Individuals’ mental well-being can be impacted by a variety of issues, and career stresses can be a frequent trigger. Whether it’s struggling with a toxic work environment, a high workload, or even feeling as though you’re stagnating in your position, these can all result in feelings of stress, depression, and anxiety.
While there are steps individuals can take themselves to help boost their mental health, managers within the workplace can also do more to help support their teams. If you are a manager who wants to help your staff feel happier at work, here are some tips you might want to consider.
1. Raise Awareness
A good place to start is to make sure you are doing what you can to raise awareness regarding mental health, as this can help to encourage a more inclusive working environment and help educate employees.
You could arrange to have a mental health week, where employees can take part in workshops to learn more about how to practice good self-care, recognize their mental health triggers, and even promote clinics and other support services in your local area that they can use if they feel the need to do so.
You could also encourage employees to donate to mental health charities or arrange fundraising events that your team can take part in, such as sports challenges, bake sales, etc.
2. Ask for Feedback from Employees
You might also find it useful to ask for feedback from your team members to see if they have any suggestions on how the workspace can be improved to benefit mental health. For example, could more flexible working hours help to alleviate some pressure and promote a better work/life balance?
Would they like to have better access to mental health support, such as counseling services that could be arranged by the company? Or would smaller perks like finishing early on Fridays or having the opportunity to take mental health days as well as statutory sick days benefit them?
3. Learn How to Recognize Warning Signs
Another way you can help promote better mental health as a manager is by learning how to recognize warning signs that your employees might be struggling with.
Burnout syndrome has been discussed more frequently in recent years, and it isn’t always easy for individuals to admit that this is something they are struggling with. If you can spot some signs that a team member might need additional support, you can help them improve their mental health before things get too bad.
Even understanding anxiety attack symptoms can be beneficial to you, particularly if there is a member of staff on your team that does struggle with an anxiety disorder.
4. Create a Calm Workspace
Finally, you might want to consider the current workspace and how you can make it feel like a more peaceful environment.
Introducing more plant life and allowing as much natural light as possible into the office can help to boost your teams’ moods and help them feel more relaxed.
Where possible, see if you can make room for quiet spaces that employees can retreat to if they are feeling overwhelmed and need to take a break. If you want to encourage better mental health amongst your team as a manager, consider the tips above and see how they can help you achieve this.
