Rather than ignoring mental health issues or seeing them as the employee’s problem, forward- thinking and progressive companies are finding ways to support mental well-being at work.
The first step to create mental well-being in the office (or remotely) is to recognize and address factors that lead to mental health problems in the first place.
Here are 10 ways leadership can promote mental well-being at your company:
- Ensure managers have reasonable expectations of employees about workload, work hours, and deadlines, offering flexible scheduling, if possible.
- Offer childcare and a family caregiving benefit.
- Foster a work environment where disconnecting electronically at night or on weekends is encouraged.
- Verify the equitable treatment of employee compensation, benefits, promotions, challenges, and growth opportunities.
- Offer financial benefits such as 401k plans and financial education to induce feelings of economic well-being and security.
- Promote work-life balance or even a slight life-work tilt.
- Educate employees on the negative (and often illegal) impact of microaggressions, bullying, sarcasm, ageism, sexism, homophobia, racism, and outright prejudice or harassment; never tolerate these behaviors.
- Minimize the number of video conference meetings, which can drain your employees’ energy and decrease their mood.
- Encourage accountability and communication rather than blame and reprisal.
- Consider creative paid-time-off (PTO) opportunities, such as:
- Mental health days
- Four-day work weeks
- Summer hours
- Weeklong company shutdowns during which everyone fully unplugs
- Generous vacation time with an expectation that employees disconnect
Mental well-being is a key tenant of success across every organization. When employees feel at their best, they’re able to focus, produce, and innovate. And when employees know that their company cares about their well-being, they’re more likely to stick around for the long-haul.
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