How to Take Care of Your Employee’s Mental Health in 2021?

We live in a time where the pandemic is hanging like a constant axe swinging over our necks. Who knows which person will pass away; maybe, it’s the entrepreneur who’s running the entire show for your business or maybe a manager who’s playing a key role within your organization. One way or the other, the moment the axe falls over their heads, you can go from a hundred to a zero real quick. 

In such unprecedented times, people not only find themselves surrounded with work-related stresses. They are now engulfed in some form of a cosmos horror, a constant dread of the uncertainty of what’s going to happen next, the very fear of the unknown. At times as such, it is the responsibility of a leader to help their employees come out of their fearful zones. They need assurances which only you can give. 

If these assurances don’t resonate with them too well, they may find themselves neck-deep in mental health issues. And when that happens, an employee not only just feels unsatisfied, but their dissatisfaction can lead them to become non-productive. And when that happens, you can’t fix much of it. 

So what solid steps can one take to combat mental health issues? Well here are a few things you can do. 

Focus on Promoting Healthy Behavior Among Employees

Supporting mental health alone isn’t a done deal. As a leader, the responsibility of promoting mental health weighs heavy on the shoulder. You can prioritize self-care and set the boundaries accordingly to let your employees know that you have a soft spot. Empathy is one of the greatest tools for modern-day leadership; it is more of a blessing. May it be managers or a subordinate, if they have somehow mastered the art of empathy, they can focus on their teammates’ well-being, which can result in optimizing the health of their employees. Try to help them lessen up their burdens by educating them to shut off their emails or switch off their phones from time to time. Don’t let them burn themselves out. 

Plan a “Take a Break” Meeting 

Here’s one thing that most business leaders can do. They can call up everyone to the table for a regular meeting and suddenly break the ice. Tell them that this particular meeting isn’t about results or leads. Make the meeting about sharing funny moments with each other, helping them unwind and share about their vacation plans. You can also organize a fun activity for that time where people can play different games together. One way or the other, the meeting’s motive should carefully focus on how employees can unwind themselves and have a good time off from work. Such sessions can be of great value and can bring a lot of positivity within their lives. Take a break, and encourage one as well too. 

Build Ways to Promote Mental Health Well-Being in Organization

Many organizations have internal sleeping pods at their company. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg because every organization has their own particular way of promoting mental health. For instance, some organizations achieve it by establishing small libraries in-house. They let their employees read stuff so they can absorb a great deal of information & learn something positive to share with each other. This has always come out to be one of the ways of promoting healthy behavior within the organization. One way or the other businesses are marvelously capitalizing on finding ways to minimize the mental stresses and promote a more effective & positive environment. Every employee shines out in his/her own way. You just need to find that sweet spot to help them. By giving them a space to unwind, you will be able to do that. 

Fuel Up a Culture of Mutual Understanding

Work home life balance has disturbed many norms. Some workers are tasked with the burden of helping their elderly parents through these tough times. Others are seemingly struggling with managing their children’s learning from home through a virtual classroom environment. At times as such, people want leaders to understand how things are developing at their end. They want someone who can give them grace and leverage at challenging times. They want to work proficiently, but they are finding it difficult to perform their daily tasks at their maximum potential because of the imposed lockdown. And as a result, they are experiencing quite a setback. Here a leader must understand that establishing a mutual understanding is more than required in the following situation. And therefore, they must fuel up a culture of mutual understanding among themselves. 

Create a Culture of Sharing Stories on Zoom Chats

What’s the best thing to unwind after an hour-long meeting on KPIs and tasks accomplished? Well, how about you encourage your employees to share stories on Zoom. It can be any story. As long as they are humorous and engaging, they are definitely not a bad bet. Many have office humor; others would love to share about their travels & vacations. One way or the other, sharing stories on Zoom with each other can have countless benefits. So why not go for the option of promoting a sharing culture. Let your subordinates know about your human side. Take some time to share moments with each other. To make things interesting, you can also add a background to your Zoom to set the mood. 

So there you go. Here are some of the ways how you can promote good employee mental health within your organization. Are there any other interesting ways which you would like to share with us? Feel free to comment and let us know what you think.