Don’t we all feel mentally content after a long productive day? A day where we are not just busy but have concentrated well on the work and received a well-deserved outcome. However, this is not a result we or our employees can expect when we are stressed and burnout.
Being in a good headspace helps build the resilience which keeps us going. This is why mental health and well-being have been getting a pedestal in corporate workspaces in recent years. Good mental health allows us to self-reflect and identify our goals. That is half of the work done because now focusing on that goal becomes much easier. This is what we refer to as intrinsic motivation.
However, when we are working in a collective workplace, it is not always as intrinsic as it seems. Alongside working on inspiring ourselves from within, we require inspiration and acknowledgment from our environment.
This is why working in a toxic workplace can put such a toll on our mental health. Half of your mental bandwidth is gone dealing with office politics and warding off gossip. So you find yourself in a situation where most of the days are gone, warding off gossip. Alas, you do not have enough energy to efficiently get your work done.
Importance Of Mental Health Awareness In Corporate Workspace
Just like a bad day at work can keep affecting your mood even after returning home, your overall mental health can have an adverse effect on your work. A recent WHO research has also concluded that poor mental health caused the global economy a loss of USD 1 Trillion due to a lack of productivity and absence from work.
Now that the economy is a factor in mental health, many corporations have stopped reprimanding employees for their leaves. Rather they are trying to look into the reason behind the leaves regarding mental health issues and trying to create a corporate environment that also gives importance to mental wellbeing.
1. Employee Retention
One of the biggest causes of employee turnover is the lack of mental health awareness in corporate sectors. If employers want to retain good employees, thinking about their mental wellbeing is inevitable.
High levels of stress in any corporation are common. Although it would be impossible to decrease stress when you and the employees are trying to reach a certain goal, mental well-being is still possible.
This is possible by decreasing job dissatisfaction. This often occurs when employers do not appreciate their employees’ hard work. Or refuses to listen to their mental health issues caused by extreme stress. The trick is to work in harmony by acknowledging the employee’s side as well.
2. It Cultivates Creativity
When employees are put under extreme pressure, it places them in a metaphorical box to think within a boundary. When they are always under strict deadlines, they won’t take the time to think out of the box and indulge in some critical thinking to format a creative and unique solution.
They will simply join the speedy rat race and think about completing the task (no matter the quality). However, when you think about your employee’s mental being, it automatically leads to a decrease in stress. When they are constantly worried about a deadline, they will have time to flourish their creative side.
For people working in marketing and advertising, this is even more beneficial since stress-free thinking is when the greatest campaigns come to play.
3. Changing Team Dynamics
When your company takes the initiative to break down past stigmas about mental health, it encourages stronger team bonds. They are no longer fueling the pretense of robotic corporate relationships. Rather can now share problems and troubles freely, coming to a much collective solution for a team member.
A supportive and encouraging team stands more united than a conflicting one. Through mental health awareness campaigns, corporates can determine the dangers of constant conflict among team members. Plus, it can talk about the different communication strategies which can help them make better uniform decisions.
Afterall, thinking about mental well-being is not just making someone feel good but also celebrating everyone’s emotional quotient and determining how it can help the company. This is strongly against the more traditional corporate notion that many held, i.e., “leave one’s emotions outside the office gate.”
The modern corporate ideology is more about acknowledging emotions and teaching how to keep them in control to use them better. Experts conjecture that it is high time people understand emotions are not the problem.
4. Increase the Company’s Good Reputation
If you are running a business, there is one thing that you should know. Nowadays, there is a change in customer behavior. They are not just associating with the company for the product, but also their initiative towards corporate social responsibility.
Protecting human rights is one of them, and your company’s reputation is likely to skyrocket when your efforts toward mental health awareness reach the public ears.
How To Encourage Mental Health Welfare In Corporate Spaces
Here are some of the expert-given ways to help your employees with their mental health and well-being.
Have an organizational counselor. Due to the oath of secrecy councilors take, employees are more likely to reach out to them with problems.
Create a recreational room that encourages employees to take much necessary breaks.
Along with incentives for good works, gift coupons to mental health retreats, Renewed Light therapies, counselor visits, and non-contemporary holistic therapies.
You can even sponsor the sobriety journey of an employee dealing with a substance abuse issue.