Mental Health in the workplace

 

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.