Poor mental health in the workplace can cause a huge decrease in motivation and productivity. Often, mental health gets overlooked and employees with mental health issues are dismissed as being lazy or not committed. Being able to address and overcome mental health challenges in your workplace will give you an advantage and make your employees happier. Here are some ways to improve mental health in your workplace:
Raise Awareness
A lot of problems with mental health revolve around people feeling they can’t or shouldn’t talk about mental health issues. Spreading awareness of mental health issues, how to spot them, and how to deal with them can help employees to be more willing to speak up when they see or have a problem.
Encourage Physical Well-Being
Some mental health issues are tied to physical health. Encourage your employees to exercise, eat healthy, hydrate, and get plenty of sleep. Also, try to get your employees to spend time outside. The outdoors can greatly improve both physical and mental well-being. A good way to encourage your employees to do these things is to do them yourself. Your example can have a big impact in your workplace.
Increase Natural Light
Natural light is proven to create feelings of happiness in people. Where possible, have windows in your office to bring in natural light. If windows are improbable, still make sure your workplace is well lit. For remote workers, encourage them to work near a window or outdoors where possible.
Form Connections
People struggling with mental health issues need people to reach out to. Form connections with people at work and encourage others to do the same. Connections can be made through something as simple as greeting someone as you pass their desk or asking a colleague to lunch. Make sure remote employees have these connections as well. A quick phone call or online chat can make a huge difference. These connections will help the people at your company feel comfortable sharing their struggles and asking for help.
Create a Survey
It’s important to know how many people in your company are struggling, and what they are struggling with. Consider sending out an anonymous survey to all your employees. This survey can give you direction for what to improve on.
Use this advice to improve mental health in your workplace.