Building mental resilience among employees
Interestingly, more than three quarters of women and two thirds of men suffer some level of stress, according to our insight research. If we give that figure some context, it suggests that a large proportion of your team are affected by a stress-related condition.
While maintaining good physical health is vital to a productive workforce, it’s clear that mental wellbeing and its impact on individuals and business activity should never be overlooked. Making it a central part of HR strategy and encouraging discussions around mental health and overall employee wellbeing is the first step to building true resilience among your workforce.
Spot the signs
Business in the Community’s mental health at work report found that, 60 per cent of employees have experienced symptoms – psychological, behavioural or physical – of poor mental health related to work or where work was a contributing factor.
Before implementing a plan to improve mental wellbeing, it’s important to educate yourself on recognising these symptoms, how they can present themselves within your workplace and whether the root cause is at work or at home.
An employee may start exhibiting unusual behaviour, attendance may slip or you may notice a dip in performance. Red flags can also come in the form of developing unhealthy habits, such as smoking or drinking more, causing problems among co-workers, or even overworking themselves to the point of burnout. Recognising employees’ difficulties at an early stage makes it easier to help them and provide the support they need.
Time to talk
Employees should always feel encouraged to talk and share any problems they may be experiencing that could negatively affect their ability to thrive at work. Open up the lines of communication and promote discussions of mental health and wellbeing.
Employers can utilise internal communications channels at their disposal, such as blogs, notice boards, newsletters and magazines, to engage with employees about mental health. Showing staff that it’s not embarrassing to talk about it and creating a culture of openness will help to normalise conversations on the topic.
Action and support
Reassure your staff that their mental health is important to you by providing information, training and support mechanisms.
The Health and Safety Executive, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and Investors in People have developed a stress management ‘competency indicator’ framework of tools to allow managers to assess whether they currently have the behaviours identified as effective for preventing and reducing stress at work. Use these tools to educate yourself and your team about spotting the signs and build confidence to help colleagues in distress.
The role of technology
In today’s digital landscape, we are constantly connected and technology plays a central part in our lives – so how does this translate to tackling mental health issues in the workplace?
Devices are already able to quantify and improve our wellbeing in the form of yoga and meditation apps, wearable fitness trackers and virtual therapists – and this kind of technology will be a vital part of improving workplace health in the future.
This article was provided by Health Shield.
In partnership with Health Shield
At Health Shield we're passionate about improving people's everyday health.
