Health covers a wide spectrum and it entails the overall well-being of the human. The workplace provides a series of challenges which employees are meant to overcome with a clear and conscious mind and bill of health. However, this in not always the case as some stresses tend to overwhelm and affect employees’ overall health.
Mental health Importance
Mental health includes our emotional,
psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act.
It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices.
Mental health is at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through
adulthood. In the past, the notion of
mental health has always been overlooked by many as it has been deemed
non-important. Over the years there has
been an increase in awareness over the mental health issue due to increased
suicides and stress in the workplace. This has been evident in work spaces where
it is said that; once you face a challenge, just ignore it, move on and do your
work. Another most casual and most used slogan is when ‘something at work
affects you, just go and cry and then come back and orchestrate your duties’. I believe it is time we changed that and made working a
jovial experience and not a depressing one.
Impacts
As a society we have always tended to find easy
ways out of things, never really addressing the core issue. We have always told
people to be strong and that they should always expect challenges; making sure
that they tuck them away whenever suitable even. We have raised a society of
compulsive actors and non-conscious ones. People are already dealing with a lot
from stresses at home or in personal relationships to addiction issues etc. The
impacts of such actions in individuals’ lives are endless with anxiety,
depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder being the minimum package of mental
health effects which one may come across. The impacts are fairly standard; one
starts to feel demotivated, loses interest in a lot of things and poor
performance can be noticed in the work place. In the long term, the disorders
mentioned above tend to overwhelm the individual and lead to more physical
illnesses such as the damage to key brain structures and circuitry, reduced
ability to cope with future stress and anxiety and chronic depression. Also,
there Is reduced immune system functioning and increased inflammation.
Coping mechanisms
It is only fitting that we adopt a coping
mechanism that will be beneficial to all parties in terms of dealing with
challenges. Brushing things under the carpet is a definite no and not fully
addressing issues/ not considering other peoples’ emotions is a definite no. If
we are to build a society that is caring, compassionate, just and equal we
should emphasise on respecting each other’s emotions and knowing when to say
sorry; in-order for each staff member to feel wanted and needed. Another would
mention that this is only possible in an ideal world. They would further allude
to say; if a superior for instance would adopt this type of attitude, no
employee would respect him/ her/they.
Also, by mentioning coping mechanisms, we should be weary of how others
treat drugs as being coping mechanisms. This is a dangerous thing as drugs are
highly addictive and do more harm than good. What has proven useful and most
efficient in recent times is therapy. From time to time we all need to express
ourselves and relay our deepest and darkest worries. Although this is afforded
in some organisations, it is still quite a struggle for others who may not
afford such. As part of the mental health care in the workplace, it is quite
crucial to have open channels for communication; therefore workers are quite open
about what may be bothering them and they become effective. One of the best
methodologies is to have such being part of the employee care package. Taking
from the famous quote, ’every job is a self-portrait of the person who does it,
autograph your work with excellence’; all employees should feel worthy and
proud of their work.
Employee Mental Awareness program
Organisations can do so much for their
employees and the first step in helping employees who may be suffering from
mental health issues is to create a supportive and positive culture. This
involves management taking proactive steps towards uncovering issues within the
workforce, which employees may be reticent to report. Employers can address and
reduce excessive workplace stress by focusing their efforts at the following; prevention
by developing organization wide policies and practices in the following key
areas. Also, training for leaders and supervisors is an effective ways to
reduce stress which organisations can utilise.
Correspondingly, working with employees to create challenging but
realistic goals for optimal performance is one impactful way which can be
utilised by organisations. Communicating clearly and managing conflicts
respectfully; identifying and using employees’ strengths and skills for career
advancement. So why not adopt this and take care of your employees’ mental
health. Are you willing to be a part of the cure or the disease? Always
remember to let love win.
