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While you should be supporting your employees’ mental health every month, Mental Wellness Month is an ideal time to reevaluate your efforts and try new initiatives to support your employees. If you want to run a successful business, your employees need to feel cared for and supported. The best work comes from people who are motivated and feel good on the inside.
To learn more about the different ways you can help your employees during mental wellness month, keep reading!
What Is Mental Wellness Month?
Mental Wellness Month comes during the month of May each year. It brings attention to basic needs that should be met in order to maintain a person’s well-being. When you run a business, you need to stay on top of your employees’ mental wellness to maintain productivity and morale.
“Mental health is a critical conversation in the workplace—particularly from leaders. It must start at the top because it affects so many people,” says Emma McIlroy, CEO and co-founder of Wildfang.
If your employees are unhappy because of your lack of support, then you will immediately begin to see how it impacts the majority of the company. Use the month of May to check in with your employees and try out mental health initiatives to boost their happiness.
Supporting Mental Health
Many of us experience mental health conditions, even if we don’t share it with our colleagues. However, when we hide our struggles and are afraid to ask for help, it’s detrimental to a recovery stage.
“If we can lean in and have those empathetic conversations with our friends, colleagues, about how they’re doing, our friends and family. We can create that space for people to start thinking about what recovery looks like for them,” says Steven Haden, CEO of Envision:You.
Employers should take the month of May to hear from their employees about how to better meet their needs. Running a business is hard work, but you can’t do it without your staff’s full support.
10 Ways To Support Your Employee’s Mental Wellness
This Mental Wellness Month, focus on ways to make your workspace more engaging, inviting to all — and less stressful! Employees become more motivated when they feel supported and taken care of, so do what you can to meet these standards. Then, you’ll have a workplace culture encouraging mental wellness.
1. Utilize Technology and Remote Work
Mental health days may already be available to your employees, but what about those days when you want to work and the commute seems daunting? Sometimes as an employer, offering remote work on rainy days or when people have appointments make life feel lighter for your employees.
“It’s not really about where you get the work done, just that you did your work well and that it did, in fact, get done. Adopt that mindset and your company will see the change,” explains Titania Jordan, CMO of Bark Technologies, a company that provides phones for kids with safety features built in.
A company that can adapt to the times and keep up with new technological advancements is ahead of the rest. Employees will appreciate you being able to adapt and find ways to improve their work-life capabilities.
2. Offer Flexibility
Whether it’s working from home, taking time off, or asking for extra time to work on certain projects, being flexible as an employer is a major bonus for your employees. When you reach this level of trust, you know your employees are making the best choices for themselves, which can only help your business out.
“When you are proactive and communicate your expectations to your employees, you don’t need to micromanage them. Being flexible is a sign of a successful business with trustworthy employees,” says Christy Pyrz, Chief Marketing Officer of Paradigm Peptides.
You should set boundaries while offering flexible work schedules and deadlines. You want your employees to know you understand when mistakes happen and they need extra time or a day off.
3. Host Company Retreats
Plan a company retreat during the month of May with a focus on boosting employee morale and working on leadership skills. The time you use during a retreat often focuses on building up your employee’s confidence and skill set. This easily doubles as a mental health-related retreat!
“Spending time outside of the office with coworkers may not be your first idea for fun, but it helps to bring everyone together and remind them of the common goal: personal success at a business that actually cares about you!” exclaims Maegan Griffin, Founder, CEO, and nurse practitioner at Skin Pharm.
Having keynote speakers who talk about mental health, leadership, networking, and balancing your personal life can inspire your employees and help them get out of a rut. Company retreats can happen throughout the year and don’t need to be specific to May, but you can bring the efforts together starting now!
4. Keep Snack Options for Everyone
Office snacks may seem like a relatively small way to support your employees, but snack breaks are an effective way to energize yourself for the rest of the day. Some days, workers forget their lunch or an extra snack, and providing them for your employees gives them quite a boost.
“Chatting around the water cooler might not be as common as it used to be, but that same kind of community building that happened then now happens in the breakroom. Being able to find something that will fulfill your hunger while having a quick chat is one of the best parts of the day,” explains Asker A Ahmed, Director of iProcess Global Research.
