Mental Health: Employer Strategies and the Link to Retention
Entering a new season often brings about an overall shift in perspective. Fall is associated with letting go, turning a new leaf and starting anew. Shedding the bad with the good and looking at our lives through a different lens. The upcoming season is also a time when many experience a decline in mental health. With the shorter days, longer nights and temperature drop, it’s not unusual to feel a dip in one's overall mental wellness.
Employers have an opportunity to support the mental health of their employees and create a psychologically healthy workplace. According to the Government of Canada, a psychologically healthy workplace is a respectful and productive environment that makes every reasonable effort to promote and protect the mental health of employees (Canadian Standards Association, 2013). Checking in with your staff on a personal level, starting conversations about mental health, and offering mental health programs and support make your staff feel seen, heard, and valued.
Although there has been much advancement and progression in the world around mental health, the stigma still exists. People fear sharing their struggles because they don’t want to be judged, ridiculed, or stereotyped. This takes a toll on workplace culture, which employers need to address. Employers should create a sense of openness, awareness and provide educational opportunities for staff to learn about mental health. They can provide training for staff and leaders to learn to manage health positively, and to address mental health topics in the workplace respectfully. Employers may also want to consider sharing their own experiences, creating a safe space for others to do the same.
Low work-life balance is a leading cause of poor mental health outcomes. Leaders must acknowledge this and encourage their employees to strike a healthy balance between work and their personal lives. They should model setting healthy boundaries; keeping communication within work hours, and encourage their staff to use their vacation time. In addition, work-life balance initiatives such as social events as well as sharing self-care strategies like yoga, meditation and other healthy habits go a long way.
Now, we know what you’re probably thinking: “Isn’t all this going to be expensive?” We’re here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be. In fact, some mental health initiatives won’t cost you a dime. Simple efforts such as encouraging your employees to take their full lunch breaks and use their vacation time will make them feel that you value their sense of balance. In addition, employers can schedule regular check-ins, and pay attention to the issues they share so that they can work together and collaborate on solutions in a compassionate, respectful, resourceful and supportive manner. Employees will remember and appreciate the way their employer makes them feel, leading them to work harder.
Some other inexpensive mental health initiatives include: an employee assistance program, mental health training opportunities and a solid performance management system. An EAP, or employee assistance program, is a confidential, short term counseling service for employees with personal difficulties that affect their work performance. Offering mental health training opportunities can be as simple as sharing upcoming webinars for staff to sign up for, or as in-depth as full days dedicated to training that involve presentations, various speakers and opportunities for sharing. Finally, having a solid performance management system in place will help employees feel supported, give them opportunities to share issues they are having, and give them the direction they need to feel successful in their role, improving their overall sense of mental wellness.
Prioritizing the mental health of your staff not only benefits employees, but your business as a whole. When staff feel taken care of from a mental health perspective, studies have shown that employee retention soars, especially since the pandemic. Employees are now giving more thought to whether or not the values of their organization align with their personal values - and this includes and depends on how they are treated and supported at work. Many personal and humanistic issues have surfaced since COVID, where the compassionate approach of leaders has become exponentially more important. Caring for the well-being of your team is now a major predictor of employee retention and overall well-being of the human.
The HR consultants at LD Human Resources are here to help employers support the mental wellbeing of their staff. Need help getting started? We welcome you to reach out to us for a complimentary consultation.
References:
Canadian Standards Association. Psychological health and safety in the workplace - Prevention, promotion, and guidance to staged implementation 2013.