Mental health in the workplace describes the psychological and emotional well-being of employees.
In a healthy workplace, the employees and employers both actively promote and protect one another’s health, safety, and well-being. Poor mental health is one of the leading problems in the workplace accounting for over 70 million sick days annually (Unum & MENTAL Health Foundation).
[/fusion_text][fusion_title hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” content_align=”left” size=”1″ font_size=”” line_height=”” letter_spacing=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” margin_top_mobile=”” margin_bottom_mobile=”” text_color=”” style_type=”default” sep_color=””]Why is mental health awareness in the workplace important?
[/fusion_title][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=””]Mental health plays a significant role in social and economic development. According to a survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, approximately half of the people aged between 16 and 85 years have experienced a mental health challenge during their lifetime, which means that they have suffered a mental disorder at one time in their life. 20% of the 16 million Australians in this age bracket have had mental issues for 12 months and an extra 4.1 million people suffered a lifetime mental health issue but did not exhibit any symptoms in the 12 months preceding the survey’s interview. Good mental health in the workplace equates to greater productivity, innovation, and elevated employee engagement; the above numbers contribute to a massive drain in the Australian economy due to high health expenses, a decrease in employee participation, and poor productivity. Mental health awareness discourages against workplace related triggers including workplace discrimination, stressful workplace environment, bullying, and psychological harassment.
[/fusion_text][fusion_imageframe image_id=”465|medium” max_width=”” style_type=”” blur=”” stylecolor=”” hover_type=”none” bordersize=”” bordercolor=”” borderradius=”” align=”center” lightbox=”no” gallery_id=”” lightbox_image=”” lightbox_image_id=”” alt=”Man stressed in the workplace. Workplace Mental Health Training Peterborough” link=”” linktarget=”_self” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]https://www.flagshippartners.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/mental_health_workpl_zhNKB-300×200.jpg[/fusion_imageframe][fusion_title hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” content_align=”left” size=”1″ font_size=”” line_height=”” letter_spacing=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” margin_top_mobile=”” margin_bottom_mobile=”” text_color=”” style_type=”default” sep_color=””]What can employers do to support mental health?
[/fusion_title][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=””]Research shows that there exists a direct correlation between mental health and positive emotions, therefore employers should strive to develop a workplace environment that fosters positive emotions such as love, happiness, inspiration, and interest. It will foster a team of more connected employees and, rather than feeling like associates, the employees will consider each other more like family leading to improved self-efficiency and higher productivity in the business.
Physical exercise has also been known to promote positive emotion, so employers could allocate more time, maybe over lunch, to encourage employees to walk or practice other exercises where possible.
Introducing mindfulness practice is very important in the workplace, especially in today’s environment where employees are faced with numerous interruptions including emails, chats, text, phone calls, and random drop-ins from their colleagues. Mindfulness promotes focus and stress relief, which are two of the most important elements an employee needs at work.
[/fusion_text][fusion_title hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” content_align=”left” size=”1″ font_size=”” line_height=”” letter_spacing=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” margin_top_mobile=”” margin_bottom_mobile=”” text_color=”” style_type=”default” sep_color=””]Can an employer ask about mental health?
[/fusion_title][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=””]Yes. If an employer fosters a healthy workplace, they should be able to discuss mental health issues with their employees to understand their challenges and their views on the work environment. Creating a healthy workplace should be a joint effort from both the employer and the employees. The biggest culprit of poor mental health is silence and ignorance. People should be allowed to talk more about mental health, its causes, and the various solutions for it. Considering the fact that it is the leading cause of sick leave days annually, accounting for over 50% of sick leave days, employers should be able to ask about it and discuss it, to create more awareness and improve the overall standard of mental health in our society. After asking, however, employers should seek to create an environment that promotes mental health. A large portion of the working population needs help, and employers have the ability to offer help.
[/fusion_text][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=””]For more information on Mental Health in the Workplace training, visit our training page.
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