How can employee mental health be supported in the workplace?

I would add that supporting employee mental health in the workplace includes intentionally creating a healthy work environment—often meeting employees where they are (e.g. establish informal & formal continuous feedback loops). I agree; there are times where a change in behavior is not evident. While symptoms may manifest after an employee starts with a company, to limit interventions to when apparent symptoms arise is often too late to make any impact. Establishing an environment where people truly feel safe to connect meaningfully in the workplace at any time helps to ensure if someone with little or few resources otherwise does need help, they also feel safe enough to reach out to someone at work for support.

I believe the first step in supporting employee mental health in the workplace is a leadership commitment. From the CEO to the first-line supervisors, leaders who openly support and prioritize mental well-being, set a positive tone for the entire organization. They set a culture of care. But remember that supporting employee mental health is not a day or a special month but an ongoing process. It requires a commitment from the entire organization to create a safe and inclusive environment where employees feel valued, supported, and empowered to take care of their mental well-being.

Poor mental health is something many of us grapple with at some point in our lives, and it can stem from a variety of reasons. It's a part of the human experience, and we should be able to acknowledge it openly. I believe that when employees feel safe to express their emotions without fear of judgment, it not only promotes wellbeing but also boosts productivity and creativity. Recognising that mental health is a continuum, and we all move along it from time to time and that poor mental health is not mental illness. A workplace where humanity is embraced, and mental health is prioritised without the need for pathologizing can reduced stigma and leads to more open and productive conversations around wellbeing.

Work life balance is the key to maintaining a good mental health. A stressful environment where you have to work beyond 8 hours regularly sucks away from the family time/relaxation time. All of this eventually backfire as a mental and physical breakdown. An employer should ascertain the delegation of work that is optimal. Meditation is an established form of de-stresser that not only guarantees a good mental health, but an increased productivity as well. Tying up with meditation groups that can provide learning and extending support for meditation to corporate conglomerates could be a great option to ensure good mental health.

Cultivating open and honest feedback. Non-judgmental and compassionate approach. Kindness. Nurturing diversity and active listening with love and attention.

In the UK we have the Access to Work scheme that is available for those with mental health or a disability. Access to Work will provide a comprehensive assessment of the employees needs and provide reasonable adjustments. Part of access to work for ADHD is ADHD coaching. Having regular check-ins to ensure the employees mental health and wellbeing is good and they are being supported. Access to Work is free for the employer within the first 3-6 months of employment with a new company. No cost to the individual!

I disagree. I think that it’s really important to be clear as a business leader what problem you are trying to solve with the intervention. Looking after the workforce mental fitness requires a proper assessment to f what they need to help them be the best they can. It takes a strategic view, a plan with goals and quality interventions to measure the outcomes. Interventions such as meditation, yoga and counselling are great, help people in the moment and with personal challenges. Without the wider strategic plan the impact on the business may be minimal. In this current cost of living crisis I believe we owe it to our workforce to support them in a way that has long lasting impact on their ability to access healthy coping strategies

THERAPY HOUR - I really wish to tell as many organizations as I could that one reason the employees aren't able to take care of their health is - that they do not have the time to seek treatment. Mornings are rush hours. Evenings are family time. Weekends are either one dayers or other exigencies and even all health care professionals are also not available on weekends. If one hour of therapy is allowed to any individual let's say twice a week, this will be 8 hours in a month. This is similar to a one full day training. 2 to 3 such months are equal to 2-3 days of workshop spanned over these many months. Isn't it doable? Also it is hardly a cost. This is what is the need of the hour in case of employee wellness.

Supporting your employees' mental health entails providing them with valuable resources and benefits to help them cope and enhance their well-being. This could involve offering access to counseling, coaching, or therapy services, either through your health insurance plan or an external provider. Additionally, providing flexible work arrangements, like remote work options, flexible hours, or paid leave, can reduce stress and improve work-life balance. Implementing wellness programs, such as meditation, yoga, or fitness classes, further enhances physical and mental health. These resources and benefits contribute to a more supportive and inclusive work environment.

Remembering employees are the lifeblood of any company; our job is to look after and develop them, so they can do the job well and just as importantly, remain happy, healthy citizens for their own family and community.

When it comes to promoting wellbeing, our focus should not solely be on secondary and tertiary support, important as they are. There is a pressing need for more significant investment in prevention. We all face tough times, it’s part of being human. Preventing or at least minimising workplace stress should be a priority, as stress distorts our thinking. Good work design and robust policies help achieve this. For me , an inclusive environment is perhaps the single most important thing. Having a diverse workforce is critical but Inclusion is often overlooked and this is where the magic happens. It's about people feeling they truly belong, valued for who they are. That's a game changer.

The rule of thumb is " Give respect to get respect" 1. Rest your employees to who they are... 2. Don't expect them to be your xerox copy 3. Don't treat them as if they are your slaves, just because you are paying them 4. Facilitate an open, healthy and 2-way communication 5.Provide such a work environment where they feel free to share their ideas and thoughts 6. Don't look down upon them, treat them respectfully

Employees thrive in a culture that values their well-being. When they feel heard, understood, and given space to breathe within defined boundaries, they experience greater engagement and satisfaction. A workplace that promotes openness and prioritizes mental health fosters a comfortable environment where employees are at their best.

