The sixth annual survey conducted by Headspace on workforce state of mind reveals that 77% of employees experienced negative impacts on physical health and emotional well-being due to work stress.
These days, it’s a common problem for most employees to find that work stress slowly seeps into their personal lives and influences their relationships. The worst thing is that stressed and tense employees start taking holidays, get less committed to work, or show lower engagement, ultimately hurting the bottom line. It proves expensive for organizations when employees take leaves or fail to perform at peak efficiency.
Organizations need to take care of employees’ emotional well-being, as it affects productivity and outcomes. Preventing work-related mental health conditions helps manage psycho-social risks at the workplace. So, organizations are taking different initiatives and moving strategically to strike a delicate balance and improve employees’ mental health conditions.
Organizations committed to enhancing employees’ emotional health use these practical ways to create a difference. Consider these efforts to attract and retain top talent.
Rather than relying on outside experts to promote emotional well-being, it’s better to consider internal champions as organizational leaders or managers. Managers or supervisors who are in direct contact with employees can help create and sustain work policies that enable a supportive environment.
Training managers on employee wellness helps them identify stress or workload issues in employees and provide the required support to prevent absenteeism and minimize turnover. It also ensures that employees can create a work-life balance that improves their performance and satisfaction.
The latest pandemic has brought major changes in employees’ work preferences. Return-to-office mandates won’t work anymore in the age of remote working. Nowadays, employees want a flexible work environment and complete control over where and when they work. Enabling hybrid, remote, or in-office working options gives employees greater power, boosting their productivity.
Prioritizing flexible work schedules and remote meetings in some circumstances and based on roles are reasonable options for organizations and greater job satisfaction for employees.
When organizations listen to and consider employees’ voices when making strategic decisions, employees feel valued and stay motivated. Organizations should conduct surveys to collect employees’ feedback and then share the positive changes made based on the input provided. Psychologically, this keeps the employees emotionally high.
Supportive and optimistic messages or emails from managers or the CEO also matter a lot to the employees. They engage them and improve their commitment to organizational work. Communicating empathy is a good way to keep the employees in a good mood.
Discrimination, inequity, and disability stress employees at the workplace and even cause them to leave the job. That’s why providing a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment is essential to creating a healthy workplace and keeping employees mentally sound. Organizations with diverse workforces perform better and tend to be more productive.
Also, review policies and recruitment practices that support diversity, including LGBTQ, color, race, and people with disabilities. It helps achieve DEI goals, and diverse experiences will bring success to the organizations.
Every employee experiences issues at work. Sometimes, employees are achievers, and later, they become anxious. It’s the organizational workplace culture and environment that keep the employees motivated, work to perfection, and maintain work-life balance. These strategic approaches help employees get the time and support they need, which ultimately boosts productivity.
Mental health affects productivity, engagement, and overall job satisfaction. A healthy work environment reduces stress, absenteeism, and turnover while improving employee well-being.
Managers can encourage open communication, provide flexibility, recognize workload challenges, and implement wellness programs to support employees' mental health.
A diverse and inclusive workplace fosters innovation, improves employee morale, and enhances productivity by ensuring every employee feels valued and respected.
Flexible work options, such as remote or hybrid setups, allow employees to manage work-life balance better, reduce stress, and increase job satisfaction.
