10 – 16 May 2021 is Mental Health Awareness Week.
We have been looking at ways that employers can help promote good mental health for all employees, especially whilst they are still working from home.
Here are some of our favourite ways to look out for our Mental Health this year:
1) Keeping Up to Date with your Employees
Set aside time to catch up with your employees and check in with them. This is a great way to make sure you know how they are feeling.
In our team, one of our directors, Gemma Davies, has set up a monthly “cwtch call” for each of our employees just to check in and make sure everyone is okay. It’s a simple but practical way to make sure people are happy and mentally healthy. (Just in case you don’t know what a “cwtch” is – it is Welsh for a cuddle).
2) Encouraging Exercise
It may not be work-related, but it’s a great way to boost mood and help with feelings of stress. Studies have shown that going outside and moving about can decrease stress and boost mood substantially.
Encouraging employees to go out and get some exercise gives their brains something other than work to focus on and works as a healthy coping strategy for getting through stressful times.
3) Making Reasonable Adjustments
This may seem like an obvious one but making sure that you’re making adjustments to help people manage their mental health is extremely important. Reasonable adjustments are things you can do as an employer to remove or reduce the effects of health issues and allow your employees to work without a disadvantage.
It’s important to take these reasonable adjustments into consideration when talking about both mental and physical health to show that they’re equally as important.
4) Encouraging Breaks
Breaks throughout the working day are important to help your brain reset and re-evaluate what you’re doing. Staring at a screen for too long can start to be taxing, so taking time to de-stress is important.
However, taking breaks isn’t just about finding time for yourself during the working day, it’s about making sure you take vacations and mental health days when you need them. Taking time to recover from stressful work is one of the best ways to keep mentally healthy.
5) Keeping the Conversation Open
One of the most important things you can do to this Mental Health Awareness week is keeping the conversation open. Speaking openly about such issues may seem like a daunting task, but encouraging people to be open about their mental health is important in creating a healthy work environment.
Putting effort into creating a work culture where employees feel happy to talk about their mental health is a sign of being a Good Employer.
Looking for some assistance in making sure the well-being of your employees is up to standard?
Our Employee Wellbeing and Managing Stress Policy is a helpful start for you to put some policies and procedures in place or to update your existing policies.
Check it out on our HR Webshop, here, drop us an email at hello@effective-hrm.co.uk or call us on 03300414589 for a chat.