Ensure the Mental Well-being of Your Employees by Encouraging These Habits

This has been a taxing year for people all over the states, what with a raging pandemic, safety concerns in the wake of rising numbers of Covid-19 cases, economic fallout of the pandemic, unprecedented lockdown and challenges, a polarizing election; and rest assured, your employees must be feeling the brunt of it. Not only should company leaders and entrepreneurs take care of their own physical and mental wellbeing after months of upheaval, it is equally important to encourage your employees to do the same.

In this midst of a pandemic when employees all over the globe are grappling with an overwhelming blend of intense emotions – depression, grief, anxiety, trauma, isolation, anger, shame, and guilt – leaders have an obligation to safeguard the mental wellbeing of those in their charge.  Neglecting employee mental health can have a ripple effect throughout your organization – undermining psychological safety, engagement, and safety; the pillars of high performing teams. Here are a few habits leaders should encourage in their teams to ensure their mental well-being.

Encourage Self-care

When it comes to promoting self-care, company leaders should lead by example by prioritizing their own mental wellbeing to demonstrate the score they set by mental health. With the economy slowly reopening, you may feel like you have bitten off more than you can chew, but you need to take a calming breath, renew and reset, and tackle each issue as it pops up. Show your employees how you prioritize mental wellbeing above anything else. Share your self-care rituals with your entire team; daily practices for taking care of your spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental health under pressure.

Simple things like scheduling a regular digital detox, organizing a staycation, taking a walk in the middle of the day, eating a healthy lunch no matter how busy you are, not replying to emails in odd hours, creating a “zoom-free Friday”, or even taking your own “mental health day”, tell your employees how your mental-health is important to you. People are more likely to remember something that you did rather than what you said.

Encourage People to Share Their Struggles

When Michelle Obama confided on social media how she was suffering from depression back in August, social media streams flooded with an outpouring of support. She took the initiative of sharing her personal struggle in a bid to destigmatize mental health. When people see that even seemingly invincible people like Michelle Obama are vulnerable to mental issues, it helps them come out clean about their own struggles.

People in your organization look up to you as a leader, which is why you need to show your employees that you are not made of psychological Teflon. If you have had a difficult day or a tough week, why not share it with your team so that they know they are not alone and they will in turn feel comfortable sharing the truth. Stronger bonds are formed through vulnerability and struggles than successes and victories. 

Encourage Employees to Utilize Paid Time Off

With vacations and holiday travel out of the equation, many employees may see no reason to utilize their paid time off. However, most people are feeling the brunt of isolation and may even be working extra hours to tackle unprecedented challenges arising from remote working. However, burnout is a bigger concern this year than it has ever been, and the current state of the economy, health concerns, and rising unemployment rates are adding to people’s already strained nerves. As a leader, you should encourage your employees to use their earned PTO, even if it is to unwind at home and spend more time with their families. Paid time off is what people need at the moment to cope with these working circumstances.

Encourage Employee To Set Boundaries

With many companies still working remotely, the possibility of working hours blending into personal hours is a major cause of burnout. Not to mention, many employees are hesitating to set boundaries around their time due to a fear of layoffs. All in all, more and more employees are finding it hard to attain the perfect work life balance. Encourage employees to turn off work phones and email notifications after hours, make them feel secured in saying no to additional responsibilities, and make them realize that they are obliged to take on any work over the weekends, in order to improve their sense of well-being.