Defining what is good mental health?

Good mental health is a state of well-being in which a person can cope with the normal stresses of life, be productive and contribute to the community. Having good mental health is essential for functioning as an individual, as an employee and as part of a community.

As a business, it is key to encourage a dialogue and support system for employees’ mental health. Also to help reduce stigma and increase awareness to ensure employee well-being.

Mental Health and the cost to your business

Mental health issues such as stress, anxiety and depression, are all top concerns in employee health surveys and are the leading causes of workplace absenteeism.

Even moderate depressive or anxiety symptoms can influence an employee’s performance and productivity. Most employees agree that their mental and personal problems spill over into their work lives and have had a direct impact on their performance. Therefore, it is in a business’s best interest to address mental health and include it in a well-being programme.

Most mental illnesses are highly treatable. However, untouched mental illness can escalate and costs businesses, in the form of increased absenteeism, work deficiency and on-site injuries.

Encouraging effective treatment and offering support resources can save costs for businesses and improve the quality of life for their employees.

6 Ways to Address Mental Health in Your Business

Businesses that support the treatment of mental illnesses will gain a wide variety of workplace benefits; including improved employee engagement and well-being, higher productivity, better cost control, greater employee loyalty and an overall healthier workplace.

Businesses can do lots to promote integrated mental and physical health by adopting supportive workplaces that inspire self-screening and help with connecting employees to proper support resources.

You could consider the following options:

• Provide resources and communication about mental health and mental illnesses, which includes suicide prevention, trauma and health promotion through brochures, fact sheets and online resources.
• Encourage the use of telephone help lines and digital services that employees can speak to in confidence.
• Offer a variety of mental health presentations and trainings for employees with an emphasis on prevention, treatment and recovery.
• Offer presentations on topics covering conflict resolution, managing multiple priorities, project planning, and personal finance planning and parenting.
• Educate managers on how to recognising mental health, and how to address mental health issues.
• Offer an Employee Assistance Programme, which includes access to online resources and telephone helplines they can use in confidence.

Investing in Your staff, is Investing in Your Business

Businesses often overlook investing in its employee’s mental health, but a happy work force is a more productive and more loyal work force. Therefore, investing in your employee’s mental health and well-being may not always be your first place you think about when putting more time and money into your business. However, with this becoming a growing threat to many businesses and many experts such as Oxford University showing a happy work force is a more productive workforce. Can you afford, not to invest in your employees’ mental health?

For more information about your employee’s mental health, and how we can help. Give us a call today to discuss our library of resources that are available free and your business insurance needs.