As mental health issues like anxiety and depression are at an all-time high, employers and businesses must manage their employees’ health holistically, including their mental wellness. These business experts discuss their companies’ techniques for advocating for their staff’s mental well-being.

Facilitate Conversations About Mental Wellness Frequently

The initiative that we have taken to discuss mental health concerns for our employees forms a supportive space that encourages discussion. This support group facilitates understanding and promotes the feeling of cooperation amongst the employees. Over the years of my professional life, I have come across various mental health issues that persist in this environment. This includes financial issues, discrimination, an unhealthy lifestyle, poor physical health, a toxic or stressful work culture, transitional life changes, post-partum depression for women, seasonal affective disorder, burnout, or general anxiety.

We acknowledge as an organization how important it is to empathize with each specific situation of an individual. Employees will rarely ever reach out for help themselves due to the stigma surrounding mental health. This is why we have taken it upon ourselves as leaders of the company to facilitate conversation and make this an ongoing event. This is the bare minimum that we can do as a company so that our actions have a valuable impact in terms of improving our teams’ mental health.

As a company, we have mandatory practices for acknowledging each other’s mental health in the system. We have trained managers on what to do if any signs of emotional distress are witnessed. Our managers are highly aware of what these telltale signs look like and how to deal with them.

Accessible Mental Health Resources

Providing access to mental health resources in an easy-to-locate manner is critical for maintaining the mental health of an organization. With the looming threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health is more important than ever, but not everyone has the time or resources available to manage it. Consider even allocating a mental health stipend per month to your employees for access to both in-person and telehealth services you’ve provided. It’s in your best interest to keep your workforce happy, healthy, and ready for work.

Create A Psychologically Safe Workplace and Lead By Example

One of the earliest steps we took was to create a psychologically safe workplace where team members could discuss their challenges without fear of receiving backlash. As the CEO, starting the conversation around the mental health challenges I was experiencing, especially at the peak of the pandemic, helped team members feel safe to open up about their own challenges and normalize talking about what one is going through. It is through open discussion that we can find solutions at an individual and community level.

Team members also have access to mental health days that they can use to recharge via any preferred method or activity. As their leader, I set the pace by also taking mental health days off to destigmatize this practice and make it a normal part of our workplace culture.

Mental Health Seminars To Spread Awareness

The employees of any business are its greatest assets, and it is the responsibility of the employer and the organization to take care of its employees. Employers should ensure that their employees’ mental health is proper and should try and help them out if they are facing any problems. Conducting mental health seminars and workshops which spread awareness about mental health issues is important if you hope to create an environment that prioritizes mental health.

Employers should also take good notice of how each employee is operating and should talk to them if they are showing signs of burnout. Giving mental health leave days can also be helpful and can help an employee regain their composure and their will to work. Limiting the workload of employees can also be effective and helpful as this can help them not feel overwhelmed.