Given the frequently serious consequences of
mental health problems for individuals and their loved ones, there is a strong
moral case for businesses to prioritize mental health in the workplace.
Moreover, a growing body of studies and polling data suggests there’s an
equally strong economic case for taking mental health seriously.
A Gallup poll from 2013 found that absenteeism
due to depression alone costs U.S. employers approximately $23 billion per year
in lost productivity. Add to this missed work days because of stress-related
illnesses, addiction, and other common mental health disorders that afflict
millions of people in our society, and the expenses can mount quickly.
Aside from reducing productivity losses and
employee turnover, an effective approach to mental health in the workplace can
raise workforce morale, and improve relations among employees and managers.
A work
environment conducive to good mental health
A manager’s first priority should be to foster a
salubrious work environment, and encourage sound habits and practices in
general.
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Keep stock of the essentials,
like workplace safety, clean air, good hygiene and organization, proper
equipment and training for all employees. Ensure that everyone knows and
understands h/er own role and assigned tasks.
•
Promote mental health literacy
in the workplace. Consider supplementing your organization’s current training
regimen with expert seminars that address warning signs of mental health
problems, stigma and unwarranted feelings of shame or embarrassment around
mental illness, popular misconceptions about the mentally ill, and common but
inaccurate descriptions of mental illness.
•
Involve staff members in
decision-making. Ideally, they should feel that their point of view and
individual agency are respected, as opposed to feeling like cogs in a machine
who robotically follow orders.
•
Promote work-life balance by enabling
staff to share the workload, and providing adequate vacation, sick leave, and
family-related leave.
•
Insist on respectful behaviour
and inclusiveness at every level of your organization.
•
Provide opportunities for
skills acquisition and advancement.
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Recognize and express gratitude
for good work at all levels, and acknowledge individual employees’
contributions to the overall success of the enterprise.
•
Provide employee feedback
mechanisms, and have an appropriate conflict resolution strategy.
•
Encourage openness, honesty,
and respectful discourse around mental illness, emphasizing the notion that
mental health challenges are nothing to be ashamed of. (This is especially
important, since concealed mental health problems can undermine an employee’s performance
and overall health.)
•
Remember that people with
mental health challenges may be taking psychoactive medication as part of a
treatment program, and/or attending regular therapy sessions. These obligations
may preclude them from putting in long hours at work, or limit their
flexibility in terms of shift-scheduling.
Aspects of the physical environment can also
help to promote good mental health. For example, studies indicate that the
presence of green plants in an office environment can help
reduce negative emotions like stress, anger, and fatigue, while promoting
focus, productivity, and job satisfaction. Nowadays, a growing number of office
environments offer recreation spaces to help employees regain their focus, and
some even have dedicated nap rooms!
Accommodating
mental illness
Just as with physical disabilities and chronic
conditions, reasonable accommodations can often be made for employees with
mental health challenges, helping them perform to their full potential at work.
The first and most crucial step is to overcome the stigma that our society has
historically attached to mental illness, so that staff members who face mental
health difficulties can freely articulate their needs.
