How To Manage Mental Health In The Workplace

With work weeks getting longer as companies try to do more with fewer employees and paychecks being strained by inflation and actual decreases while bills pile up, it is important for businesses to know how to manage mental health in the work place.Unfortunately, when companies look at employees as a commodity instead of as human beings, they miss the quintessential point about people.We are not machines, but even machines that are exposed to the same stress day after day wear down.Parts have to be replaced, joints have to be oiled and maintenance must be done. So even looking at people as replaceable parts, businesses miss the opportunities to provide the correct maintenance to allow their investment in people to pay off over a longer term.

In the United States, people are supposed to know how to regenerate themselves so that they can continue to be productive members of society, but in order for that to happen, the company must give its employees enough time to recuperate from the rigors of the job and enough compensation to be able to not only afford to pay the bills, but also to be able to afford to recreate.If those things are not possible, then the company had better have a spirit of cooperation and celebration that brings an atmosphere of fun to the workplace.
Anything that the company can do to lessen the stress burden of its employees will actually help it to increase the employees' productivity.People are innately capable of exceeding a machine's capacity, but they cannot do it over the long haul without serious damage to mind and body.Continually asking employees to give 100 percent and to sacrifice time with family and friends means that companies are contributing to increased health insurance costs, increase number of sick days used and a decrease in productivity from their most valuable resources - their employees.
Some things that companies can do to help their employees have better mental health include celebrations, love and mental health benefits.It is not in vogue to speak about love in the workplace.In fact, in the wrong context, it can get a person fired or sued or both.Love, however, is the driving force that allows people to treat each other with respect.Understanding when someone is having a rough time at home and being able to help with the problem is a way to show love and to help lessen the amou8nt of stress that the person is under.By showing love for its employees, the company will earn loyalty and the longing to work hard so that the company can succeed.
Celebrations help people create a shared mythology and vocabulary.By bringing employees together to celebrate successes, birthdays, new children and anything else that should be celebrated, companies are helping to build unique and shared experiences that will bind people together and to the company.Neither celebrations nor love can be faked.They must be real and expressed by managers and the management team.
If all of this seems too difficult to muster, a company can manage mental health in the workplace by offering mental health benefits.Any good insurance program will have preventative mental health visits that include trips to see a psychologist or psychiatrist throughout the year.As long as employees take advantage of the program, they will be able to perform better than if they were asked to do it all on their own.Americans pride themselves in their strength and individuality, but most of us cannot go it alone every day.Good mental health is essential for employees, and that makes it key for a business' bottom line.