Stress Awareness Month, April 2022
As a business owner or employer, you know your most valuable assets are the human beings who make your business tick. These individuals spend more time at work than with friends and family so what can you do to ensure your company recognises what a mentally healthy workplace looks like?
Community is the focus of Stress Awareness Month this year which is a fab starting point when considering the kind of community your workplace is. Is the ethos supportive? Do employees feel they have someone to talk to if they’re struggling? Have people got a work/life balance?
Taking care of your team will always benefit your business – from increased engagement, loyalty and productivity to fewer absences and reduced staff turnover – a supported and valued workforce is a strong workforce.
We’ve put together some take-away ideas as well as some links to fab resources if you’re looking to make some positive changes.
- Promote work/life balance – We all know how easy it is to just keep on working. There’s always something to do, a call to be made, an email to be sent or a presentation to prepare for but having no cut off point is unsustainable and leads to burnout. Instead, encourage lunch breaks, taking annual leave and not working at weekends.
- Recognise signs of stress in your staff – Knowing what’s going on in someone’s head is virtually impossible but watching out for physical signs or changes in behaviour is so valuable. Headaches, irritability, avoiding people or situations can all be signs of stress so speak regularly with team members and normalise mental health conversations.
- Make sure your staff know mental health is valued – Many employees feel they can’t open up about work-related stress, anxieties or worries for fear of discrimination. This can lead to absenteeism and reduced productivity which spells bad news for business. Make sure you have structures in place where work-related stresses can be discussed openly, with options for support.
- Be a role-model – Leading by example is powerful and the influence of line managers throughout the workplace is vital in promoting a mentally healthy work environment. Being what you want to see is a great place to start and proves that progression doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your mental health.
- Improve all communications where possible – simple starts can include factoring in general check-ins with everyone at the ends of team meetings, mental health audits, scheduling away days to re-energise your staff, and nights out to get to know each other better. Simple changes are often the best.
For more information check out these excellent resources:
https://www.mind.org.uk/media-a/4663/resource1_mentally_healthy_workplacesfinal_pdf.pdf
https://www.mind.org.uk/media-a/4662/resource3_howtopromotewellbeingfinal.pdf
https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/stressorg/Corporate-Wellbeing-Solutions-2016.pdf