COURTESY / WELLSPACE MAINE
Lindy Graham is a psychotherapist and the founder of WellSpace Maine and WellSpace@Work.
January 19, 2021
How to promote wellness at work: 5 steps
By Lindy Graham
The new year may be here, but work is much of the same for employers and employees. Our “new normal” has been par for the course for nearly a year now, and working Americans are feeling the strain of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health issues are increasingly common in the workplace, even if that workplace is one’s home.
So how do employers promote wellness at work? How do we remain productive at the same time?
Here are five tips.
Take steps to understand mental health needs
With anxiety and depression on the rise, leaders in the workplace have a responsibility to ensure the availability of support for employees in need. If you’re an employer, these responsibilities provide a unique opportunity to determine a path for ongoing mental health support that the workforce needs now, in the coming months, and post-pandemic. Employers can learn directly from their employees about what mental health supports would feel most beneficial. Listen to the truth tellers as they may highlight how certain specific steps can have an overall positive impact on workplace satisfaction and well-being.
Understand that safety protocols increase emotional wellbeing
Safety is necessary for mental health. If your company is still working on-site, ensuring that all COVID-19 safety protocols are in place not only provides for employees’ physical safety but is good for their psychological health. The foundation for being able to psychologically function optimally in any part of a person's life is that they must first feel safe (or as safe as possible during the pandemic). The assurance of safety also heightens employees’ trust in their organization.
Consider additional benefits
Employers may consider new benefits or greater work-life flexibility for boosting the mental health of employees. Some companies have perks like a gear closet, where an employee can borrow outdoor gear at all seasons. Items like snowshoes or cross-country skis can help employees get the sunlight in the winter that has incredible benefit for those suffering from winter blues. Other companies may engage outside wellness experts for training and seminars on topics tailored to the mental health concerns of their business.
Seek out external support
Another solution is to connect employees with mental health professionals. Workers need resources to manage their stress levels and maintain their productivity and finding a therapist can be a daunting task. Employers can contract directly with a reasonably priced therapy service that can provide confidential, readily accessible counseling to employees. Creating avenues that minimize barriers to external support helps to reduce the stigma associated with seeking help for mental health.
Provide guidance on healthy work boundaries
When you’re working from home, the tendency is to blur the lines between those two: “work” and “home.” That can be a mistake. The goal is to establish clear boundaries for work hours and then everything else. If possible, it’s incredibly helpful to work in a separate space from your main living area, identify exact times for when you’re “on the clock,” and stick to them. This is especially important for parents: Make a clear schedule for when one parent is working and another is on “kid duty,” and swap duties when needed. Add a brief walk around the block as a way to “walk to work” in the mornings and do the same to “walk home” from work. Getting outside, even for a few minutes, has a very grounding effect. This can be a nice routine to do with kids as well.
One thing is clear: Prioritizing mental health will always be important for the health of all employees and the companies they work for.
There’s more and more of a need for wellness practices on the job. Even with the COVID-19 vaccine around the corner, the American workplace will feel the psychological repercussions of the pandemic long after it has gone away.
With that in mind, employers and employees will all benefit by taking concrete steps to promote wellness at work — in 2021 and always.
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