How HRs Can Improve Employees Mental Health or Well Being

Have you ever thought, how many employees actually enjoy their work? How many of them feel stress, anxiety, dissatisfaction? If the human resource manager can not answer these questions, that means he/she is not sure about the employee’s mental health. This is the prime duty of HRs to improve employees mental health or well being. Actually, it’s nobody’s fault because if any employee is suffering from a cold or fever, then we can judge their illness, but stress, illness, depression, anxiety are not like cold, fever, or a broken body part, so only the professional doctor can judge it.

 

The following are some facts and figure of employee mental well-being;

employee mental well being stats

(Image Source)

From the above image, we can say that almost half of the total employees suffer from mental health issues, which directly affects their productivity and indirectly affects the profitability and growth of the firm. Each organization says that employees are our real asset, but that is just because of adding value and showing off to their clients and others. Actually, they are not working on these serious issues. However, according to the needs of the modernized working premises nowadays the personnel manager changes his focus towards resolving employee mental health issues.

What Are The Ways To Improve Employee’s Mental Health Or Well Being?

Did you know? If you have a team of five employees and one or two of them feels stress and dissatisfaction, which decreases their productivity, also their negativity affects the other three members of the team and the work of the whole team. Thus, resolving such issues in the working premises is essential otherwise, it affects the growth of the business. The following are the ways to improve employee’s mental wellbeing;

steps to improve employees mental health

1. Communicate About Employee’s Mental And Health Isuess  Openly

There is no right or wrong time to discuss mental health issues with the staff. However, sometimes, it becomes a challenging task for the personnel department to know the exact reason for the stress and anxiety of employees, just because of lack of communication. Communicate About The Issue Openly

In that case, they are not able to solve staff’s problems, and also they blame HRs for not solving their problems. But in case, if employees clearly communicate with HRs about their concerns, so in a shorter time, they might resolve employee’s issues. That is why open communication on these topics is essential.

2. Adopt Modernized Technology

Sometimes, because of workload, employees feel depressed and stressed.  This is the prime duty of HRs to improve employees mental health or well being.The technological tools and advancements simplify employee’s tasks and reduce workload. Moreover, the human resource manager also uses hr management solutions to manage all the employee-centric tasks, which reduces errors and conflicts in the working premises.

3. Focus On The Big Goals

Though it is essential for the employees or workers to primarily focus on the short-term goals because it is quite simple if they can focus on the short-term goals and achieve them one by one, then they will achieve the big goals easily. Thus, the human resource manager focuses on long-term goals and continuously motivates employees to work accordingly. However, all the sub-departments of the company have their own goals and targets, but all that must be linked with the business objective. Otherwise, employees sometimes, because of confusion, feel stress and anxiety.

4. Set Realistic Timelines

Providing timelines to the employees while assigning a task is essential, but it is also essential to set realistic timelines for them. Otherwise, they can not prioritize the task and will start to multitask, which affects them mentally. . This is the prime duty of HRs to improve employees mental health or well bein Multitasking worse affects each task he/she is doing because he/she will not be able to give full attention to the single task. That is why setting a realistic timeline is essential for the personnel manager.

5. Healthy Working Environment 

Healthy Working Environment

A conflicting working environment increases employee turnover and absenteeism, which affects the overall productivity of the firm. A healthy working environment includes employee’s working space, lighting of the office premises, break time, employer’s relation with staff, diversity management, change management, flexible working environment, etc. The personnel manager continuously works on promoting a healthy working environment to eliminate employee mental illness.

6. Be Creative And Innovative To Improve Employess Mental Health And Well Being

Find a creative way to complete the task efficiently; otherwise, the robust working system becomes the reason for stress and anxiety. Sometimes, just because of the sturdy working environment, the human resource department fails to retain employees for a longer period, which affects the overall business. That is why the personnel department of the firm is continuously working on implementing creativity and innovation in the working premises to motivate employees. You can take the example of Google, which gives flexibility to their employees for the working place if they like. They can work in the premises’ garden also, and they have special go-karts for employees, they use that in working premises. Moreover, instead of steps, they use slides for coming to the down floor. These are some innovative ideas that boost employees’ productivity and the company’s profitability.

7. Prioritize Personal Development

Employee personal development increases the growth of the business. The focal point is to improve employee character, skills, and capabilities. By setting these goals, you can identify the workforce and know in which area they are best and in which area they need to improve their knowledge. If the human resource department is not able to give a chance to grow the employees, then they might feel inferiority complex. That is why to boost employees’ morale; the personnel manager arranges advanced training sessions, guest talks, and meditation sessions for employees.

8. Promote Work-life Balance

Employees are human beings; that is why it is essential for the personnel manager to balance their personal and professional lives. If they are not able to maintain their personal and professional life equally, they might feel stressed. For managing work-life balance, the personnel manager must make a policy of giving fixed paid leave, plan a vacation for them, organize a one-day picnic, etc. Sometimes, these small steps help them to relieve their stress and motivate them to work with full energy.

9. Flexible Work Condition

The flexible working condition is also known as flexitime. Flexible working conditions are the opposite of the traditional job environment where the employees of the organization continuously work on the goal achievement; instead of smart work, they like scruffy work. The stubborn working schedule and working environment are some of the reasons for employee’s stress and anxiety. That is why employers encourage flexitime in working premises. This is the prime duty of HRs to improve employees mental health or well being.

We can take the example of a remote working model. During the pandemic COVID-19, almost every organization implements remote work; in that case, some of them give liberty to their employees to complete their work of eight to nine hours whenever they want to work, and others make it complicated by forcing them to work according to office hours only. These may affect employees’ mental health and affect their productivity also.

10. Give Job Security To Improve Employess Mental Health And Well Being

The job security of the employees assures that an individual keeps his/her jobs. Employees appreciate these kinds of securities and feel motivated and confident. Job security indicates a company’s loyalty towards its employees. That is why the traditional HRs job, i.e., hire and fire is outdated now. Providing job securities to your employees may help them to overcome stress and anxiety.

Conclusion

Employees are the real asset of the business. The employer just brings the idea, and there are only employees who work hard on that idea to achieve the desired objectives of the business. But sometimes, just for personal benefits, employers forget to recognize employees; that is the reason for the conflict between both parties. It is true that employees’ role is to be loyal towards the employers, but at the same time, it is the duty of the employers to motivate employees and overcome negative vibes from the working environment.

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