Mental health and the Workplace – Awareness is Key
12 July 2019
Mental health issues costs £2.4 billion each year
mind.org.uk , an English and welsh mental health charity has found that stress and mental health problems in the workplace are the second biggest cause of sickness and absence from work. In England and Wales they have calculated the lost working days and staff turnover due to mental health issues costs £2.4 billion each year. Staff retention is a key goal of all businesses given the cost and time it takes to onboard a new employee and the cost of lost knowledge and relationships with clients and stakeholders resulting from the staff leaving.
Gender, age and other factors are not necessarily key indicators.
Stress at work is a major factor in individuals well being. Living a hectic life balancing work and home commitments is an everyday reality for many working people especially women and more particularly mothers in the workforce. Gender, age and other factors are not necessarily key indicators however and all individuals have unique circumstances that raise their stress levels.
Wellbeing is in fact unique to each individual. Companies that recognize this and cater to an individual,s diverse needs create better working environments. It has been proven that a place of work that values your wellbeing is seen as a more attractive place to work and leads to better staff retention and engagement.
People are the most important factor that create success in an organization.
So what are the wellness issues that might impact on an individual?
- it may be flexible working hours or
- access to support services such as health lifestyle advise or
- financial well being checks.
- other ideas include provision of gym passes or facilities,
- access to personal training advice and free healthy snacks.
There are many ways to help an individual feel well on the workplace and also be able to take the benefits into their home life.
The Global Wellness Institute recognises in its “Future of Wellness at Work Survey” that catering to the individuals needs is crucial.
There is no one size fits all in well-being, but empowering an individual to live a wholehearted life ensures improved performance and productivity. After all the opposite of wholeheartedness is half hearted ness and wants a half hearted performance? Wellness of the individual will reap benefits to an organisation.
To provide a better working environment by providing for the wellness of each employee need not be an onerous task. It all starts with awareness and implementing sensible policies to avoid the obvious such as bullying in the workplace and providing options that meet needs.
Online training provides an accessible and affordable way to initiate the process of awareness
It provides training in many aspects of a wellness programme. It can range from anti bullying courses to stress awareness and a whole range of other activities. Many courses not only promote good work practice but are useful in everyday life. Manual handling, pediatric first aid, coping with stress all reach into all aspects of or home and work life.
Be well and live a wholehearted life should be the mantra for everyone as the benefits accrue not just to the individual but to their organizations family and friends.