How To Create A Mentally Healthy Workplace?

As the effect of the pandemic has begun to be controlled we have all started to step out in the open. Work from home has finally crawled back to work from the office like before and it’s important for all of us to create a mentally healthy workplace.

In this blog we will look at all the things you can do to create a mentally healthy and friendly workplace. Are you ready to turn your office into a mentally healthy productive station that encourages mental health and promotes growth?

Let’s get started!

10 Ways To Create a Mentally Healthy Workplace

1. End the Stigma in your workplace

Try and make it ‘okay’ to talk about your mental health struggles in the office. Normalize accepting that you are going through a mental health condition. Provide medical leaves for mental health conditions. Work towards ending the stigma in your working premise.

2. Educate each employee to identify signs of mental health conditions

From the door man to the CEO, each person in your workplace should have basic knowledge of depleting mental health. This will help in early diagnoses of a mentally unfit employee as well as spread awareness of how important mental health is.

Also read: 5 Signs Of A Toxic Workplace: Causes & How To Escape It

3. Organize a psychological screen days

Dedicate a few days to the psychological testing of your employees. It can be twice a year or even thrice or as many times you want. Let all your employees go through mental health testing so effective measures can be taken on time.

It will also promote mental hygiene and will help people be more careful about their mental health. Invite a psychologist to your office and let them run some general psychological tests.

4. Develop a mental health corner

Each workplace should have a designated place to refuel your mental peace and stability. It can be a recreational room with some games that reduce stress/anxiety or have some therapeutic activities like painting area, sand pit, etc or get some office pets. A human brain can concentrate for 45 minutes at a go, so have some health distraction if you wish to increase productivity.

5. Promote peer support groups

Having a peer support program in your workplace will help employees develop a special bond with their peers where they can discuss all their personal or professional issues. Having a support group anyway helps in building resilience and promotes mental wellness.

Also read: How to Deal with Stress on the Job

6. Organize mental health workshops

No boring lectures please! I am sure no employee will look forward to spending 60 minutes in the conference room listening to someone. Organize practical workshops like learning self-care activities or stress management exercises, dance/music therapy etc.

7. Give paid mental health leaves

Most organizations provide a set of paid medical leaves to their employees. If you want to create a mentally healthy workplace, introduce a new set of paid mental health days as well. It will help work on their mental health and without any stress take that day off when their mental health is on the rocks!

Also read: How To Improve Your Mental Health In the Workplace? 7 Easy Ways

8. Have flexible policies

Workplace stress is mostly triggered when an employee is not able to strike a balance between work life and personal life. Be a little flexible in your policies so that an employee can manage work and other parts of his/her life easily. Don’t compromise on work but give them the freedom to work however and wherever they are comfortable.

9. Step out of the concrete building

Most offices are situated in concrete buildings, far away from nature. Encourage the employee to step out of their cubicles and get some fresh air. Organize team building activities outdoors perhaps in a garden. Let your employees take a break from work by stepping out of the office and not just sitting in the cafeteria.

10. Take strict actions against people engaging in damaging mental health of other employees

All people in the workplace are not going to be similar, offices are an amalgamation of people from all walks of life and take strict action against those who corrupt a healthy environment in the office.

Take strict action against bullying, sexual, mental and emotional abuse, etc.

That’s all Folks!

We spend a lot of time (our most active hours) in our offices and workstations. To be honest, most of us aren’t mentally healthy. In fact a study once stated that 1 in every 5 individual’s struggles with a mental health condition.

If you have 40 employees in your office, at least 8 of them are in a mental health crisis right now! You can do the math yourself and see for yourself how important it is to create a mentally healthy workplace.

I hope each workplace tries to create a mentally healthy workplace because that’s the need of the hour. We all have been through a lot in the past two year and it’s time to heal. Create a mentally healthy workplace because it not only improves the employee’s mental health but also increases productivity and success.

It’s a win-win deal!

I hope you now know how to create a mentally healthy workplace. Make sure you share this blog with all the people in the working industry so that each workplace is a mentally healthy place to be in.

Thanks for reading.

Take care and stay safe.