Promoting workplace mental health strategies

It’s no secret that happy, healthy employees are more productive, which makes for a strong workforce, and therefore a more profitable company. That’s why more progressive employers who outline and implement workplace strategies for mental health are poised to reap these benefits.

Mental health at work has tremendous impact on employee performance. In Canada, for example, the most prevalent mental health issues are anxiety and depression, both of which can make a serious impact on productivity. At any given time in Canada, 1 in every 5 Canadians will experience mental health issues of some kind. When left unaddressed, some of these mental health issues can lead to more serious issues like eating disorders, substance abuse, self-harm, and even suicide.

Workplace mental health strategies are more crucial than ever, for both the employees’ and company’s well-being. So how can companies like yours improve mental health in the workplace? Benefits and Pensions Monitor provides some answers to these and more in this article.

Understanding mental health in the workplace

Mental health in general is defined as a person’s psychological, emotional, and social well-being. According to the UN, mental health is not just the absence of mental illness. It is a state of prevalent well-being in a person’s mind.

This state of mind enables them to cope with the daily stresses of life, learn and work well, realize their potential, and contribute to society. Mental health is a basic human right; it is essential for personal growth, community and socio-economic development.

Mental health at the workplace, meanwhile, is the psychological, emotional, and social well-being of employees who are in shared work environments.

Happy employees are more productive employees, and more productive employees can mean a lot of good things for their employer. So, what makes for a happy employee? This short TED Talk offers a few suggestions. Spoiler: it’s not more money or perks.

Read our articles on mental health for more resources on this topic.

How do I know if our employees have workplace mental health issues?

A common sign of employees having mental health issues is having prolonged feelings of dread, anxiety, or depression.

Casual observers may dismiss these as cases of employees having “bad days”. If these negative feelings or physical symptoms persist, these are sure signs of mental health issues in the workplace.

The telltale signs can vary, depending on the condition and the person having them. It’s important to be aware of any changes in the way employees think, feel, and behave at work.

If you or any of your colleagues can identify with more than one of the following symptoms, it’s time to seek help.

• a decline in work performance
• difficulty thinking or concentrating
• drastic changes in eating habits and sleeping patterns
• changes in mood
• loss of interest in hobbies or activities
• prevailing feelings of fear
• intense sensitivity to light and sounds
• unusual behaviour, i.e. an employee feels uncomfortable in their surroundings, acts unusual, or hallucinates
• unexplained pains or aches

If you notice some of your colleagues having these symptoms, they’re probably not in a healthy workplace. But there are ways for you to avoid or fix an unhealthy workplace environment.

How do mental health issues affect the workplace?

The US Center for Disease Control affirms that employee mental health has effects on the workplace. Poor mental health and stress have been found to negatively affect employees in these ways:

• reduced job performance and productivity
• lowered engagement at work
• breakdown in communication with coworkers
• decrease in capacity to perform daily tasks
• higher rates of disability and unemployment

Depression can be particularly crippling at work. This condition can interfere with a person’s ability to complete physical tasks about 20% of the time and can reduce cognitive performance about 35% of the time. Even after taking other health risks—like smoking and obesity—into account, employees at high risk of depression had the highest health care costs during the 3 years after an initial health risk assessment.

On the flipside, it’s a documented fact that happier workers are more productive. Those who are happier at work can have a more positive view of their role and better attitude when performing tasks.

Strategies for improving workplace mental health

Managers and human resource professionals don’t have to do all the heavy lifting when it comes to addressing workplace mental health issues. Here are some strategies you can implement:

1. Establish clear policies

A crucial and effective first step is to put up a clear workplace policy. This is important for making employees and managers understand when it’s necessary to seek the help of an occupational health provider. For instance, a workplace mental health policy would list specific types of disruptive behaviours that show that an employee is currently unable to do their job.

A workplace mental health policy would then set out the appropriate treatment and conditions for them to return to work. A clear mental health policy in the workplace shows managers and employees that such issues in the workplace are not stigmatized.

2. Take on mental health providers as partners

These days, many Canadian workers are aware of, and have access to an Employment Assistance Program (EAP). This provides free, short-term psychological counseling for tackling work-related or personal problems, and crisis counseling when appropriate.

