Building A Mentally Healthy Workplace

Today, technology & traditional companies are offering their employees yoga rooms, nap pods, and on-site massage therapy. Even if your company doesn’t have the resources of Google or Facebook, paying more attention to your team’s mental health can pay a healthy dividend.

Employee health and wellness is critical to retain and increase productivity. Nap pods and professional masseurs are not required! Many company leaders are working to identify the needs and promote the health of their teams.

WHY INVEST IN WELLNESS?

The return on investment is clear. Dollars spent building a healthy work environment reap significant rewards. Offering a wellness program says, “We care about you, your health and happiness.” This makes each employee feel more valued and motivated!

According to the American Psychological Association, psychologically healthy workplaces experience 26% less turnover compared to the national average. Lower turnover saves companies significant dollars in recruiting costs. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the world’s largest HR professional society, estimates that every time a business replaces a salaried employee, it costs an average of six to nine months’ salary. This equates to $20,000 to $30,000 to replace an employee making $40,000 a year.

Employees whose wellness is supported by their employers also tend to make healthier lifestyle choices, which positively impacts their productivity. They outperform their unsupported counterparts more than 80% of the time. For example, employees who do not exercise are 50% more likely to under perform at work according to research by Population Health Management journal.

THREE BEST PRACTICES TO ESTABLISH A MENTALLY HEALTHY WORKPLACE

Foster the right mindset. Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn. Celebrate the successes along the way, and when the team has a dip in performance, focus on what they learned from these challenges. Instead of saying “Here’s why we didn’t meet last month’s goal,” change the conversation to, “Here’s what we learned last month that will help us achieve this month’s goal.”

Lead by example. Participate! To have top performers focus on what will bring the highest ROI, their managers should talk to them about how exactly they aim to achieve that goal. When a leader feels and thinks positively, the team will follow, and the rewards will create a cycle of positive results.

Provide recognition. When a manager recognizes an employee for their performance, that employee typically yields a spike in performance. For many, recognition can be a more powerful motivator than money.

Employee thrive in environments in which they feel valued and cared for. Although it’s not always easy for employers to recognize the ways work culture can contribute to poor emotional health. Avoid the pitfalls such as “rewarding” top-performers with an ever-increasing stress-inducing workload and letting negative team members demotivate their colleagues.

For our team, we have each branch competing in a wellness challenge where the branch with the most steps collectively will receive a healthy lunch. This program is helping us promote exercise and provides an opportunity for fellowship and teamwork.