Boosting Mental Wellbeing in the workplace
With Mental Health Awareness Month upon us, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed in today’s fast-paced work environment. While we prioritise self-care during our downtime, it’s equally important to consider our mental wellbeing in the professional atmosphere.
Creating a workplace that prioritises positive mental health not only boosts employee satisfaction and productivity, but also fosters a supportive culture of inclusivity and appreciation.
An individual’s power plays a key part in improving mental wellbeing within your workplace whilst giving you a boost of positivity at work. With this in mind, here are a few ways to promote a positive and healthy working environment.
Healthy work-life balance
Establishing and maintaining clear boundaries between work and personal life is essential for nurturing positive mental wellbeing. Whether it’s closing multiple Google windows and shutting down your computer promptly at 5 to head home or dedicating your entire lunch break to activities you enjoy, these small actions can make a big difference.
If you work in an office, stepping outside for a stroll during breaks offers a much-needed respite, promoting relaxation and rejuvenation to tackle the rest of the afternoon with renewed energy and focus.
Creating a positive work environment
Positivity within the workplace often creates a progressive mental environment associated with being in the workplace. Consistently encouraging a positive association with being in the working environment cultivates motivation to get tasks done.
Another aspect which contributes towards a positive work environment is taking regular breaks to prevent burn out. Repeating tasks day in, day out, will make you start going crazy! Making sure you take those regular breaks is important. It gives you that well deserved time away from the screen and allows you to refresh, gather new ideas, and complete your tasks in a more relaxing manner. Force yourself through any tricky situation and you will end up ripping your hair out!
Communicate with others
Having people to talk to is underappreciated in the workplace. Everyone loves some time to themselves. Working, headphones on, feeling productive, that’s totally okay. But every now and again it’s important to have that small bit of communication with the people around you or a Zoom call away.
A study by McKinsey backs this approach to active communication with productivity improved by as much as 25% in organisations with effective internal communications. Further research from ThinkTalent reinforces this.
Whether it’s team meetings to keep everyone in the loop about current projects, having someone you can turn to for help if you need it, or even about what plans you have for the weekend, it’s important to have that regular communication so you don’t feel disjointed or distanced from your team.
What can help everyone?
It’s great to do things which help your own mental wellbeing in the workplace, but there are a few simple things you can do to help your entire team to benefit from a positive working atmosphere.
Recognise others
Taking the time to acknowledge your team’s efforts can really lift spirits and make all the difference between just clocking in and feeling genuinely good about the work you do. And guess what? Research backs it up! A study carried out by Wei concluded that positive reinforcement is seen to be the most effective way of motivating staff to perform better within organisations. It’s a win-win, positive reinforcement also puts a warm glow on how people view their jobs, directly boosting positive mental wellbeing in the workplace.
Be transparent
Transparency within a business is vital for a trusting and positive work culture. When you are open and honest with the rest of your team, it clears any sense of anxiety or secrecy, instead promoting a sense of engagement and motivation to individuals. Every person knows what the goal is, how it’s progressing and what is being done to help reach that set goal. A clear vision of the goal being worked towards and what is being done to reach that goal promotes teamwork within individuals and boosts mental wellbeing.
Have fun!
Finally, and arguably the most important point, have fun! Work can be stressful for everyone, constant meetings, deadlines, targets, a full email inbox to name a few enablers. It’s important to have a little fun once in a while!
This could be in the form of a team quiz or even days outside of work dedicated to team wellbeing. Relieving stress and putting a break in that repetitive work routine frees up time for everyone to clear their headspace
These are just a few simple ways to kickstart improvements in mental wellbeing for yourself and your team in the workplace. By nurturing a positive work culture and supportive workplace atmosphere, you empower everyone to thrive at work, whatever they do.
For more information around mental wellbeing at work and further support please click here.
