“There’s no motivation to perform today”- do your employees feel the same? Do your employees feel bad when they think about their work just after waking up in the morning? Being an employer answering these questions with confidence is quite tough. But doubt is always there. Tremendous work pressure, poor job security, poor company culture, inappropriate recognition, etc., can directly affect the mental health of your employees. The poor mental health of your employees will result in bad performance and less growth in your business organization. Some employees can also have different reasons for poor mental health, such as poor relationships, personal stress, and so on. No matter what the reason is, a mental health training program should be there to strengthen the abilities of your people.
Along with other reasons, Singapore has experienced serious mental health issues as a result of the pandemic. Previously, only a few people used to focus on their mental health. There was social stigma also, and as a result, people were not comfortable discussing their mental health. But in 2022, the scenario has changed, and many employers are taking the initiative to know more about employees’ mental health and how to empower them accordingly.
It’s good to see that various companies have made major investments to support employee mental health and stress management training programs. But still, the stress and anxiety are higher than ever. One key to reducing employee burnout could be understanding how to talk to employees about their mental health. Your goal should be to turn the workplace into a safe place for all your employees.
How to talk about mental health at your workplace for the well-being of employees?
- Accept it- the discussion will be a bit awkward
You should accept that everyone’s comfort level and experience discussing their state of mind will vary. To break the ice, you should start with something neutral and grow gradually. You should create various action plans to open up your employees. You should not expect that they will share everything that is presently bothering them. You should not show curiosity towards their relationships and other personal matters.
You can create a comfortable and welcoming gesture so that the staff member can trust you. You should make sure whatever employees are sharing are 100% confidential. If they are sharing something sensitive, you should maintain full confidentiality.
2. Don’t select only a few people
If you are running with 100 hundred employees, you should not discuss mental health only with 10 to 15 people. You should not enable any guessing game to pick out employees who are suffering from mental issues. You should connect with a workplace wellbeing consultant and create a stress management program or well-being program for all employees. Whatever you are planning should cover all staff. If you cannot manage programs for all employees, you can do it department-wise and let staff know your plans to cover everyone else one by one.
3. Know when to stop discussing it
There are plenty of things that can bother you and your employees. You should be mindful when choosing an appropriate discussion topic. A well-being consultant may help accelerate the process.
You should create a comfortable atmosphere where your employees can share whatever they want. If you find that an employee is not comfortable discussing an issue, you should change that. The main aim is to ensure your staff understand that you care about their mental health, and that’s why you are trying to help them.
4. Check whether you’re the best resource or not
Before engaging in a mental health discussion, , you should conduct a survey to understand your employees key mental health concerns. You should check workload, recognition patterns, company culture, facilities, etc. If you are sure that all these are fine according to the market standards, you should call employees for further discussion. If you find any flaws, you should correct that as soon as possible.
5. Design a suitable employee well-being program
This is the most important thing that you should do to keep your employees happy and healthy mentally. Various types of mental health programs are there that will help your employees. It is not that only employees who are suffering from mental health issues will benefit by attending these programs. All employees will enjoy the benefits.
Employee well-being programs come with plenty of benefits, such as increased productivity, high employee morale, better employee retention rate, better employer-employee relationships, less employee burnout, and so on.
When it comes to creating mental health training programs for your employees, you should look no further than MindFit at Work. This is a leading employee well-being company. What do they do? They do HAPPY differently. It has been in the domain for more than a decade and helps organizations with workplace wellbeing, mental health, resilience, mindfulness training, EAP programs, and so on. We make use of the latest behavioural science and psychology to transform how people think, feel, and behave.
