How businesses can support employee mental health amid a raging pandemic

By Nakul Mathur

There is no doubt that throughout the world mental health is a very silenced issue, the lower awareness and lower awareness is one of the reasons that exacerbate this situation. But one of the biggest issues that is ignored but needs immediate attention is the mental health of employees. There’s no question that employees around the world are dealing with mental health issues, even surveys and data suggest so.

In the survey, respondents note that ‘balancing work with personal needs’ (34 percent),’ not making enough money ‘(32 percent) and’ slow career advancement (25 percent) are the factors important that affect mental health. Other reasons that have been attributed are behavior patterns of the boss, subordinates, colleagues, etc. which can cause significant mental and emotional harm and physical harm in some cases as well.

LinkedIn, in the recent past, launched a special edition of the Workforce Confidence Index that focuses solely on mental health to highlight the prevalence of job stress in India. The survey was conducted among 3,881 professionals between July 31 and September 14, and nearly 55 percent of respondents reported that feeling stressed at work is almost a luxury.

Given the worsening mental health scenario over the past eighteen month period, respondents say ‘balancing work with personal needs’ (34 percent), ‘not earning enough money’ (32 percent) and ‘slow career advancement (25 percent) are the most important factors affecting mental health. Multiple factors contribute to employees feeling frustrated and stressed while working. However, organizations and employers must take steps to keep their employees happy so that their mental health can be taken care of as well.

What does a company need to support the mental health of an employee?

Freedom for conversation

In most workplaces in India and around the world, employees are considered slaves; they are expected to deliver and then leave the premises. But for ideal workplaces and businesses, it is mandatory to impart freedom to your employees to speak, to converse freely with their superior, to debate on the topics and subjects of their choice, and to speak with all their hearts.

The freedom to speak, the freedom to present your views, and the freedom to adopt your work style are crucial to keeping your employees sane and mentally healthy.

Interactions and Events

The atmosphere of any office, business, and workplace should be employee-friendly, where bosses come down to understand what their employees’ views and problems are. By organizing events, the degree of interaction can be increased. Events should cover all aspects of the employer-employee relationship, from Diwli celebrations to an event that sensitizes employees to sexual harassment laws, mental health issues, etc. Just to keep your employees’ mental health top of mind, try to understand employee issues. , try to fix them and contact them for feedback on the resolution.

Accommodative policies

Employee policies must be flexible and rigid. The result should be considered more important than the time spent on it. Employers should not force an employee to work 9 hours in a shift, if he is getting better results even by working 5 hours a day. Human Resources must maintain an active line of communication with all employees, must speak with them every week and discuss all aspects related to work. Flexible policies make the work environment conducive to growth and keep toxicity at bay.

Make your employees feel important

Employers cannot allow the employee to work in silos. The employer must make the employee feel important so that they have a sense of ownership. Every employer should invite employees to spend some time off and make them feel special and crucial to the organization. This sense of ownership allows them to work harder and give their best. In addition to this, good work must be rewarded and appreciated through various means. These kinds of small steps make a person happy in the workplace and keep them sane.

Inhibition-free environment and feedback mechanism

Chiefs and supreme authorities should try to establish an environment free from inhibitions, an environment free from any hierarchy, etc. An employee should feel free to enter the office of his boss and highest authority without any inhibitions. Also, a mechanism for receiving timely feedback on policies that concern them is very important, suggestions and feedback can be used to create and shape better employee-friendly policies. In addition, there must be a specific complaint resolution mechanism, where an employee can anonymously submit a complaint that must be resolved within a certain period. These steps make for a happy workplace and keep your valued employees happy.

(The author is the CEO of Avanta India. Opinions expressed are personal and not necessarily those of Financial Express Online).