Written by Dr. Glenn Mason, chief of adult psychological therapies, Onebright
April is the month of stress awareness, and the theme of this year is to approach people with kindness, compassion and acceptance, whatever the challenges they face.
This year, in particular, it also seems important to put this in the workplace and help employees who can face a range of situations causing stress. Financial concerns caused by the current cost of living crisis, to problems within families and in their children, such as ADHD or autism, there are not two employees the same, and they are not under the same levels of stress either.
It is not only anecdotal either, the internal data of Onebright show that between 2023 and 2024, the global diagnostics linked to stress and the problems which it can exacerbate more than doubled (up 122%) in proportion to all diagnoses during the year. This indicates that not only many employees are more stressed, but also that it has a significant impact to require support or therapy.
It is estimated that every year in the United Kingdom, poor mental health causes 18 million days of work to lose. During these absences, like any other type of illness, companies involve costs related to the payment of overtime for other employees who must cover the tasks of absent workers and the potential costs of the temporary endowment. In addition, the frequent absence of qualified employees can disrupt the workflow and the project time, which has an impact on the results. Obviously, this has also struck the effects on the rest of the team, increasing the levels of stress and potentially aggravating existing problems among other employees.
Part of the resolution of this problem comes from the understanding that high levels of continuous stress are not only a normal part of the company or part of a “work environment at the rapid rate”, but can be both unhealthy and counterproductive.
Providing employees with access to a range of support and resources can help prevent the stress of becoming a professional exhaustion or other more serious mental health problems. Here are some strategies that you can implement to help prevent this.
Develop the necessary skills
Having preventing poor mental health that develops is much more effective than waiting for people to fall sick. The creation of a “mental health at work” plan is an excellent starting point. In addition to developing mental health policies, revising business strategies on sick leave and health and safety must also be considered to build mental health advice throughout.
Training and awareness of all employees in mental health are essential. Companies should strive to place their employees first with the right policies and the training in place, and the organization is rightly ready to support mental health problems if they arise.
Communicate and motivate
The implementation of training and new policies is limited use if employees do not know. It is important to communicate that support is available if it needs it. Likewise, the opening of communication channels between employees and managers is essential to promote a positive and constructive work environment. Working in close collaboration with employees to identify the areas where they can make their own decisions and manage their time is a good entry to recognize your mental well-being at work.
Good communication will address and prevent poor mental health exacerbated by work, reduce the absences caused by mental health problems and support employees with a mental health problem so that they can prosper in a safe and reliable environment. The management of stress, concern and uncertainty is extremely important. Updates and regular records of the company will give employees the feeling that they are not left in the dark.
Set achieveable objectives
Set high objectives is admirable and often the default value for managers, but if they are inaccessible, they quickly demoted. By setting objectives related to the work that the member of your team does and which are in their control sphere, as well as which seem to be achievable are both motivating and relieves stress.
Be flexible in your approach
Your employees will all have different ways and different ways to meet challenges. If an employee feels like not to face his workload, is stressed or needs adaptations to his work, managers can be as flexible as possible so that they can better meet the needs of their employees. Try to consider all the modifications that can be made to the role of your employee, such as hours adjusting, workload, tactics, breaks or perhaps provide a mentor.
Set limits
The balance between professional life and privacy is essential for happy and productive employees, but it is imperative to have clear limits in place to reach this healthy work environment. Long -term productive employees are fed by regular breaks, personal care and recreational time. By clearly structuring the calendar of working hours of your organization, with the inclusion of regular breaks and annual leave for everyone, you will help your employees find a balance between professional and privacy and to prevent professional exhaustion.
Make sure your employees how to find help
Creating a page on your internal system on how people can access the mental health resources of your organization, as well as external resources such as NHS mental health is a good idea. In addition, the signaling of any relevant resources for your team will give everyone the opportunity to request the support they need.
As a leader in any organization, it is essential to monitor people who may need support with their mental health. Offer training to your first mental health help with clinical expert advice, you will assure that you can support employees appropriately when they need help.
About the author
Dr. Glenn Mason, chief of adult psychological therapies at Onebright, is a highly specialized psychologist and psychotherapist and has regularly contributed to local, national and international media on psychology, trauma, chronic pain, SSPT and the duty of health psychology. His practice is informed by cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and therapy of engagement, therapy focused on compassion, motivation interview, narrative exposure therapy and desensitization and reprocessing eye movements.
