Mental health should be managed in the workforce, as conditions like stress and anxiety can negatively affect employees. Mental health problems can affect job performance and lower productivity. Employees may feel less engaged with their work and not communicate well with coworkers and management. They may also experience physical limitations to their daily functioning. 

But HR has the ability to support employees’ mental health through resources and programs within the company. Having a proper plan in place to address these issues can ensure that employees understand the effects of their conditions. It can also help them handle the symptoms appropriately. See the following four tips for prioritizing mental health at work.

1. Provide Access to Mental Health Resources

HR has the ability to provide mental health resources to its employees and develop a culture of health within the workplace. HR can distribute mental health materials to the employees on staff. They can hand out brochures, display flyers, and email videos that provide symptoms of mental health problems. They should also include steps that employees should take toward recovery or options for treatment available through work.

Offering access to mental health rehab from qualified professionals allows employees to seek out help when needed. It’s also important for health insurance options to be mental health friendly, with no or low costs for depression medication and counseling services. 

The human resources department can also host seminars that help employees understand stress management techniques. Workshops that focus on tips like breathing exercises, yoga, meditation, and mindfulness can help employees dealing with stress on the job. These activities help reduce anxiety and can also assist workers with better focus and motivation. 

2. Prioritize Work-Life Balance

Most everyone must work, that’s true. But they don’t need to give up their life for their job. A well-designed work-life balance is important to an employee’s mental health. Salaried employees are putting in more hours at work since the pandemic. Even hourly workers have longer hours due to smaller workforces and decreased staff. 

This slowly destroys the boundaries between your workday and your home life, which in turn deteriorates mental health. It can also lead to physical conditions like increased occupational injuries and hypertension. But HR can set an example for the entire company by following set work hours themselves. They make it clear that employees aren’t required to work late. They don’t have to pick up shifts on their day off. They don’t need to respond to calls and emails outside of work hours.

Offer flexibility to employees. Let them know that you understand that life happens. If they experience problems during the day that require them to leave briefly, trust them to get back to their work when they’re able. Enabling healthy work boundaries gives your colleagues the ability to recharge and feel refreshed. A work-life balance can prevent burnout.

3. Normalize Mental Health Issues

Mental health issues are a large, often-overlooked problem in the workforce. Many people do not get the help they need and their symptoms go untreated. In fact, only 57% of those with moderate depression and 40% of individuals with severe depression receive the help they need. Plus, depression can interfere with both cognitive abilities and physical performance.

How can HR counteract these issues? Make mental health problems acceptable. Even with strides in recent years to normalize depression, anxiety, and other issues, it’s still taboo to admit to mental diseases. Especially in the workforce, where one may fear repercussions for mental illness. Train management to better understand these issues so they are able to interact professionally with employees experiencing symptoms.

HR management should speak freely about mental conditions, reassuring employees that just like physical illness, depression occurs. It is not a sign of weakness, nor reason to be let go of a job. Let employees know that they can receive assistance to perform their jobs to the best of their abilities. This may include paid personal time off for mental health, extended deadlines, and similar help. Create quiet spaces for relaxation and restoration when employees feel overwhelmed or stressed. Employees will appreciate when leadership understands their condition.

4. Address Inappropriate Behavior

It’s unfortunate, but sometimes employees behave badly. It can interfere with coworkers’ stress levels and happiness in the workplace. Whether it’s someone making inappropriate comments or advances or someone who treats others without respect, it must be stopped. And stopped immediately. 

Be clear about the company’s expectations from day one. Put it in writing. Share a video. Have a face-to-face discussion. Or do all three. Reiterate the importance of behavioral expectations within the company and explain what happens if it is not adhered to. No one is exempt from these rules. Not even management. 

When inappropriate behavior is reported, begin an investigation immediately. Harassment should be taken seriously and quick action shows employees that you mean business. It demonstrates that the safety and health of each and every employee is important. Working in an environment with harassment can cause undue stress and make employees dread coming into work. It also lowers productivity and can add to an individual’s anxiety or depression symptoms. Addressing these behavioral issues will benefit individual employees and the company as a whole. 

Be the Change

Prioritizing mental health care is an important step for any HR department. Improving mental health will continue to be a necessary part of a company’s responsibilities in the years to come. And it is beneficial for them to focus on making mental health take precedence in the workforce. 

Employees are more engaged and productive when they feel that their needs are being met. Normalizing mental health issues and providing media on steps to improve their symptoms can help workers feel valued and respected. Manage mental health issues in your company and you’ll see happier, healthier employees. 

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