Earlier this month our Founder, Amy Bakay, participated in a panel discussion for the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce’s Educational Series. The March topic was focused on Mental Health in the Workplace; a subject getting more attention today than ever before. The panel brought together perspectives from both a human resources and clinical viewpoint. One thing is certain, workplace wellness must be a top priority for employers today.
Open Communication Is Key
It’s important that mental health is discussed in the workplace, and not ignored. Creating a safe space for employees at all levels to communicate openly about mental wellness without discrimination is crucial. Without this, you risk losing out on valuable feedback that could help you retain top talent.
Wellness Benefits Your Bottom Line
All areas of wellness including mental, social, emotional, physical, and financial wellness contribute to our ability to cope with stress at home and work. Workplaces with poor health and safety policies may decrease employee mental health, lose staff, risk prosecution, and reduce profitability. Conversely, positive mental health at work helps teams remain agile when changing roles and responsibilities, not to mention facing difficult challenges. By helping your employees with mental health, they can flourish in their roles and boost resilience.
Think about this:
Consider the connection between your own mental health and your performance. When you feel good mentally and emotionally, you approach your job with positive mental health. You’re adaptable, flexible, and durable. You can handle challenges. Your contributions to your team are meaningful, and you succeed in your personal and professional life. But when you’re struggling with poor mental health at work, even if it isn’t extreme, it negatively affects your job in many ways.
Steps Employers Must Take
The most vital action an employer can take is to offer resources for both broader mental health and those who need clinical services. Most of your workers probably don’t need clinical care — they need mental health support, and more support at work. Strengthening their overall mental fitness is important for them to be both happy individuals, but also productive contributors to your team.
The panel agreed that the emotional and mental well-being of our employees is important in our work environment for many reasons; ultimately mental health and human performance go hand-in-hand. When the focus is on both, employees can thrive!
Supporting your employees is what we do best. Need help with your HR goals? Contact us today!
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