To foster a supportive workplace, it's crucial to prioritize open communication, recognize employees' contributions, provide opportunities for professional growth, and promote a healthy work-life balance. Encourage a culture of feedback and continuous improvement, and ensure that leaders lead by example in supporting their teams. Embrace diversity and inclusion, offer conflict resolution mechanisms, and implement wellness initiatives. By addressing these aspects, you can create an environment where employees feel valued, motivated, and empowered to thrive both personally and professionally.

Fostering a supportive culture is the third crucial step to promote your employees' mental health. This involves creating an inclusive environment that values and respects diversity, individual needs, and preferences. Promote open and honest communication, feedback, and recognition within your workplace. Encourage collaboration, teamwork, and social interaction. Establish a safe and comfortable work environment where employees feel free to express themselves, share their opinions, and seek help without fear of stigma, discrimination, or retaliation. Furthermore, lead by example, modeling healthy behaviors and attitudes, such as setting boundaries, taking breaks, and asking for support when needed.

It's important that organizational leaders support the mental wellbeing of all staff through providing collaborative educational trainings in partnership with trained mental health professionals/consultants. Often, organizations task HR to support the mental wellbeing of the staff, without acknowledging that HR are staff too. Additionally, unless those individuals have specific expertise in mental health, they may contribute to further harm or stigma of employees. Employee wellness is indicative of organizational culture. In fall 2022, the Surgeon General released a report detailing the impact of workplaces on employee wellness. 84% of respondents said their workplace contributed to their mental health condition. It's time to do better.

Check-the-box events and Band-Aid solutions don't lead to culture change. It's critical to upskill everyone in your organization by incorporating workplace mental health training into onboarding and ongoing professional development as well as implementing mental health employee resource groups (ERGs), peer listening, and mental health champion programs. Take a proactive, preventive approach with a management and equity lens. There’s no need to dive into signs and symptoms–employers shouldn't be therapists! Instead, training should provide baseline knowledge, build safe spaces, facilitate hard conversations, as well as offer tools and strategies to navigate workforce mental health and foster mentally healthy, sustainable work cultures.

Research findings suggest that 33% of managers feel out of their depth when supporting employee mental health. Many managers also lack the people skills required to engage in supportive conversations. It is therefore particularly important that leaders and managers are trained to conduct safe and supportive conversations about mental health. Managers need to feel confident that the support they offer is not going to make matters worse and will help the employee to access appropriate help. They don’t need to be therapists or try and solve the employee’s problems. They just need to know how to be sensitive and to signpost.

When it comes to workplace mental education and training, the approach must be holistic. Many current programs only address workplace mental health challenges, I believe we should be nurturing the whole person. Workplace mental health education and training should address both sides of the mental health spectrum, not just addressing the deficits but also amplifying the positives. It’s critical to empower employees with the tools and ingredients they need to flourish at work, from forming positive relationships to embracing positive emotions and find meaning in their work journey. This puts them on a path to holistic wellbeing.

Many employers only provide education and training to check a box and continue to have workplace cultures that do harm to employees. Along with training and education, it is also important that managers/people leaders MODEL the positive behaviors they want to see in their employees.

As a comprehensive strategy is developed and implemented, the data will tell the story....the good and the bad. Employers should look at what the data is telling them and learn from it; be prepared to adapt and adjust along the way. This is the only way to truly show employees that you are serious about supporting their mental well-being.

Fazer um questionário para perceber o ambiente de trabalho pode ajudar (desde que verdadeiramente anónimo: sem dados que possam identificar de alguma forma as pessoas como a faixa etária, departamento onde trabalha, etc)

Documentation and monitoring are required if this affects the employee's performance. Don't make the employee feel isolated or like "everyone knows". While you won't get it right every time and the employee may not like your response or resources, do your best within the guidelines.

Those in leadership are uniquely positioned to advocate for employee mental health simply through their everyday actions. Mindful leaders understand mental wellbeing can and should be integrated into every aspect of the work. This consideration dictates their behavior. - Are you paying fair wages and benefits? - Are you setting reasonable deadlines? - Are you allowing for flexibility in response to the unexpected? - Are you empowering employees to act autonomously? - Does your team have all the resources it needs? We cannot foresee nor prevent every source of stress, but we can make mindfulness and consideration of others a daily habit and that goes a very long way.

This is a multi-faceted & detailed subject. So many things create stress and anguish at work – how do you respond to a grieving employee? What if one employee attacks another? What if a trauma affects an employee’s functionality, memory & skills? Who is making sure expectations are not unreasonable? What mechanisms are in place so that an employee feels comfortable coming forward if they are in trouble? In pain? Need help? There are way too many issues that are outside of the awareness of an HR department. Consulting an outside expert in the harder and more shocking events of life is a must. It is very easy to fall back on stigmas, platitudes and assumptions that actually make the road harder for an employee, even if intentions are good.

Being neurologically different at work is considered a negative that needs to be fixed. We need to change that and accept that seeing the world from a different perspective can add massive value to a team.

Can workplaces ever advocate for true well-being and mental health whilst they promote competition, goal setting, hierarchy, pay gaps, trying to cultivate wonderful things such as empathy when employees themselves are full of biases, different opinions, different cultures, different views in how leaders should behave, etc? Rather than relying on your company to promote your well-being, it is more important that you as an individual understand why you are getting stressed, what fear is, what anxiety is, and how it plays into corporate daily life.