephanie Preston, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan who specializes in empathy, altruism and the way emotions affect behavior, hit the nail on the head when she highlighted some of the extrinsic reasons people may jump on the toxic positivity train at work: “It’s an attractive behavior in people that makes them seem more well adapted and more popular with their peers, so there are a lot of reasons people want to seem or be positive.” Ninety-one million working days a year are lost to mental health issues – that’s an estimated cost of £35 billion to UK employers – but 67% of workers report feeling too scared or embarrassed to admit taking time out for mental health reasons. Organisations need to provide information to all employees on their specific roles and responsibilities relating to mental health. This might cover areas such as work health and safety, discrimination, privacy and taking care of their own mental health, and should be tailored for different levels and specific job functions. The aim of Mental Health First Aid is to enhance understanding of mental health problems and how it can impact on individuals and society; to develop skills, motivation, knowledge and confidence in offering help to those with symptoms of mental illness; to guide you towards appropriate professional help Take stock of how managing a difficult work situation is affecting you. You could feel tired and worried. In some cases, you could experience other more significant effects like disturbed sleep, headaches, tightness in your muscles, excessive worrying or thinking about work and your employees, or a decline in your performance. Similarly to any change that happens within organizations, discussions around Wellbeing for HR need planning and implementing properly.

Mental health problems can affect anyone in any industry and yet mental health is often still a taboo subject. It is important to ensure employees are given the opportunity to disclose any health condition that could potentially affect their performance. Line managers should make it clear that any disclosure of a mental health condition will be dealt with in a supportive manner and not prompt disciplinary action. The 2017 Mental Health at Work survey found that 15% of employees had faced dismissal, disciplinary action or demotion after disclosing a mental health condition. There are very few workplaces in today’s economy in which resilience (the ability to manage challenge) is not a key asset and in which change is not a regular motif of organisational life. Workplaces and managers should be aware of evidence-based tools such as mindfulness and supporting physical activities that can support resilience. Equally, they should recognise that responsibility for this lies not just with the individual but also with the organisation. The work environment is known to have a significant impact on employee mental wellness, productivity, job turnover and overall profits. Leaders can influence a healthy workplace environment by having an open-door policy, keeping employees informed of developments, departmental changes, business goals, and policies. These provide direction, build trust, and reduce employee stress. Supporting mental wellness is now more important than ever. A 2020 report by the American Psychological Association found that stress levels are at an all-time high, significant enough to be considered a national mental health crisis. Those companies that aren’t working to solve the problem are likely contributing to it. Discussing ideas such as managing employees with mental health issues is good for the staff and the organisation as a whole.

Evidence-based Mental Health Promotion

It’s normal to feel a little pressure at work. A certain amount is healthy and helps us to be more productive. But when the pressure becomes too much, you may begin to feel overwhelmed and stressed. This is when it becomes a problem. From job interviews to performance reviews, it often feels like employees are expected to be “perfect” at work. The workplace has traditionally been an environment where flaws are masked and images of professionalism abound. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized burnout as “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been properly managed”. Burnout is frequently cited in surveys about mental health and wellbeing. Putting things in place to reduce stress has business-benefits, too. Managing workplace-stress been shown to boost productivity, boost performance, minimise conflict and - ultimately - build a happier and healthier workforce. There are many projects around the country that offer support both to employees who have experienced mental ill health and to employers. These projects have an excellent track record in placing people in employment and in supporting them to be effective in the long term. Thinking about concepts such as workplace wellbeing support is really helpful in a workplace environment.

The twin goals of increasing employee engagement and creating a mentally healthy workplace are interdependent. Fundamental to both is the need for strong leadership and a positive, transparent and clear organisational culture which values staff. It is important to be informed about the fast moving make-up of pressures in our modern workplaces and the factors driving the mental health and wellbeing of the people working in them. A well-designed and effective workplace wellbeing (or mental health) policy and programme, which gives access to appropriate therapy and other support, can be invaluable. Would you be more willing to talk to your manager about your mental health in a workplace that talked about mental illness in a respectful, non-judgemental, clear and understandable way or one in which you heard people referring to individuals playing the stress card? Mental illness can have a big impact on the way we work. With one in five Canadians affected by a mental illness, the economic impact in Canada is estimated at $51 billion and mental health claims rank in the top three of long-term disability claims. Statistics like these prove there’s a real need to foster mental health in your workplace, both for your business and the personal well-being of your employees. Get your organization’s senior leadership on board and develop a policy statement around workplace psychological health and safety. Ensure your organization’s leadership has identified a champion who will take responsibility for moving forward with activities related to meeting the policy statement. Organisations can make sure their employee benefits package provides support for employers duty of care mental health today.

Raise Awareness

Every individual’s experience of a mental health problem is different. How they choose to approach that problem will be different for every employee. So, the way you approach each employee has to be also different. Focus on the person rather than the problem. Provide your support in a way that suits the individual. It shouldn’t be on the basis of what you think is a standard solution to the problem. Listen to what they are saying, the ways in which it is affecting them and respond accordingly. Now, more than ever, flexible work is important to optimize effectiveness and satisfaction in the workplace. If your workplace has a flexible work plan in place, revisit it to make sure that it’s still serving the needs of all your staff. If your workplace doesn’t have a flex work policy, consider adding this important benefit. Sufferers may be concerned about losing their job by being open about their mental health. Managers should never feel awkward about inquiring after anyone’s physical or mental health. A conversation could start as innocuously as “You appear stressed today. Is there anything I can do to help?” You can discover further intel regarding Employee Mental Health Programs Approaches at this World Health Organisation link.

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