Mental health in the workplace refers to employees’ psychological, emotional, and social well-being within a shared work environment.
According to the World Health Organisation “WHO”, an estimated 264 million people suffer from depression globally. This is the leading cause of disability, with many of these individuals also suffering from anxiety. Depression alone costs employers billions each year in lost employee productivity. While being unemployed can lead to a significant amount of stress, a negative working environment may also lead to physical and mental health problems. This may result in the harmful use of substances or alcohol, absenteeism and lost productivity.
Mental health in the workplace largely contributes towards the employee’s engagement, loyalty, retention and satisfaction. Research indicates that workplaces that promote mental health and support people with mental disorders are more likely to reduce absenteeism and increases productivity.
As more research is conducted, it is becoming obvious that the mental health of employees is a critical element in their overall health and that poor mental health and stressors at the workplace can contribute to a range of physical illnesses like hypertension, diabetes and heart conditions. In addition, poor mental health can also lead to burn-out, seriously affecting employee’s ability to contribute positively to both their personal and professional lives.
While it is not HR’s responsibility to manage their employees’ personal lifestyle choices, they can help improve the well-being of the employees in the workplace by educating employees and managers on basic health practices, integrating wellness programs like signing up at a local gym and attending yoga classes on lunch breaks etc.
Showing empathy to employees who suffer from mental health disorders will naturally lead to a greater appreciation and happiness among people in a shared working environment – and this in turn will ultimately translate to more efficient operations.
A simple act of kindness has been shown to reduce stress, boost self-esteem and creates a sense of belonging – even more than a salary increase!
“Problems are not the problem; coping is the problem.”
-VIRGINIA SATIR –