How Employers Can Support the Mental Health of Their Employees
Employee mental health can have a very serious impact on the overall success of a team and business. Unfortunately, many disorders, including anxiety and depression, often go undetected for months or even years due to them being much harder to identify in comparison to physical health issues.
Whilst a difficult conversation to navigate, it is evident that employees are wanting their employers to prioritise their mental health and have resources available to them to do so and is a major factor for employee retention and overall satisfaction. With the ever-changing business environment, knowing the correct way to support employees mental health challenges can be difficult. Highlighted below are several ways employers can begin supporting employees practically and respectfully.
Champion the conversation
Often, people keep their mental health disorders to themselves as a result of internalised shame and the subject being taboo for the office. However, it is known that when conversations are normalised and open for discussion, people are more likely to speak up and express their emotions. Employers can be the champions of this by making a conscious effort to increase the awareness of mental wellbeing in the office, instead of relying on the employee to voice their struggles organically. Taking the initiative through programs, lets team members hear the solutions and support offered to them before they may need it.
Provide training to management
Acknowledging that this is a new and foreign territory for some managers it is the first step to ensuring they have adequate resources available to them for supporting those living with mental health issues. Introduce mandatory support training for management that walks through appropriate conversation starters, helplines and other techniques. This training should reflect the multiple different issues people are facing, and help managers understand that every employee, as well as their coping mechanisms, are unique.
Offer flexibility and encourage work-life balance
Working makes up for a large percentage of a person's life, making it essential that employees have access to healthy practices to implement a sustainable work-life. By providing an adaptable and positive workplace environment, employee burnout can be prevented by reducing stress and boosting employee morale. Offering flexible working hours helps achieve this as it allows for greater control of their external obligations, whether that be attending medical appointments or school pickups.
Develop mental health policies
It is increasingly common for workplaces to introduce a mental health policy for their staff to showcase the importance of wellbeing and overall health holds in the company. It also provides an outlet for them to learn about the supports offered to them, including the availability of mental health leave days without questioning or access to online resources.
The team at Optimum Legal is experienced in the development and implementation of employment management and policies. If you are needing an updated mental health policy or would like to know more about the obligations for supporting employees with mental health, please contact the team for a free initial consultation here.