As a part of the wellness and healthcare communities, promoting a balanced lifestyle when it comes to physical and mental health should be at the center of everything we do. We encourage our clients to focus on healing their bodies and their minds, but, as a business owner, how often do you encourage your employees to prioritize their mental health?
Below are 5 ways you can better support your employees in their mental health wellness journeys.
How mental health impacts your employees
On average, we spend a third of our day working, so the workplace can be a key place in which to implement mental health awareness and wellness strategies. Increases stress and poor mental health can affect your employees in the following ways:
- Poor communication skills with other coworkers
- Lack of engagement with their work
- Low job performance and productivity
- Low physical ability and function in day-to-day tasks
It is critical to your employees’ overall health, as well as your business’s longevity, to promote a working environment that focuses on mental health wellness and stress management.
Include mental health coverage as a part of your health care plans
Focusing on mental health in the workplace and providing resources to your employees may also lead to a reduction in healthcare costs for your business and your team members. Do your best to provide a comprehensive health care plan to your employee that includes quality mental health care coverage. Additionally, consider providing your employees with a health savings account (HSA) to help offset out-of-pocket healthcare expenses.
The extra time and money spent on a quality mental health care plan for employees can be worth it: The WHO has found that for every $1 spent on treating common mental health concerns, there is a return of $4 in improved health and productivity.
Establish an employee assistance program (EAP)
An employee assistance program (EAP), or a workplace wellness program can be useful tools in identifying at-risk employees and providing support in reducing and managing stress. Many EAPs have proven to be successful in positively affecting employees’ mental wellness and stress, particularly when they are coupled with mental and physical wellness invention techniques.
Open communication lines to reduce stigma and increase access to mental health resources
Many adults will deal with some sort of mental health issue at some point in their life. Providing an empathic and open environment that is supportive of employee betterment can help to reduce the stigma around mental health.
Encourage your managers to highlight your business’ mental health resources, not only when new team members are brought on, or only during open enrollment, but year-round. There are many resources available through health insurance companies and within our own communities.
Promote overall well-being
According to the CDC, mental illnesses such as depression may interfere with an individual’s ability to complete physical tasks up to 20% of the time and their cognitive performance up to 30% of the time. As spa and wellness professionals, these are critical skills your team needs to possess in order to provide quality care to your clients.
Consider incorporating a meditation space dedicated to your employees to help them recharge and relax during the work day. Additionally, consider offering incentives to reinforce healthy workplace behaviors amongst your employees.
After a stressful past few years, prioritizing mental health is more important than ever. Let’s practice what we preach, and do what we can to promote healthy work environments for our teams.
Sources:
https://www.understood.org/en/articles/workplace-mental-health-5-ways-to-support-employee-wellness
