Making Mental Health a Priority for Your People

Before the pandemic even began, extended periods of long work hours and high stress were already leading to burnout. Employees were suffering mental breakdowns at work, leading to job dissatisfaction and poor performance. Now, more than a year into dealing with covid fatigue, it has become worse. People are now adjusting to hybrid work environments, working longer hours, and feeling the need to be on call 24/7. 

Even with high profile athletes like Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles focusing on their mental health, there is still a stigma around discussing mental health issues in the workplace leaving many employees to suffer in silence.

Supporting Mental Health in the Post-Pandemic Workplace

The COVID-19 pandemic has left many people working at home for more than a year, intensifying the impact of work on personal lives. Although the changes allowed many employees to prove their efficiency and productivity, their well-being also suffered. Under remote working conditions, your employees no longer had opportunities to build and maintain supportive relationships with co-workers. This period has seen boundaries between work and life eroding, which has led to many people feeling like they live at work. Lack of face time with family and friends, crippling uncertainty, and ongoing worries continue to affect mental health in the workplace.

As much as the pandemic left many employees stressed, it also created an unexpected opportunity for more open and supportive conversations between agency leaders and employees. Coming from the pandemic, many leaders have discovered their willingness to speak openly about issues in the workplace. The challenge of dealing with stressful events and providing solutions during this trying time has given many leaders confidence to speak openly about issues.

Make Sure To Regularly Assess Employee Workload

Navigating the future of work after a year of stress and uncertainty is critical to the success of your agency. Many of your employees have experienced a mental breakdown at work, which can lead to worse outcomes if no actions are taken. To help employees address this issue, it is important to have an open dialogue around safety and health in the workplace. An obvious concern for many employees is the expanded workload with the reduction of the workforce during the height of the pandemic.

Monitoring employee workloads play a critical role in keeping them engaged and reducing their level of stress. With all the changes outside of the workplace, some employees may be unable to handle their regular workloads. Without proper monitoring, the weight might shift to colleagues and trigger work-related stress. The goal is to maintain balance and ensure everyone is comfortable with their duties. Although monitoring the performance of employees may be intrusive and increase their pressure to perform, regular workload assessments and possible reallocation of tasks helps to align the workforce.

One simple way to assess employee workload is track employee time. If employees are tracking time daily, then you can begin to see whether workloads are increasing for your team.

Workplace Mental Health: 5 Ways to Support Employee Wellness

It is a well-known fact that many employees are not comfortable speaking about their mental health. Unfortunately, this is unlikely to change even with the pandemic. However, you can take several measures to support your employees’ health and wellness.

1. Revisit Your Agency’s Values

One of the important lessons from the pandemic is taking a hard look at the way we live, work, and play. Within a short time, lockdowns and social distancing became a norm that people had to integrate into their lives. Having the same attitude towards your organization can also help in overcoming emotionally draining factors.

As a leader, you need to reevaluate how your agency values support employees. Do they still hold up in practice? Do they still address employees’ concerns in a period of remote working and zoom meetings? When agency values and practices align, they propel your organization forward. You can start by incorporating values that promote remote work, in-person collaborations, and a hybrid workplace.

2. Embed Wellness in Employee Reviews

Mental health issues in the workplace can easily pass unnoticed in the organization. In fact, employees who experience a mental breakdown at work will do their best to hide their struggles. Embedding wellness in the review process will help employees feel as though you are looking out for their best interest. This enhanced review process also creates an opportunity to ask for feedback on ways the company can support their well-being.

Whether your agency does reviews monthly, quarterly, or annually, the inclusion of wellness will make employees feel they belong. A review should not just be a moment where managers provide employees with individualized feedback. This is also a critical moment to hear their grievances and know whether they feel valued, cared for, and heard as members of the agency.

3. Communicate Often

Communication is an effective tool in reducing stigma around mental health in your organization. Constant communication allows you to address issues affecting your team in real-time. You also get to identify the main stress triggers and the most effective ways of dealing with them.

As far as communication is concerned, try not to wait until mental health has become an issue in your team. Start now by increasing employees’ access to mental health resources. Work with your health insurance provider to access resources. There are also a ton of apps that are now focusing on employee wellness.

4. Introduce an Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Organizations with an employee assistance program (EAP) report increased job satisfaction in their teams. Although some employees may be reluctant in using this resource because of shame or stigma, EAPs are effective in supporting employees’ mental health.

To encourage the use of EAP, you can remind employees the benefits of the program. Employees need to understand that they have a place they can go to when things feel a bit off. You may offer the program to employees and their immediate family members, include direct access to a mental health professional, and emphasize the access to EAP is both confidential and free of charge.

5. Encourage Team Building

Apart from communicating with employees on a personal level, you can support emotional wellbeing by taking regular opportunities to bring your team together either virtually or face-to-face. Any moment spent together helps in making employees feel they are not alone. Encourage connection through informal one-on-one meetings or social media to build those connections.

Bottom Line

The COVID-19 pandemic has left many of your employees with heightened work-related stress, anxiety, and depression. Many of them are suffering from burnout and job dissatisfaction, leading to increased staff turnover, high absenteeism, and reduced engagement. As a leader, you must take adequate measures to support the mental health of your employees and show they are appreciated when working for you.