Prioritizing mental health and well-being remains at the forefront of every workplace. As employees continue to find the right work-life balance post-pandemic, employers are beginning to recognize the effect of mental health on productivity, engagement, and overall job satisfaction. The shift to prioritizing psychological and physical health has led to increased expectations from employers and their HR departments.
Why is Prioritizing Mental Health Important in the Workplace?
Mental health encompasses overall ‘wellness’ which includes physical, mental, and social aspects. By prioritizing an employee’s health, it can lead to improved:
- Productivity
- Employee satisfaction
- Retention
- Profitability
Mental health and job satisfaction are closely linked. Employees can find it challenging to focus when mental health isn’t prioritized. This can negatively impact their work quality and job satisfaction. When an employee dislikes their work environment, finds it hostile, or constantly deals with stress, it can lead to high turnover rates. Lastly, unengaged employees can reduce billable hours, increase recruitment costs, and raise training expenses. Yikes!
So… how do you prioritize mental health in the workplace?
HR’s Strategic Role in Prioritizing Mental Health
HR has traditionally been seen as an administrative function revolving around developing policies, managing payroll, and other paperwork. However, the reality is that HR’s role has shifted to a more strategic one revolving around managing people, which includes fostering a positive and healthy workplace culture.
This shift has placed several key responsibilities onto a company’s HR department, including the following four roles.
1. Developing and Enforcing Supportive Policies
HR departments can create and implement policies that prioritize mental health and wellness. Some examples include:
- Health Benefits: Including coverage for mental health services including therapy, counselling, or psychiatric consultations. Additionally, organizations can subsidize benefits like gym membership, acupuncture, and registered massage treatment plans.
- Employee and Family Assistance Plan (EFAP): Having this plan in place can provide an accessible way for employees to address any challenges, whether personal or work-related.
- Mental Health Days: Consider allocating days for employees to take leave when they’re not feeling 100%. Alternatively, you might consider organizing “Wellness Days” for your entire companies featuring activities like yoga sessions, guest speakers, or small events to teach employees skills to better manage stress.
- Flexible Work Arrangements: Offering the option of flexible hours, remote work, or a hybrid model can help employees balance their responsibilities and reduce stress.
2. Providing Training and Resources
Providing your team with education about mental health is important to raise awareness, teach skills to manage mental health, and provide support.
- Awareness programs: Organizing workshops and seminars to raise awareness about mental health issues and reduce stigma.
- Training: Equipping managers and employees with the skills to recognize signs of mental distress and how to provide appropriate support to one another.
3. Creating a Supportive Work Environment
A supportive work environment can create a safe and inclusive space for employees to share their feelings and find community through sharing stories.
- Leadership Support: Having leaders share their stories of managing work-life balance, stress, and prioritization can create a culture of leading by example, ultimately fostering open communication and work-life balance.
- Peer Support Group: Create peer support groups formed by volunteers where employees can share their experiences and support each other.
- Commitment to Inclusivity: Promoting diversity, equity, and inclusivity (DEI) can ensure all employees feel valued and accepted. Having a diverse workplace can reduce feelings of isolation among minority employees and promote belonging. A great way to advance DEI in your workplace might involve providing DEI training sessions to improve understanding of cultural differences to foster a more supportive environment.
4. Monitoring and Evaluation
Of course, when you implement HR programs or initiatives, you want to ensure they actually have a positive impact on your team! As such, it’s important to have feedback processes in place to receive input on how your efforts can be improved to better cater your team’s needs.
- Anonymous Employee Surveys: Distributing anonymous surveys can help gauge the success of these initiatives and gather feedback on the programs. Improve any systems in place or implement new ones with the feedback collected from these surveys!
- Performance Metrics: Tracking metrics correlated with wellness like absenteeism, turnover rates, and productivity can be used to evaluate the impact of mental health initiatives.
Companies with Successful Mental Health Initiatives
Bell
Bell has established itself as a leader in the mental health space through its annual Let’s Talk Day which donates upwards of $100 million to various initiatives across Canada. The significance of the initiative was the beginning of an international dialogue about mental health stigmas and resources.
Google has a reputation for being a leader in promoting employee well-being. The company offers comprehensive wellness programs, including on-site wellness centres, mindfulness courses, and accessible resources. Additionally, Google uses data to inform and improve its approach to prioritizing mental health. This ensure that their strategies are tailored to meet the needs of its workforce!
Unilever
Unilever’s global well-being framework includes in-person workshops on mindfulness and manager training on mental health issues in the workplace. The company created a culture where employees could seek help without feeling stigmatized. Their commitment to work-life balance through flexible working policies and a company created app providing health information and urgent assistance for employees highlights their proactive approach.
For further reading on successful mental health initiatives implemented by other companies, click here!
Mental health and well-being are crucial aspects of any workplace culture. As the role of HR in the workplace continues to evolve, developing policies, providing training and resources, and implementing check-ins can help make a significant impact on your team’s mental health.
Plus, investing in wellness initiatives is beneficial for both your employees and organization! A healthy workforce is more productive, engaged, and satisfied, which helps drive business growth.
Additional Resources
To learn more about the importance of prioritizing mental health in the workplace and different wellness initiatives, check out these resources for further reading:
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