Prioritize and support the well-being of your employees and their mental health
American employees are struggling with mental health issues.
Dozens of studies back up this statement. A few examples include:
- The latest American Psychological Association (APA) Stress in America poll shows nearly two thirds of adults report feeling their mental health has declined since the COVID-19 pandemic.
- In this 2022 Mental Health in the Workplace survey, 92.6% of those surveyed report having personally experienced a mental health challenge that impacted their work.
- Insights from 4 million+ Calm subscribers and a survey of 2000+ members indicate workplace stress is the top driver of mental health needs with 42% saying challenges at work drives their use of the sleep and meditation apps.
With fast-paced work environments, remote work and the struggle to maintain work-life balance creating new stressors, it’s essential for employers to support the mental health of employees to avoid burnout and feelings of disconnect. By proactively addressing mental health, companies can reduce stress, boost morale, and improve performance. Failing to do so will cost your company. The APA found that “employees with high levels of stress are more likely to miss work or to show lower engagement and commitment while at work,” with one study finding that job stress could cost companies as much as $187 billion nationwide.
The bottom line? When employees are happy and healthy, businesses benefit, and it’s the right thing to for your workforce.
We know that mental health is an important topic and have incorporated improving and protecting it into our core business priorities. Even with that commitment, getting it right 100% of the time is a challenge. We want to see ag businesses flourish, so we’re sharing what has helped keep our team members healthy and productive, along with recommendations from experts from across industries.
ENCOURAGING EMPLOYEES TO FIND AND MAINTAIN A WORK-LIFE BALANCE CAN HELP PROACTIVELY AVOID BURNOUT
- Make sure employees utilize their PTO hours: Our leadership actively advocate for employees to use at least half their vacation days by August. This lets employees know that they are supported in investing time into themselves. It also ensures that vacation days don’t go unused, due to employees not being able to take it all at the end of the year.
- Model healthy behaviors: Push all employees, especially your leadership team, to take vacation seriously as well. This models healthy behaviors for the rest of the workforce and shows them that it is promoted from the top-down.
- Give ownership of schedule/flexibility: We allow employees to have some amount of flexibility over their schedules so that they can juggle work/life responsibilities with less stress. A 2021 APA survey found that “34% of employees say that flexible hours would help their mental health” and “an individual’s sense of autonomy has been shown, for example, to increase their motivation and performance.”
- Recommend regular breaks: Encourage employees to take regular breaks for their mental health. More employees are working past the usual 9-5 hours or put in extra overtime, which leads to burnout. We encourage our team members to take regular breaks and use that time to get away from their computers, whether that is for a walk or to run an errand. This helps prevent your team members from extending themselves by over working or feeling that they can’t incorporate a strong work/life balance. According to the Harvard Business Review, this isn’t about "lowering standards" but allowing flexibility to help your team thrive.
PROVIDE MENTAL HEALTH TRAINING
- Include in benefits: Consider incorporating benefits that help foster better mental health. These can include discounts or stipends for gyms or wellness programs. Encourage employees to take advantage of these benefits and engage in activities that help support their mental health.
- Communicate about offerings available outside of the office: In addition, you can make employees aware of different offerings outside of their employee benefits. We share tips on resources from local and national organizations, such as webinars through the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI), or social/viral challenges that raise awareness for mental health, such as the L. Bean Feel-Good Challenge. We highlight these during all staff meetings and encourage employees to take advantage of them.
- Train managers to promote: Preparing managers to promote and support mental health helps create a more positive work environment and healthier work relationships among employees. We encourage employees to reach out to managers if they are having hard days or their mental health is suffering. Having managers trained to respond positively is key in ensuring your team is supported and helping employees access necessary or needed resources.
CREATE A POSITIVE WORK ENVIRONMENT AND HAVE OPEN COMMUNICATION
- Create an inclusive and positive environment: Toxic environments where employees feel excluded can create havoc on their mental health, leading to good employees leaving. Creating diverse, positive, and supportive work environments where employees feel included and safe can contribute to job satisfaction and minimize stress, according to the APA. Encouraging team building activities or congratulating employees on achievements can help foster a sense of inclusion. We encourage employees to take time at the beginning of internal calls to check in with others to help create a sense of connectedness. We also have a Microsoft Teams message channel where our employees can praise each other’s achievements or give shout outs, encouraging a positive professional environment.
- Communicate and set expectations with employees: Be open and communicate often with employees to let them know that speaking up and taking care of their mental health is something the company supports and prioritizes. We encourage our team members to reach out and let others know how they are feeling. For us, it can be as simple as a message that it’s a red day, meaning it’s a tough day.
- Listen to feedback from employees: In addition to constant communication from leadership, be sure to allow feedback from employees. Give them a space to communicate what is or is not working positively for their mental health, and be receptive to adjustments that facilitate a more supportive environment. This can happen during one-on-one meetings with managers or even anonymous surveys.
Whatever approach you take, be sure it includes ongoing, consistent conversation and regular check-ins with teams across your organization. Don’t treat mental health support as a quarterly or yearly task. Treat as a 365-day approach to well-being. Doing so creates inclusive practices and safe spaces that help ensure employees feel supported to work on healthy mental health behaviors. When employees feel connected their job satisfaction improves. And that’s a win-win for everyone.
Along with a strong mental health support program, diverse viewpoints, experiences and perspectives can help our companies grow stronger and thrive. See how a clearly articulated and document DEI strategy to bring diversity can help your company foster satisfaction and strengthen your organization.
Interested in learning more? Contact us to understand how we can help you accomplish your goals.