How to deal with mental health in the workplace

Employee depression is one of the most difficult situations to deal with. You can't really do much in order to make the employee happy and it is hard for them to understand how their depression might impact the rest of the office. Unfortunately for the co-workers, depression can play a huge role in their job as well. It is quite common to deal with a lot of frustration as your co-workers might end up leaving work in the middle of the day or they could take a lot of time off. It is also common for their depressed attitude to impact the way in which you work as well and it makes it hard for you to remain positive and to keep your energy levels high.

The problem with depression in the workplace is that sometimes employees do not know that they have it. It is really hard for people to identify because it can be easy to hide and since there are a lot of biases against mental illnesses, not too many people will come forward and admit they are battling one.

If you are able to identify mental illness in the workplace and you can deal with your employees that are suffering from it, you may be able to find results. Not only will the employees become happier but you will see a number of results. Employees will miss fewer days and they will be able to stay positive and encourage their co-workers. By taking the time to get to your staff members, you will have an easier time understanding how you can help them and to make your company into a successful one.

What are some of the ways in which you can identify mental illness in the workplace? You have to look for warning signs that it does exist. Some of these signs will include the following:

• Low morale in the workplace. It may seem like you have staff members that just cannot get going with their jobs or employees that just do not want to be working there.


• High levels of employee stress


• Low productivity


• Increased employee absenteeism


• Employees that do not seem confident in their ability to work


• Withdrawn employees

As an employer you must be doing all that you can to support your staff and to show them that you are committed to their health. Are you addressing their health concerns? What are you doing in order to show them that you do care about their needs and their situation? Are you finding a way to handle their problems and to give them access to mental health professionals?

A great way to address employee depression or mental illness is to have individual meetings with your employees. You need to find a way to manage their stress load and to really talk to them about how they are feeling. When you have one on one conversation's with your employees, they will likely open up to you and talk to you about all of the issues they are facing. It also helps you to send out a positive message to your staff that you do care about them and you are here to support them as they get help and live a happier life.

Promote a workplace of health and wellness. This includes healthier eating options and other things. You really need to focus on employee health by showing your staff that you are committed to their health and yours by exercising and encouraging your employees to participate in great exercise programs as well. Offer gym memberships or create an on-site exercise location for your employees to use.