Fostering good mental health in the workplace

Businesses can take steps to enhance the mental health of their employees.

The most important one is to create a healthy work environment.

“To hold onto people, companies need to build good corporate cultures where people feel connected,” says Patrick Kennedy, co-founder and director of One Mind At Work, a global coalition of organizations committed to the development of a standard for workplace mental health.

That means creating cultures of psychological safety where people feel respected by companies that cares about them.

Opening up about mental health issues is critical. Supervisors need to eliminate any of their own lingering resistance to discussing the topic, and workers need to feel free to communicate when something is amiss.

“People have always been very reticent to say they have hidden disabilities because they are afraid of the reaction at work, of putting their job in jeopardy if they ask for accommodations,” says Maureen Hotchner, a workplace wellness consultant. “We need to erase the stigma of speaking about mental health and provide a way for people to get help.”

This is one area where Gen Zers are leading the way. Psychologists say people in their 20s are more comfortable talking about mental health issues than their older colleagues.

Of course, not everyone will speak up when something is wrong. That’s why employers must know how to spot employee behavior that might signify problems.

Maybe Andrew has started to show up late for work or has been calling in sick more often. Or Lisa has been going through the motions of her assigned duties without any real engagement. Or Mark has become argumentative with co-workers.

The ability to spot signs of trouble presupposes a knowledge of the employee, and here is where supervisors and managers can be proactive.

“One of the things that employers can do is build relationships with their people,” Davis says. “It’s really hard to have a conversation with someone about their behavior when you haven’t checked in with them on a regular basis.”

Spotting changes in employee behavior is one thing. Knowing how to respond appropriately is another.

Rather than mentioning stress or mental health when approaching the individual, psychologists advise supervisors to only discuss observed behaviors.

“Erratic or different behavior might be related to a mental health issue, or it might not,” Davis says. “Maybe the person has just not been getting enough sleep because a family member is sick, or they were up late playing video games or watching TV.”

Help the employee open up by asking what can be done to provide the resources required to improve performance. Would some adaptations help the person be at their best?

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