The term “mental health awareness” has become almost a punchline in the corporate world and beyond in recent years. While we can all agree that the concept itself is important, there is often a feeling that it is something that businesses often see as a box to tick. We can all say we are aware of mental health, but what worth does that have if it begins and ends with being aware? The businesses that do the best by their employees are always going to be the ones that actually do something about it – and that takes a bit more effort.
So how do you build a workplace that takes mental health awareness more seriously? The good news is that there are many ways to make a difference, and as long as you are paying more than simple lip service to the concept, you can make a difference for your employees – and see the benefits of that going forward.
Center mental health in hiring practices
The best time to address a problem is before it has time to develop, and when it comes to employee mental health that means making people aware that their issues don’t need to threaten their advancement in a job. A lot of people when applying and interviewing for jobs will stay quiet about struggles they have had because they feel – often with some justification – that it will hold them back if they are open about them. From the moment you have a prospect interested in a job you are offering, it’s key to underline that you’re serious about employee wellbeing. If they know they’ll be supported, they’ll help you to help them.
Implement concrete steps to improve mental health
The “punchline” issue we mentioned at the start comes from a tendency for businesses to insist they take mental health seriously. Too often, what this means in practice is that they will have a single 30-minute seminar during which they list some mental health issues and tell people where they can get help, and then maybe give them some form of merchandise with a positive message on it.
But a business that really takes it seriously will do more. It will implement an employee wellbeing program that allows struggling employees to get concrete assistance. Managers will speak privately with those employees and offer reassurance and – most importantly – ask what would make a difference and ease their issues.
Never stop learning
Improving the morale of your business will deliver results on all fronts, and it simply makes sense as a modern business. An important element of your business mental health strategy is that it isn’t a one-shot deal. You can’t expect to implement a framework and then just leave it to run itself. Mental health challenges evolve, and so do their solutions. Tasking someone – and it can be yourself – with keeping abreast of changes in the wider world and on your own premises will allow you to amend an approach to mental health to deal with challenges as they arise.
