Most of us experience some stress at work. This is normal. However, if the amount of stress increases and is directly related to work, it can lead to burnout.
Burnout impacts an employee’s mental health and interferes with both their job performance and personal life. A mental health day is a day you take off from work to minimize any commitments or duties to help manage stress and avoid burnout.
It behooves small business owners and managers to become more tolerant of worker stress and try to help create a more resilient workforce. A mental health day can help employees reduce stress and become more focused, which in turn improves productivity and employee morale.
It’s important to note that mental health days apply to everyone. In other words, you don’t have to have a mental illness diagnosis to utilize one.
Here’s how you can make mental health a priority for your business.
Make Employees Feel Safe Discussing Mental Health
Unfortunately, mental health issues still have a stigma that makes it difficult for people to discuss their challenges.
Create a culture where employees feel they can trust their managers. If they know they will not be judged when they communicate their concerns about their job stress making their life difficult, they can avoid burnout.
This trust works hand in hand with a workplace mental health policy. It creates a formal path employees follow to discuss their concerns with their supervisors. It also shows them you offer resources to support them, making it easier for them to seek the help they need. Talking about things such as stress management and self-care shows employees they have a voice and that management understands the impact mental health has on the workforce.
Be More Inclusive for All Employees
Creating a very inclusive workplace means accepting all levels of performance as well as all levels of capabilities.
If you find you are excluding less driven employees from the team environment, this can increase their stress levels and lead to issues with engagement. Finding ways to reduce stress on less career-focused individuals can help create a work environment where everyone feels valued.
Include Wellness in Your Culture
Whether you introduce a mental health day all employees can take as a paid day, have mental wellness benefits, or introduce wellness programs, making wellness a priority in your company culture goes a long way to improving mental health in your workplace.
Many companies offer exercise or yoga classes on-site, provide healthier menus in the cafeteria, or hold stress management courses for new employees. When mental wellness is part of your culture, employees see it as a priority and feel more valued.
However, it also takes a more proactive approach to wellness management to help reduce risks for work impacting your employees’ mental health.
A mental health day is something employees across at all levels and in all industries might need now and then. Creating a wellness-focused culture that is inclusive with wellness policies in place reduces the need for mental health days while also making it easier for employees to request a day when they need one.
About Focus HR, Inc.
Focus HR, Inc. uncomplicates the people side of business by providing small business owners with outsourced HR, project HR, and Leadership Coaching. For more information, please contact us today! If you liked this post, please subscribe to our blog. You can opt-out at any time. To learn more about FocusHR and for updates, please like our Facebook page and follow us on LinkedIn.