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Combating Workplace Negativity with Mental Health Benefits

By: Benefits by Design | Tuesday September 3, 2024

This is a guest blog post by Ainsley Lawrence – content writer.

Have you checked in with your employees lately? Research shows us that around 1 in 5 Canadians function with a diagnosable mental illness in any given year. With increased financial uncertainty, political turmoil, and the pandemic still in our rearview mirror, we live in times that are almost certain to worsen feelings of anxiety and distress.

As a leader in your organization, there’s only so much you can do to address such a large-scale issue; yet, you’re also aware that if your employees’ mental illnesses aren’t treated, the resulting effects can debilitate their performance and general health. You also know that mental health concerns can create workplace negativity, resulting in toxic behaviors that impact employee morale. Employers have the ability and responsibility to positively impact their employees’ mental health, as recognized by the Canadian government.

So what can you do to manage your employees’ well-being, while also making your workplace healthier as a whole?

Building Positive Mental Health Into Processes

The first positive change you can effect to combat workplace negativity is to consider how positive mental health measures can be woven into your day-to-day processes. From walking through the office doors to sitting at the cubicle and beyond, little shifts in the status quo can help provide much-needed mental health support.

Try:

Re-evaluating your onboarding process:

Onboarding is key to making employees feel as though they’re welcome and positioning them for success. Offer clear instructions and training modules throughout employee onboarding, and seek to integrate new hires thoroughly within the community. Assigning them a “buddy” to introduce them to the culture, organizing team-building activities, and creating open forums for discussion and questions are great ways to make employees feel connected from day one.

Encourage physical activity:

Cubicles don’t typically have windows, and sedentarily absorbing the dull glow of a computer screen for hours is not typically considered healthy. Encourage your employees to take time to go outside daily, even for just a short time. If you have walking paths near your complex, encourage them to use them on their lunch breaks; alternatively, you can provide your employees with standing desks, giving them room in their cubicles to stretch their legs periodically.

Present employees with flexible working options:

Sometimes, your employees have a lot going on in their personal lives, and it’s hard to commute to the office and still get business taken care of. Offering a hybrid work option can allow your workers to get the best of both worlds – they can achieve better work-life balance and socialize with their peers in the office and bond accordingly. If you have a flexible work policy, it also allows them to take time to invest in their physical and mental wellness on their own schedules. Just make sure that you provide support, including good communication channels, to help your employees thrive both in and out of the office.

These measures encourage employees to view their workplace less as a place where one just earns a paycheck, and more as a healthy, thriving community that recognizes the value of self-care. By encouraging employees to take care of themselves and partake in the culture, you’re likely to drive up retention and employee satisfaction overall.

Providing Resources

Workplace negativity can spread slowly, and the signs can be hard to read. However, you can also take steps to provide additional resources to those who are struggling. People aren’t likely to come out and admit they’re going through a rough patch, so making these resources both widely available and immediately accessible is your best bet to make sure your employees who need them, use them.

You can:

Offer personalized training sessions:

If a particular employee is struggling to fit in or gel with the culture, you can reach out to them quietly and offer one-on-one training sessions. These training sessions will teach said employees how to connect with their coworkers, provide insight into personal and professional boundaries, and empower them to build stronger, healthier workplace relationships.

Provide access to counseling services:

Create or fund a portal through your company site that allows every employee quick access to the wide range of mental health services provided by your group insurance. Positioning these resources in a centralized location and making it easy to navigate will make it more likely that employees take advantage of them.

Take regular breaks:

The mind doesn’t work at its best 100% of the time, and it’s impossible to always proceed at full speed and produce quality work. Encourage your employees to take regular breaks, chat with their co-workers, and venture into community areas like break rooms.

Mental illness is a serious issue, both inside and outside the workplace. But with the above tips and tricks, you’ll be able to mitigate the negative effects of poor mental health and create a happier, healthier work environment free of workplace negativity.