The importance of mental health has been recognized in recent years. The taboo of mental health has slowly shifted and people from all walks of life are now more open with their struggles.

Mental health issues are more common than we realize. One in five adults experience some form of mental health problem, which affects their lives in many ways if not treated.

Mental health issues can impact an individual’s productivity in the workplace too. For example, anxiety and depression can lead to lower productivity, increased absenteeism, and more sick days since mental health can transpire into physical symptoms.

It is therefore, essential for employers to recognize the importance of mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. Here are some ways employers can ensure better mental health among their employees:

Offer courses

To be an effective leader you need to promote a supportive environment within the company. Upper management and anyone in a position of leadership within the organization should have mental health and wellbeing training. This allows managers and directors to handle situations better and recognize when mental health is coming in the way of productivity.

Allow mental health days

Every employee deals with a varying level of stress. While some are better at handling it, others might feel incredibly overwhelmed with everything going on, leading to burnout. Such employees require a mental health day to recover and rest in order to experience some stress relief.

As an organization, be supportive of psychological issues so that workers don’t feel guilty for taking time off. Taking a mental health day will only benefit the organization, as your employees will come back to work feeling rejuvenated.

Alongside mental health days, make sure employees aren’t overworked to the point where they resent coming to work each day. Mental health days won’t really make a difference if they come back to more work and tough deadlines.

Encourage employees to get the help they need

While more people are now talking about mental health struggles, people are still apprehensive of visiting mental health experts. There’s a fear of being judged, while others find it difficult to talk about their problems.

As an organization, you need to be more open about such issues. Provide employees with the resources needed so that they can identify that they need help. These resources should also include the names and numbers of professionals they can visit or speak to. Allow them time off to meet mental health specialists.

Metro Safety Training is a leading institute that offers occupational first aid training courses in Surrey. Our other courses include Red Cross basic life support training and fall protection inspection training. We combine classroom learning with practical training to reinforce concepts and improve skills.

For more information, call 604-521-4227.