This year, your employees have experienced the trauma of living through a pandemic, adapted to the challenges of working from home and assisted their children as they took classes online. Fall, usually a time to return to familiar routines, is generating additional stress as some employees are tentatively returning to the office and deciding whether to send their children back to school or let them continue to study from home. 2020 has been a year filled with stress, and employers need to be vigilant to, and protective of, the mental health of their staff.
Chances are, your organization already has a Health and Safety Committee in place, and one of their first duties this fall should be the creation and implementation of a Mental Health Action Plan.
If the experience of the committee has been primarily focused on physical safety, new members may need to be recruited while existing members may have to undergo training to become aware of the psychological factors that affect psychological wellbeing.
An effective mental health strategy preserves, protects and retains your most valuable resource – your people. Ideally, an effective plan prevents psychological injury and supports staff members who are experiencing a mental health challenge.
Getting Started
The first step of the committee is to understand which factors can affect mental health in the workplace and to assess their company’s baseline measure of psychological health and safety. Organizations like Guarding Minds At Work can provide training and strategies for baseline assessment, action and evaluation.
The committee will also have to establish procedures for sharing concerns and issues with management for resolution, presenting new initiatives or policies to staff members, and tracking the effectiveness of those initiatives. At the same time, it is important for the committee members to lead the way with frank open discussions and sharing of information to help reduce the stigma often connected to mental illness.
Factors to Consider
In a study commissioned by The Mental Health Commission of Canada, ‘Psychological health and safety in the workplace – Prevention, promotion and guidance to staged implementation’, it was suggested that multiple factors be considered in an organization’s baseline assessment, including but not limited to:
· Rates of turnover
· Rates of absenteeism
· Numbers of complaints or grievances
· Recognition and reward
· Workload management
· Organizational culture
· Psychological protection from violence, bullying and harassment
· Other chronic stressors as identified by workers
Every organization will have its own unique concerns and opportunities for growth. Set aside adequate time to develop a plan that will serve your people well, and understand that it will face continual evolution.
Creating Targets and Objectives
When setting goals, you want to make them as universal and inclusive as possible, so focus on overall workplace psychological health and safety concerns. Look at industry best practices and create strategies designed to boost morale, improve productivity and encourage a culture of innovation and creativity.
You can start with an area of strength and build on something with which you’ve already experienced a level of success. You will also want to focus on areas of concern and find ways to reduce risk.
As you are setting goals, you will find areas where the perceptions of employees and management are different. In situations like this, clear communication is critical. It’s natural that employees will feel additional stress about a specific challenge if they think management is unaware of the problem or does not consider it to be a problem. When managers demonstrate that they recognize a problem exists and are working to find a common ground, it helps to alleviate employee anxiety.
During the objective-setting process, and beyond, it’s important to have input from employees, through focus groups, staff meetings and other avenues of feedback. Of course, even after a plan has been implemented, new challenges to positive mental health can arise at any time and should be identified and dealt with as quickly as possible.
Put the Plan into Action
Develop tactics and actions for each objective and remember that communications should be an integral part of the plan. Be sure the plan is easily accessible and invite your staff to get involved. Everyone should be a part of the process, from planning and formal launch to the continuing updates and communications. Celebrate milestones as a team when they are achieved.
If the staff is involved in a comprehensive manner, your mental health plan should grow and evolve over time as it responds to feedback. Always aim to keep the plan: appropriate, acceptable, effective and efficient.
Determine Effectiveness
Before you start, it’s a good idea to know how you will be judging the effectiveness of your plan. You should establish short-range and long-range goals for your objectives and be prepared to adjust the plan based on the results of the short-range goals. Also, be prepared to change or discard objectives if they are unsuccessful or unsustainable.
Another factor for success will be the participation of your leaders. Managers and key staff members who are responsible for implementing programs and initiatives should be trained, supported and held accountable for updates at regular intervals for updates.
The mental health of your employees may not always face the threats we are experiencing in 2020, but it will always be essential in the composition of your company. Be sure your mental health action plan is tailored to the specific needs of your staff and is constantly updated. When your team is enjoying robust mental health, and feels comfortable discussing their mental health issues without judgement, they will be free to focus on moving forward and growing with you.
WELLNESS TIP OF THE MONTH
Let Employees Know You Care by Listening to Their Needs
During the COVID-19 pandemic, employees need more support for their health, safety, and well-being to perform well. One of the best ways to find out if you are meeting their needs and to find out how you can support them better, is to listen and have open, honest conversations. Need to know the state of your entire organization? Try a short anonymous survey. This will assure your folks that you care and want to support them better. To download your copy of a complimentary COVID-19 health and performance survey from Wellness Works Canada click here: https://conta.cc/2YyrP7x
Victoria
Find more to help support health and performance – check out free resources and articles on WellnessWorksCanada.ca
Thank-you for our Wellness Tip of the Month to our Health and Wellness Mentor Victoria Grainger, MBA, BPE, PTS, HWL from Wellness Works Canada – Your Workplace Health and Performance Association. Follow us! Building a healthier, higher-performing Canadian population and economy… one organization at a time.
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