This Mental Health Action Day, we are encouraged to find ways of promoting the mental health and emotional wellbeing of our communities. For many of us, an important place where mental health discussions are often left out is the workplace; that’s why we are sharing the following guide that outlines ways in which the workplace can be empowered to promote mental health and create a positive environment for coworkers and employees. Read on to learn more.

Health and Safety Guidelines

A healthy workplace environment starts with establishing, implementing and enforcing clear health and safety policies and practices. These guidelines can help your workplace properly address prevention, early identification, support, and rehabilitation for things like distress, burnout, and other mental health concerns. It’s also important to establish rules prohibiting harassment and bullying, a process for investigating complaints, and consequences for violations.

Reducing the Stigma

When we normalize talking about mental health within the workplace, we help reduce the harmful stigma often associated with mental health topics. Workplaces whose leaders and employees have been open about their own mental health concerns and experiences have had success in creating an environment where employees feel empowered and safe to share their own experiences.

Mental Health Training

Empowering a workplace leadership team with the tools, resources, knowledge, and skills they need to successfully respond to mental health concerns and create a positive work environment can go a long way in improving the mental health of their employes. This type of training covers a variety of topics such as recognizing and responding to warning signs, creating an environment that encourages open and honest communication, and identifying and preventing potential workplace-related emotional triggers.

Positive Work Environments

Fostering an inclusive and positive work environment can minimize work-related stress and support a mentally healthy workforce. Simple steps such as recognizing and rewarding employees for their contributions to the company, encouraging others to take advantage of their paid personal and vacation time to combat burnout, and welcoming everyone to contribute ideas, provide feedback, and take part in decision-making processes related to their work, can make a big difference in any work environment.

Rethinking Job Roles

The types and distribution of responsibilities assigned to employees can also impact workplace mental health. Employees tasked with too much may feel overwhelmed, while those who find their work too monotonous or boring may become restless or feel as if they don’t have value. Conducting an audit of your workplace’s current job descriptions, and identifying positions that could benefit from increased or decreased responsibilities, can improve the overall balance of a workplace.

Offering Greater Flexibility

Rigidity can have a negative impact on workplace mental health by increasing stress on your team. Finding ways to make employment more flexible can lead to big improvements in a work environment. This can range from making internal deadlines for projects more flexible or prohibiting after-hours work emails, to modifying certain positions to fit employees’ preferred working style, to offering more opportunities for employees to work away from their desks or even from home.