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Mental health awareness has increased in recent years with organizations understanding its importance. Protecting emotional health and offering mental wellness support in the office are now considered to be priorities instead of a privilege.
Stressors in offices and workplaces along with those in personal life make mental health an important aspect of the working conditions.
Emotional well-being is not just the absence of mental illness but the availability of conditions that enable individuals to work productively, manage stress, contribute to society, and achieve their personal and professional goals.
The physical well-being of employees has been receiving much attention in the past decades, but the focus on mental health is only gaining ground of late. Companies and organizations are geared toward earning high profits by increasing the productivity of employees. In maximizing efficiency, the hidden cost is stress, depression, and burnout emerging as chronic work-related issues.
How Does the Workplace Affect Mental Health?
The communication style of those in the upper management can have a large impact on employees' mental health. Transparent and timely communication decreases stress and builds trust and commitment. On the other hand, inconsistency and arrogance leads to loss of morale and consequently anxiety in the workforce. Channels of communication among peers should be respectful and nondiscriminatory.
A major contributor to anxiety is the lack of job security. A person's job is the means to earn enough to pay their bills and build their future. If they feel like they could lose their jobs at any given time, employees undergo a significant strain on their mental well-being.
With increasing competition and the expectation of higher profits, businesses expect their employees to push hard and show peak performance. It became starker during the pandemic-induced work-from-home working style. As a result, employees face emotional, cognitive, physical, and mental burnout.
Intent for the improved mental health of employees should be followed up with appropriate initiatives. Companies often fail to put in place appropriate mechanisms in the workflow and in the execution of specific interventional programs. In organizations that do not identify and address issues promptly, employees can end up feeling demotivated and overwhelmed.
When the working environment, both physical and intangible, is not safe, employees either fear or lack motivation to turn up. The result is poor productivity, high absenteeism, and unnecessary breakdown. If unchecked, it could lead to aggravation of mental conditions.
Metal Health Tips for the Workplace
Employees who are faced with mental health challenges at work can follow a few techniques both within and outside of their office that will help in improving their situation.
1. Mindfulness has been shown to have several mental health benefits, and it can help those struggling with stressors at work. Paying attention to the present intentionally allows individuals to stop obsessing over the past or worrying about the future, and focus on controlling the present. It allows them to better manage their emotions and can be practiced in a number of ways including yoga, breathing exercises, and meditation.
2. Comparison is often called the thief of joy and individuals struggling due to their workplace need to stop comparing themselves with their co-workers. Negative comparisons lead to poor self-esteem and feeling of inadequacy. People are better off focusing on their abilities and striving to be better with each day.
3. Practicing gratitude is an underrated tool for mental health as it has positive effects on stress, anxiety, and depression. It lets people develop acceptance of the present and reasonable expectation about the future.
4. Stressors are practically an unavoidable part of worklife as employees often have very little say over the amount of work and the deadlines by which they should be completed. Individuals who are struggling due to the work requirements should seek help for coping strategies.
Such strategies allow individuals to be prepared to deal with various stressors. Some examples of effective coping strategies are prioritization of tasks, delegation, time management, deep breathing, journaling, and using positive self-talk.
5. Effectively using breaks to practice self-care and visualization instead of negative habits like gossiping, playing office politics, etc. will provide the emotional strength to get through the work day confidently. Listening to a soothing playlist using earphones, taking time to move your body, practicing meditation for short periods of time, and praticing gratitude are some useful activities for break time.
6. Learning something new adds new information and skills and enhances self-confidence in staying ahead in the profession. By constantly acquiring new skills, employee efficiency increases, which enhances their self-esteem and provides purpose and a sense of direction to their career. This allows individuals to feel better about themselves and increases their value to their organization.
7. Physical health and mental health are closely linked to each other, and those looking to improve one can start with the other. Even though most work nowadays involves sitting in one place for multiple hours staring at a screen, building and maintaining a healthy body are still very important. Individuals should commit to a healthier lifestyle consisting of a nutritious diet, regular exercise, and getting enough sleep on a regular basis.
Conclusion
Offices and work by nature can cause a lot of stress and anxiety as well as other mental health issues. Employees losing interest in their work, turning in lower performance, high employee turnover, and poor decision-making are some consequences of poor mental condition due to office pressure.
Yet there are things that working individuals can do that will allow them to stay on top of their mental health challenges and flourish at work. Those who still find it difficult to overcome these challenges should look for professional help.
Steve Verghese is a trained psychologist with an MSc in Counseling Psychology from the Indian Institute of Psychology and Research.