A snack is like a reward. Imagine coming into your work and seeing your favorite snack sitting there for you for free. It’s a game-changer!
5. Extracurricular Activities
Work is more than sitting in a cubicle, getting in and out as fast as possible. When your company offers extracurricular activities, like game nights, art clubs, yoga, and other fun events, there is more of a reward for belonging to the company.
“People get their work done easier when their day is broken up, and including clubs and events throughout the day does exactly that. Ask your employees if anyone has any special interests or hobbies and see if a club could be made out of it,” offers Datha Santomieri, Co-Founder and Vice-President of Steadily who specializes in landlord insurance cost.
These kinds of activities help build your company’s workplace culture. The more involved employees get, the overall levels of happiness rise.
6. Encourage Time Spent Outdoors
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Depending on where your company is located, encouraging midday walks and taking lunch outside is another way to support your employees’ mental health. Nature helps to reduce stress and improve overall well-being in individuals.
“Installing picnic tables outside of the building and making sure the lawn is always clean encourages people to take their work or meetings outside. Especially on a nice day, the last thing people want is to feel like they’re trapped inside,” says Amanda Howland, Co-Founder of ElleVet Sciences.
This applies to remote workers, too. Don’t be afraid to encourage them to take a break during the day to get some sun your their faces. Fresh air does wonders!
7. Open Line of Communication
People want to be comfortable in their workplace, and if they aren’t, it’s likely they won’t stay very long with your company. Practice your communication skills and set boundaries early on. When people understand your communication style, they have an easier time navigating daily work life.
“Your employees should never feel nervous when coming to you with a problem or question. A lot of stress comes from having to talk to the boss, so it’s helpful to eliminate that roadblock. If you create a communication style that works for your employees, you won’t come across this problem,” explains Brandon Adcock, Co-Founder and CEO of Nugenix.
When starting your business, it’s essential to identify what your communication style is going to be and set the standard. This way, whenever you onboard a new employee, they know what to expect right away.
8. Host Check-ins
Running a business often puts you in too many places at once. Having weekly, monthly, or quarterly check-ins with specific people or departments helps you stay in the loop and make sure everyone is happy.
“You’ll know what changes to make after talking with the people who are actually doing the work. Scheduled meetings to check in alleviates stress and keeps everyone updated, making work a lot easier,” says Max Schwartzapfel, CMO of Schwartzapfel Lawyers.
Especially with the influx of remote workers, hosting check-ins makes it easier to keep up with how everyone is doing. These check-ins serve as a way to catch up personally and for work-related purposes.
9. Invest in Managerial Training
While you can’t control what goes on in your employees’ personal lives, you can ensure your communications remain professional and helpful. You don’t need to hire therapists to be managers, but having employees who understand the power of empathy and problem-solving is extremely helpful.
“When your higher-ups don’t know how to handle people struggling at work, you create a huge gap between you and the majority of your employees. If you want to close this gap, you need your management, including yourself, to better understand how to meet people’s individual needs,” shares Sara Alshamsi, Founder and CEO of Big Heart Toys.
Management training should be done throughout the year to stay updated on different tactics to care for those struggling with mental health. Consider getting feedback from your employees on how better to support them and include it in these training sessions.
10. Offer Proper Benefits and Compensation
One of the easiest ways to support your employees is to pay them well and offer benefits to cover insurance and time off. People don’t want to have two or three jobs just to get by, but when you don’t offer enough compensation or benefits, they might begin to stress and have to look elsewhere.
“You need to know what you can afford and offer before hiring a bunch of people. If you want to take care of your employees, consider how much your business needs to succeed and make sure the budget fits everything an employee would need to be successful in their lives,” explains Greg Hannley, Founder and CEO of Soba Texas.
This is something you can prepare for when you are starting your business. It should be considered before you hire people so you can offer everyone valuable benefits and compensation packages. Employees who feel their work is being valued highly will be happier to stay with the company for a longer period of time.
Put Your Employees First
Your employees fuel your business. You need to make sure you take care of them as they take care of your company. When May rolls around, don’t forget to check in and make sure your employees feel supported. Putting your employees first will result in a lighter and happier workplace environment.