By: Mariam Khan
The world has undergone a drastic change since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. At its peak, we have seen it disrupting the cycle of life that the world has been following for quite a time. Now the human race is adapting to the new world order and adjusting their lives according. Similarly, the business world is coping with the new order along with trying out new strategies to engage with the clients, companies are finding ways to improve the employee’s experience at work to boost productivity.
We live in a society where uncertainty looms over us 24/7. If a person has the job, great! However, if that job is trauma-inducing, then that person will experience unhappiness and unwillingness to work. This situation will incur several mental health problems and loss of productivity. Some organizations reflect on the traumatic experience and try to help the affected employees, but even the workflow is such that toxicity may reoccur. This circumstance may be unintentional, but it equally contributes to low morale, burnout, and loss of productivity.
People who suffer from mental illnesses want to work in the same healthy conditions as everyone else. Ignoring mental health in the workplace results in significant financial losses for businesses and misery for its employees. With data indicating that one out of every four adults suffer from a diagnosable mental illness, it is high time for us to be proactive in our workplace policies.
Employees’ opinions are either neglected or they do not feel compelled to participate in group discussions.
Organizations can also be flexible, by accepting that a member of their staff is going through the pain they can enlist external help to support them during this time. By feeling supported in this way your workforce is more like to come to you when they are going through some sort of adversity and work through it without affecting their professionalism at work. Henceforth to countermeasure all the bad experiences, the workplace must transform a healing organization that involves a new way of workflow. Here’s how organizations can develop that:
Pay close attention to the well-being of your employees. In these difficult times, when firms are laying off workers, your workplace must not be a cause of trauma for them. Provide help to employees who are dealing with stress or mental health issues or take other innovative methods. Provide employees an access to EAPs, which can help them deal with stress-related, emotional, and mental challenges that may impede their productivity at work. In addition to addressing large-scale workplace needs, EAPs can provide free guidance, referrals, and follow-up for employees.
Take feedback from your employees and put careful consideration into it. When employees believe that their concerns are addressed seriously, the work culture improves. Feedback is vital because it assists in the dissolution of unhealthy behaviors, encourages favorable behaviors, and allows teams to work more efficiently toward their objectives.
Encourage participation by valuing each employee’s opinion. Employees’ opinions are either neglected or they do not feel compelled to participate in group discussions. Counter this by taking notes on each employee’s remarks and appreciate the value they bring to the table. Employees that are more involved have a stronger sense of devotion to the company, which drives them to give it their all. Employee involvement has been shown to have positive outcome for both employee and the organization as a whole, including enhanced employee morale and wellness.
Training is an essential element of workplace well-being. Conduct specific training for everyone in the company. The training must be focused at establishing a healing environment and must include junior to senior level staff. Effective training can assist managers in detecting mental health issues among their employees. It can train managers to sensitively guide vulnerable individuals to accessible help, resulting in fewer employees being absent or in crisis.
Refresh your company’s policies. Employees will feel safe and enjoy their work more often because of the new policies that promote a healing workplace environment. These guidelines will not only eliminate traumatic incidents but will also allow for more enjoyable team building activities. These may include employee recognition events, post-work parties and much more.
A great way to start is to develop a mental health and wellbeing policy, but other workplace policies that also need to include mental health include workplace bullying, cultural awareness, discrimination, equal opportunity, return to work, work health and safety (WH&S), fitness for work and harassment.
Everyone has a part to play in making the workplace a healthy place to work, and simple tactics can help. Every workplace is unique, so your approach needs to be adapted to fit your workplace. Begin small and work your way up to acting in numerous areas. Sound policies and procedures that are relevant to your workplace should underpin your strategies and activities.
Employees are an organization’s most valuable asset, and investing in their well-being can promote improved teamwork, higher productivity, and reduced sick leave and workplace accidents.
The writer is the Founder/CEO of MK Coaching and currently working with The Dayspring as Bureau Chief-Washington, DC. She can be reached at [email protected].