Improving Mental Health in Business

Mental health in business has become an area of focus with more people than ever working remotely and from home rather than in the office. With entire workforces forced at times away from socialising and work colleagues, ensuring employee and staff mental health is in the best state and condition it can be has never been more important.

Some industries to find themselves experiencing increased levels of mental health problems amongst workers due to stress and job-related factors such as excessive workloads. Traditionally, industries like investment banking, stockbroking and companies that enable customers to borrow money online have all seen increased levels of stress amongst their respective workforces.

There are numerous steps that can be taken to help deal with and lessen the effects of mental health problems and issues amongst workforces as well as actions and practices that may be undertaken by employers to work towards preventing these issues from developing in the first place.

Healthier and happier staff and employees are always more productive and are more likely to remain with the company caring for their mental health and wellbeing for longer than they otherwise may have done.

Protecting and looking after mental health is more important than ever and with more people returning to the office, there are many ways in which to care for mental health over the long as well as short term.

For company leaders, managers and executives, being able to both spot the signs of employee burnout as well as deal with them is an invaluable skill and trait to possess and nurture for the company’s success.

Sleep and Rest

Making sure your employees and staff are getting enough relaxation in their day to day lives as well as over the weekends is key to their happiness and mental health. In industries and companies where staff rest and sleep less, levels of stress and anxiety in the workplace are always higher.

Thus, caring for the sleep of staff can go a very long way in making them more productive, happier and mentally as well as physically healthier. Improving the quality of sleep can be easily and fairly cheaply achieved in a variety of ways which can include:

Reducing the amount of screen time at night – By reducing the amount of time spent looking at mobile phones, laptops and tablet devices, you will reduce the amount of blue light that you absorb. Blue light has been shown in numerous studies to impact the ‘sleep hormones’ and thus the quality of one’s sleep. Try turning off all electronic devices around one hour before going to bed.

Better quality bedding – Bedding refers predominantly to your duvet, pillows and mattress. However, although mattresses can be very costly, duvets and pillows can be replaced often, fairly inexpensively. Investing in high quality bedding such as a goose down duvet can improve the quality of your sleep and will help you achieve a far better night’s sleep, almost instantly.

Getting outside and exercising – Exercise alone has been shown in multiple studies to help when it comes to sleep and rest. However, getting outside wherever possible to undertake some rigorous exercise can function to both provide the benefits exercise always does along with the benefits of increased fresh air. Getting outside, particularly in the sunshine can greatly help with mental health as well as physical health.

Allow Flexible Working

Flexible working has become a part of most people’s lives. However, many companies are maintaining a degree of ‘flexi-work’ amongst their staff, as it provides the flexibility for staff to manage their work life as well as their out of work life. For example, for employees with children, being able to help at home whilst working can do wonders for their mental health and general sense of wellbeing, by spending more time with family.

Additionally, for employees that have pets, particularly in the case of people otherwise living alone, being able to spend time at home with their pet, for example a dog or cat will allow them to both improve their emotional wellbeing.

Being at home a little bit more even whilst working, will allow an owner to take proper care of their pet, for example by ensuring the inevitable multivitamin for dogs is given to the pet in question at the right time. Just knowing that your pet is cared for can help with anxiety and mental health.

Making Sure to Socialise

Socialising in any capacity can greatly help mental health and wellbeing. In the case of people that live alone; in particular, those that live in a different part of the country to their immediate family, socialising and spending time with friends is an important element of mental health care.

Be it work colleagues or other friends and acquaintances, just spending time whilst not working and outside of a work environment with friends can greatly help anyone’s general sense of happiness and wellbeing.

Therefore, taking time each week to set aside a little bit of time to socialise with friends, even if just for an hour or so will help massively when it comes to feeling happy and emotionally satisfied.

Socialising outside of a work environment is often the ‘emotional refresh’ that many people find they need after long periods of stress and difficulty at work. Seeing friends and just talking can make a world of difference for anyone.

Enjoying The Work You Do

Work satisfaction and the lack of it, often causes people to leave their current job. It is often one of the initial and most immediate factors that leads to employees and staff leaving one company and moving to another that they feel fits the bill with regards to job and work satisfaction.

As a team leader, company boss or even manager, take the time to speak to employees and to gauge what they are and what they are not enjoying and finding satisfying about their job role. Finding out the pain points of any employees’ job role can be key to not just retaining staff and reducing employee attrition, but can also greatly and almost immediately improve and increase staff productivity for the long term.