Promoting Mental Health in the Workplace

Mental health is as complex, and unique as each individual. Therefore, there’s no ‘one size fits all’ approach to promoting mental health strategies. Add to that the uniqueness of every workplace, with larger workplaces having more complicated communication and management streams.

Why is it important to consider mental health in the workplace? Our mental health has impacts on:

How we feel about our work and how we function at work (as well as outside of work)
Our resilience and adaptability when under situations of increased stress/pressure/demand (even in the face of small or brief incidences)
Motivation, engagement, productivity and focus
Feelings of generalised stress (at work and home)
The sense of fulfilment and enjoyment we attain from our work

In a general sense (i.e. in the workplace, as well as within our personal relationships and wider community), promoting better mental health is much more effective when everyone is involved. It can’t be overlooked that everyone has the potential to impact upon another's mental health, whether positively or negatively, through both direct and indirect behaviours. This is why it is important for everyone in the workplace to adopt a "do no harm" mentality - meaning that each team member functions in a way that is mindful and acknowledges that we are all capable of doing harm to one another, both physically and psychologically, whether intentional or not. In the same way, we are also capable of easing each other's load and stress, both physically and psychologically. This can be done directly and indirectly. For example, directly offering support and help when we see that someone needs it, and indirectly, by doing things that you might not consider your job, but would be helpful in lightening someone else’s load.

Below are a few benefits of sharing:

When we share (good or bad experiences, responsibilities, workloads, ideas etc) - we increase our connectedness and trust, improve feelings of autonomy/ownership over our role, and our sense of belonging and security within our position. This is very important in reducing our survival (stress) reaction. (More on this here.)
Sharing eases the burden felt by an individual, and can help them to feel valued, and less isolated.
Sharing opens the opportunity to make adjustments for everyone to be better supported.

Communication is key! In order for people to be able to communicate their stresses and needs, they need to feel that it's safe to do so; that they won't be judged (e.g. made to feel like their issue is a minor/stupid), rejected, or treated differently (in a negative way) as a result. Also, the more understanding that we have of each other and our triggers, the better positioned we all are to notice and respond in helpful ways without necessarily waiting for issues to be raised, or help to be requested. Perhaps even acting before things even become an issue.

Some basic things to help others feel safe to share include:

Listening non-judgmentally
Empathising: acknowledging that their experience is a difficult one
Validating: acknowledging their struggles and helping them to feel heard and understood
Self-disclosure: reducing the stigma attached by sharing our own experiences
Be respectful of each individual’s perspective - it may differ from yours, but by denying someone else’s view, you’ll be discouraging them from opening up in the future and cause them to feel more isolated
Be reassuring and remind them of their strengths/achievements

I’m not saying that we need to take responsibility for another person’s mental health, but to be mindful of how we impact upon one another, and be aware of when someone is struggling. It can be as simple as checking-in with them, and either offering an ear or suggesting that they seek additional support services (see list below). It can also be helpful for that conversation to be followed up with the individual via another check-in over the next few days. Never underestimate the impact of feeling thought of and cared about!

We all need to feel valued and worthy of acknowledgement and consideration, and an easy way to do that is to simply say ‘thank you’ to each other for anything that we’re appreciative of. Feeling valued also helps with feelings of worth, belonging and security. It’s an easy way to boost someone’s mood, and to lift some of the weight that we all get bogged down with at times (think COVID-19, and all of its associated complications), while also adding to a sense of connection and acknowledgment. Plus, we all want to feel that we’re not taken for granted!

Of course, mental health isn’t confined to the workplace, there is often a cross-over between issues occurring outside and within the workplace setting. Hence, it’s important that all staff work together to create a supportive environment. It is also important to be aware that issues can move in cycles - our resilience and ability to respond, rather than react, can be reduced due to internal or external factors/stressors (cue lockdown). Therefore, there may be times when each of us requires extra support and consideration.

Awareness also needs to be given to the flow-on effects that may occur when someone isn’t as able to apply themselves. This can have direct impacts on other employees, or the general operations of the workplace. This brings us back to the importance of communication, and the need to share with others when we become aware that we are feeling stretched to our functional limits. This communication allows for increased support measures, and prevention of further issues arising.

The importance of setting boundaries:

In this world of constant transitions between “normal” and varying levels of lockdown, it’s easy for boundary lines between work and home life to become blurred. This is where it’s important to set and negotiate boundaries - with yourself as much as others, including your workplace. The analogy of fitting your oxygen mask before helping others with theirs is certainly timely at present. In order to be able to do all of the things that life demands, and to be there for others, you first need to take care of yourself so that you have your internal resources, health, energy and resilience available for you to respond to those external callings.

Consider this an opportunity to implement measures in your workplace that empower everyone to have a say about areas that need to and/or can be changed, or improved, in order to reduce the factors that have (or have the potential to) cause mental health issues to arise. Opening up this line of communication allows for better understanding and connection, as well as the possibility for improving how everyone feels and functions at work. There may not be a perfect solution for every item raised, but sometimes voicing and having our concerns heard can be enough to help ease the impacts. Even just making others aware of something that triggers you can help to change behaviours - whether certain behaviours can be altered, or additional supportive behaviours employed.

This is NOT about finger-pointing or casting blame, but about coming together

as a supportive team, and focusing more on solutions, less on the problems.

Remember it’s okay not to be okay! Admitting that you’re struggling is not a

sign of weakness - it’s necessary in order to address the situation, and to move forward.

We ALL have times when we struggle and require more support. That’s part of the human experience.

Self-care tips and resources:

It can be helpful to monitor your self-talk and reflect upon this, as well as your behaviours (habitual routines, reactions and tendencies) in order to better understand where you're at, your triggers and what might be the underlying cause of these triggers. It may take some digging, but the better you understand yourself, the better able you are to attend to your needs, and address any underlying issues. Also, cultivating an improved understanding of yourself can help with better understanding others. This can help you to be more compassionate, and less likely to take it personally when someone is short with you.

When experiencing “negative” thoughts/emotions it can be helpful to reframe how we perceive it. For example, rather than “I am overwhelmed”, try “I am feeling overwhelmed in this moment”. This helps to create distance between yourself and the experience, helping your mind to see it as a temporary/passing experience, rather than who/what you are.