Understanding Mental Health in The Workplace

It is now increasingly accepted that employee mental health is an essential factor that directly impacts organizational success and productivity. As a manager, it is very important to prioritize the well-being of your team members. Through this blog, Samvedna Care would like to bring to light several strategies that managers can implement to promote employee mental health in the workplace that fosters employee satisfaction, engagement, and overall well-being. 

1. Recognize the warning signs: Managers need to be aware of the signs that indicate an employee might be struggling with mental health issues in the workplace. Notice changes in their behavior such as increased absenteeism, decreased productivity and profits, mood swings, social withdrawal, or unexplained physical symptoms. Looking out for such changes will allow you to intervene early and provide appropriate support such as online mental health counselling to help deal with it. 
2. Encourage social connections: Fostering social connections is essential for mental as well as emotional well-being. Managers can promote social connections among employees by organizing team-building activities, social events, or informal gatherings to celebrate small achievements. This can help in enhancing job satisfaction and overall well-being. 
3. Cultural change: In any organization, managers have an important role to advocate or promote good mental health in the workplace. By showing that they are devoted to creating a safe and comfortable place that is both understanding and supportive of employee mental health, they can help break the stigma around mental health and set an example for the rest of the organization.  
4. Taking feedbacks: Seek regular feedback from your employees about their mental well-being, issues related to work and suggestions for improvement. Conduct anonymous surveys to understand their concerns and needs better. Acting on their feedback could demonstrate that their well-being is a top priority. Provide reasonable accommodation that supports both the employee and the organization such as flexible working hours, adjusting workload, deadlines or remote work options. 
5. Set clear expectations: Managers should clearly define the expectations from each employee. One should ensure that they have a clear picture of their roles and responsibilities for better achievement of their short-term and long-term goals.  When employees have a sense of purpose and direction, they are more likely to feel motivated and contented with their work; decreasing the chances of stress in the workplace. 
6. Work strategies: Employees feel motivated and fulfilled when managers allow them to set their own goals and strategies to achieve the set goals. As managers, set a list of values at the start of every quarter and ask your employees how they can achieve them. This will give them the opportunity to think and reflect on filling the missing gaps and plan for ways to perform better. 
7. Constant guidance and praise for efforts: Managers should understand their employee’s boundaries, their unique skills, and working habits that would help in providing the opportunities better suited for them. Learn to praise their efforts and resilience which will make employees feel safe, even if failing they will have the willingness to learn and try again. Managers’ availability and constant mentoring will assist them navigate through difficult situations giving them a feeling of belongingness.  

Employee mental health is crucial for a prosperous and successful organization. Every workplace is unique so it’s important to adapt the above-discussed strategies that best align with your organization’s culture and employee needs. Also, prior to taking care of your team’s mental well-being, it is important for managers to also nurture their own mental well-being.