How to Support Employee Mental Health

Are you feeling overwhelmed by everything that's happening in the world?

Rest assured, you're not alone.

These days, even a quick look at the news can make you feel awful.

From stress and anxiety to burnout and feeling lonely, mental health issues can affect your work. However, recognizing and tackling these challenges is the first step toward helping your team. When people's mental health isn't good, it doesn't just affect them — it can also make it hard for everyone to work well and feel happy in the office. We all have a role to play in supporting each other's mental well-being.

Excited about helping your employees improve their mental health? Keep reading!

Activities to Support Employee Mental Health

These days, employees are dealing with high workloads, tight deadlines, and pressure to perform. This can make them feel stressed out and worried, which can affect how well they do their jobs.

But don't worry! Here are 15 ideas for activities that both in-person and remote teams can try to help everyone feel better:

1. Make the Workspace Calm
Ensure the workspace is clean, organized, and good for getting work done. You can add plants, natural light, and comfy chairs to help make it a calm place to work.

2. Take Regular Breaks
Regular breaks during the day can help reduce stress and prevent fatigue. Employees should step away from their desks, stretch, and take short walks.

3. Talk Openly
Make it okay for everyone to talk about their feelings and mental health. Managers can regularly check in with their team members to ensure everyone feels okay.

4. Flexible Work Hours
Letting employees choose when they work can help them better balance their work and personal lives, which can reduce stress and make them happier.

5. Try Mindfulness
Introduce mindfulness and meditation sessions. Meditation and mindfulness exercises can help employees manage stress, focus better, and feel better overall.

6. Stay Active
Encourage employees to stay active by offering gym memberships, organizing group exercise sessions, or having meetings while walking.

7. Healthy Snacks
Have healthy snacks like fruits, nuts, and yogurt available in the office. Eating well is good for mental health and gives us energy.

8. Establish Peer Support Groups
Create groups where employees can talk about their feelings and support each other. When people feel like they're part of a community, it can make them feel less alone.

9. Mental Health Days
Sometimes, we all need a break to recharge and take care of our mental well-being. Encourage employees to take mental health days when necessary — it's a great way to show that you value their health and happiness.

10. Learn About Mental Health
Educate your team on mental health, stress management, and building resilience. Educating employees can reduce stigma and encourage open conversations.

11. Support Volunteering: Encourage employees to participate in volunteering and charity activities. Organize team volunteer days or charity events. Helping others can boost mood and foster a sense of purpose and community.

12. Professional Help
Make sure employees can talk to professionals about their mental health if they want to. It's essential to have someone to talk to when things are hard. Also, consider incorporating mental health apps like Calm or Headspace to help combat employee burnout.

13. Social Connections
Have team-building activities and social events to help people feel close to each other. When people feel connected, it helps their mental health.

14. Recognize Hard Work
Give a pat on the back to employees who work hard. This makes them feel good and shows that you care about them.

15. Relaxation Space
Make a quiet spot in the office where employees can take a break. Having a spot to relax can help reduce stress.

5 Monthly Mental Health Challenges

• Meditation Month: In May, encourage employees to meditate for at least 10 minutes every day. Provide them with guided meditation resources and challenge them to do so. You can give prizes to those who complete the challenge.
• Gratitude Challenge: Ask employees to write down something they're grateful for every day for a month. It's nice to share what we're thankful for with each other. This can help us feel good and make our work a better place.
• Mindful Mondays: Every Monday, we can start our day with a relaxing activity, like meditating together or learning about ways to stay calm and focused.
• Digital Detox Week: Let's try to spend less time looking at screens after work for a whole week. We can find other things to do, like reading, exercising outside, or spending time with our loved ones.
• Joyful June: In June, we can share something good that happened to us each day. We can do this online or in person, and we might even win a prize for taking part.

The Role of Leaders

HR professionals and leaders are essential in making our workplace supportive and healthy. Here's what we can do:

• Lead the way: Let's set an example by prioritizing our own mental health and encouraging others to do the same.
• Reassess organizational practices: To keep things fair and avoid unnecessary stress, it's essential to review key organizational practices such as schedules, compensation, and performance evaluations.
• Adapt and evolve: Regularly evaluate the effectiveness of our initiatives and make adjustments based on feedback from our colleagues and their needs.

Taking care of mental health at work isn't just nice; it's also good for our work. By supporting mental health and engaging in fun activities, you can create a better workplace and help everyone perform their best. As managers, focusing on mental health will lead to happier employees, better work performance, and a stronger company.

Got any secrets for boosting mental health in your workplace? Spill the beans in the comments below!