Promoting Mental Health in the Workplace: 5 Important Tips

Introduction

While there are various ongoing efforts to bring mental health to the forefront, the stigma surrounding it still exists. In the workplace, it is often seen that mental health issues are not reported as much as issues concerning physical health. Organisations play a critical role in looking after their employees’ mental well-being and providing them with adequate resources and support.

Promoting Mental Health in the Workplace

• In today’s dynamic and ever-changing work culture, high levels of competitiveness and stress have become quite common, which makes it crucial to promote mental health in the workplace.
• Mental health impacts our ability to make decisions, handle stress, and relate to others; neglecting it not only threatens individual well-being but also compromises organisational success.
• Employees usually deal with many difficulties at work, including heavy workloads, rigid deadlines, work pressure, and other factors that can result in heightened levels of stress and burnout.
• The difficulties related to an increase in stress and burnout are further magnified by the responsibility to balance both personal and professional life.

Given such trends, it becomes crucial to make mental health a central issue rather than keeping it on the sidelines and to foster a supportive organisational culture.

Mental Health and Workplace

India faces a major dearth of mental health professionals(MHPs), as evidenced by the report of WHO Mental Health Atlas (2017), which found that we have one MHP for every 51,717 individuals, highlighting the challenges of accessibility related to mental health care. It was also observed by the data reported by the World Health Organization that in a year, depression and anxiety cost the global economy around 1 trillion in lost productivity, which is roughly estimated at 130 USD per person yearly. Translated to INR, this amounts to approximately 10,870 Indian rupees for an individual in one year, and it shows how the impact of mental health issues permeates the economy as well.  Certain difficulties exist in addressing mental health concerns, and these obstacles are made even more difficult in the workplace by the scarcity of Mental Health Professionals (MHPs) and the stigma attached to mental health. Anxiety and depression are common mental health disorders that have a negative effect on productivity, and in turn, stress related to work can further reduce emotional well-being, worsening mental health conditions. This creates a vicious cycle which needs to be addressed through intervention to foster employee satisfaction and create a stage for the growth of the organisation.

Importance of Promoting Mental Health in the Workplace 

Due to innumerable reasons, building a workplace that is psychologically healthy has become a transparent priority for organisations. 

1. Self-esteem: Heightened psychological distress might lower employees’ self-esteem, lead to somatic conditions, and negatively impact their interpersonal relationships.
2.  Impacts of Organizational-level: At the organisational level, it leads to absenteeism, higher turnover costs, legal and reputational problems and much more. 
3.  Job satisfaction and morale: A supportive work environment also enhances employee job satisfaction and morale. Moreover, by bolstering employees’ capacities, workplace productivity is significantly improved. 
4. Legal, moral, and social responsibility of Employees: Employers, in their legal and moral obligation, should provide solutions to mental health problems at the workplace. Their action is also considered a social commitment to fulfilling their role as responsible members of the community. 
5. Attract top-tier talent:  An additional benefit of supporting mental health at the workplace is to attract top-tier talent and make the organisation more appealing to future employees.
6. Early intervention and resource allocation: Encouraging early intervention by allocating resources to mental health promotion leads to long-term cost savings, which further aids in enhancing organisational stability.

5 Ways to Promote Mental Health in the Workplace

• Creating Safe Spaces for Open Communication:

Open dialogue about mental health concerns should be encouraged in the workplace. It can be achieved by leaders sharing their personal stories, regular mental health check ins, creating private channels for communication and so on, that can assist the employees to openly communicate in an honest and judgment free manner.

• Prioritising Work-Life Balance:

It is very important for employees to achieve a balance in fulfilling their personal and professional obligations, which further leads to an increase in productivity and satisfaction. Companies can make sure work-life balance is maintained by using policies like Paid Time Off (PTO), flexible working models and timings etc.

• Training Leaders to Identify and Support:

Training should be provided to the leaders in the workplace to identify symptoms of mental distress. Through developing a culture which provides support without diagnosis, treatment-seeking behaviours in employees who need it can be greatly enhanced.

• Providing Mental Healthcare Resources: 

Employee Assistance Programs (EAP), stress management interventions, skills training, online workshops and digital apps are some of the mental health resources that can be provided to the employees by their organization. These tools help in promotion of employees’ emotional well being by building adaptive coping strategies.

• Encouraging Social Connections

In a supportive workplace where there is good communication, trust and acceptance; positive connections can easily be fostered. Going beyond punching in and out of work and by organizing social events, activities related to team building and creating peer support networks, a community can be built which results in high morale and a cohesive work environment.

Conclusion 

As we undoubtedly spend a notable amount of time at work, cultivating a workplace that encourages positive mental health practices has become essential. Being such a complex aspect of well-being, workplace mental health promotion requires the right strategies. Organisations are able to create an environment where the employees can prioritise their mental health by using tips like nurturing open dialogue, training leaders with the tools to recognise challenges and support their teams, giving importance to work-life balance, providing well-being resources, and promoting social connections. The significance of promoting mental health in the workplace also permeates its way into the growth of organisations. This approach is proactive in a way that boosts productivity and develops a culture that gives importance to inclusivity and support, where individuals get opportunities for growth. As we sail across the difficulties of the work landscape in today’s scenario, let us stay committed to promoting mental health and creating workplaces where every individual has a chance to thrive.

References 

Chopra, P. Mental health and the workplace: issues for developing countries. Int J Ment Health Syst 3, 4 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1186/1752-4458-3-4

Czabała, C., Charzyńska, K., & Mroziak, B. (2011). Psychosocial interventions in Workplace Mental Health Promotion: An overview. Health Promotion International, 26(suppl_1), i70–i84. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/dar050

Dimoff, J. K., & Kelloway, E. K. (2019). With a little help from my boss: The impact of workplace mental health training on leader behaviours and employee resource utilisation. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 24(1), 4–19. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000126

Saraswati, K. D. H., & Lie, D. (2020). Psychological well-being: The impact of work-life balance and work pressure. Proceedings of the 2nd Tarumanagara International Conference on the Applications of Social Sciences and Humanities (TICASH 2020). https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.201209.089

Sarkar, Siddharth; Menon, Vikas1; Padhy, Susanta2; Kathiresan, Preethy3. Mental health and well-being at the workplace. Indian Journal of Psychiatry 66(Suppl 2):p S353-S364, January 2024. | DOI: 10.4103/Indian psychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_608_23

Zou, Y. (2023). Bridging the Mental Health Gap: Unveiling and mitigating the hidden toll of workplace behaviours on diverse populations. Frontiers in Public Health, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1308099

What is mental health in the workplace? HiBob. (2024, March 11). https://www.hibob.com/hr-glossary/mental-health-in-the-workplace/

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