An effective, productive workplace is one that takes health and safety extremely seriously. But this needn’t mean emphasising physical risks at the expense of psychological ones. If working conditions don’t promote good mental health, then businesses risk seeing high staff turnover and absenteeism, as well as a broader downturn in productivity.
Creating a workplace environment that supports mental health means taking a few simple steps. Let’s take a look at them.
Creating a Supportive Culture
To begin with, it’s important that every member of the team be on the same page when it comes to the importance of mental health. This doesn’t mean being fixated on disorders to the point that everyone feels that they might be suffering from one; it just means that everyone should be open about the struggles they face, and that stigmas surrounding mental health should be overcome. Staff might be encouraged to proactively improve their mental state, in the same way that they might express a desire to lose their Christmas weight, or start lifting weights.
Training Line Managers and HR Teams
A culture of this kind doesn’t come about without a degree of coordination. Anyone in a position of authority within the company should be given the tools to spot and address any potential problems. If someone looks as though they’re struggling, then the appropriate line manager, or member of the HR team, should feel empowered to intervene. This intervention might simply take the form of a chat over a coffee, or it might be a referral to a professional counsellor.
Providing Access to Support Services
Counselling and Employee Assistance Programs are often best offered by specialist outsiders. Whoever is providing the assistance, what matters is that employees feel that they can safely raise problems at an early stage, without feeling that doing so might jeopardise their position in the company. This often means being explicit about how problems should be reported, and how confidentiality will be protected throughout the reporting process.
Legal and Ethical Responsibility
The steps we’ve discussed so far don’t just make good business sense. They’re also, in many cases, a legal obligation. Employers might also offer support to those enduring difficult periods in life, even if the source of the problem lies outside of work. Employees going through abuse claims, dealing with bereavement, or suffering in other ways, might be supported throughout the ordeal.
This will send a message not just to the employee in question, but to the broader workforce: that the company will be there when the going gets tough. When this belief persists, employees will be that much likelier to go the extra mile on the company’s behalf.