Your organization can offer EAP services through:

• Health Canada
• mental health services internally
• private health providers or consultants

3. Provide wellness programs

Your company can take on a more proactive role in managing workplace mental health. This can be achieved by crafting and implementing wellness programs. These programs should be tailored to your employees’ needs, with measures to assess their effectiveness.

The support of managers is crucial for these initiatives – they can also ensure that employees are included in the program selection and development process. The programs can vary, and include those which employees prefer most to secure and promote better wellness.

4. Change attitudes towards mental health issues

Even if workplace mental health issues are widespread, many workers prefer not to discuss it openly. The stigma against mental health issues remains strong, causing many employees to avoid treatment for fear of losing their jobs or being treated or viewed differently.

Employers can the stigma it by increasing mental health literacy within their organization. Initiatives like forums about mental health concerns in the workplace can help.

Another way to reduce this stigma is to provide mental health training for dedicated employees to assist colleagues in need. Having some employees serve as mental health advocates can make it easier for those suffering from these issues to reach out and seek help.

Happy Mental Health Awareness Week, Canada! 🍁

As employers, it's crucial to keep the conversation on mental health going and do your part to destigmatize mental health challenges in the workplace.

Let’s make our workplace a supportive space!#MentalHealthAwarenessWeek pic.twitter.com/010GaaP8RS

— BrightHR CA (@BrightHR_CA) May 8, 2024

5. Nurture teams

Social connections can buffer the impact of workplace stress. Having employees come together as a team is no simple feat. It takes time for people, especially at work, to create an environment where it’s ok to be open and honest about their expectations.

Management and HR staff can encourage employees to foster such an atmosphere. Teams can conduct progress reports, regular performance updates, and updates to adjustments to objectives or priorities. Managers can also ensure that the conversations go both ways, always between them and team members.

The role of work-life balance in workplace mental health

The standard working hours set by Canadian Federal Labour Standards are like many other countries.  That’s eight hours a day, five days a week with weekends or at least Sunday off (more businesses are moving towards 4-day workweeks). Sadly, not all industries, employers, and employees strictly adhere to these rules.

Our constant connectiveness via our phones, mobile devices, productivity apps, plus the demands of company culture, industries, etc., can contribute to an “always on” mode. These pressures of work and “convenience” of technology make the concept of having a real work-life balance a grey area.

For the sake of their mental health, workers need to have a set time for work and a set time for rest, relaxation, family time, and daily chores. When work spills onto personal time, workers get stressed. They get even more stressed if they can’t make up for lost personal time consumed by work. If this happens often enough, mental health issues begin to creep in.

Having work-life balance is easier said than done. To have a real work-life balance, managers must set the tone. If not, employee mental health is bound to worsen. But the good news is that more workers are setting boundaries for work-life balance and are even taking time off.  

Paid time off and workplace mental health

Paid time off (PTO) is vital to an employee's mental health. PTO is one of the easiest ways companies can encourage employees to take care of their physical and mental health.

When it comes to PTO in Canada, companies are advised to have a strict no-working-while-on-vacation policy, even as 68% of employees still choose to work during their PTO. To avoid this, companies can employ some strategies to motivate employees to take PTO.

Having the time away from the office to relax, do personal errands, or just spend time with family can help reduce stress levels and increase morale. These are the most common benefits of taking PTO:

• establishes work-life balance
• promotes mental wellness
• reduces burnout at work
• reduces stress
• inspires creativity
• increases job satisfaction
• increases employee morale
• boosts employee loyalty

Workplace mental health an emerging priority

After the pandemic, more Canadian employees have realized the value of looking after their mental health in the workplace. In fact, a 2023 study on workplace well-being found that more workers in Canada viewed that their mental well-being at work and at home are now at par with their financial concerns.

Managers and HR professionals would do well to look after their employees’ mental health by providing mental health programs and mental health resources. After all, when employees see and feel that the company supports employee mental health, the company reaps long-term benefits.

This does wonders for productivity, employee happiness, and morale. Companies that prioritize their employees’ mental health can only reap greater rewards, since apart from all these benefits for employees, company profitability is also in the cards.

Does your company need some guidance in handling workplace mental health issues? Browse our directory of expert consultants to help you with Employee Assistance Programs or other mental wellness strategies.