Workplace Wellness: More Than Just a Buzzword

Workplace Wellness: More Than Just a Buzzword

by | Jun 8, 2023 | Counseling, Personal Development, Workplace Wellness

As a mental health therapist, I often hear from clients about the stress and anxiety they experience at work. Whether it’s long hours, high-pressure deadlines, difficult colleagues or a lack of work-life balance, there are many factors that can negatively impact an individual’s mental health. We can all agree that you + your team have been through a lot over the past couple of years.

This is why workplace wellness has become such an important topic in recent years.

Workplace wellness is a term that encompasses a range of initiatives and strategies designed to promote the mental and physical well-being of employees. It is an approach that recognizes that a healthy workplace is not only good for the individual employees, but also for the organization as a whole. When employees are healthy and happy, they are more productive, more engaged, more creative, and less likely to take time off due to illness or stress.

I believe that workplace wellness should place a strong emphasis on supporting and promoting good mental health. Here are some key strategies that employers can implement to support mental wellness in the workplace:

1.  Create a supportive and inclusive workplace culture

A workplace culture that is inclusive and supportive can go a long way in promoting good mental health. Employers should strive to create a workplace culture where employees feel valued, respected and supported. It is important to include systems for building a healthy workplace culture into the frameworks of hiring, onboarding, evaluations, and communication. This can be achieved by fostering an environment where individuals feel comfortable discussing mental health concerns, promoting healthy work-life balance, and providing resources and support for employees who are struggling with mental health issues.

2.  Encourage breaks and physical activity

Taking breaks throughout the day is important for both physical and mental health. It’s important for leaders to model incorporating behavior of taking short breaks to stretch, walk, or engage in other active breaks into the workday to encourage employees to take time for themselves to relax, unwind and recharge. Taking breaks during the workday can help reduce stress and improve one’s overall mood. When returning back to work from a break an increase of focus can be expected, thus improving productivity. Taking breaks during the work day is not only healthy work behavior but can prevent burnout, turnover, and unnecessary fatigue which can all lead to a toxic work environment and employees.

3.  Offer mental health resources and support

Offering mental health resources and support for your employees will not only enhance the health of your employees but also foster a healthy workplace culture and environment as a result. Mental health resources and support can include onsite therapy services, training, and workshops on mental health topics such as stress management, mindfulness, self-care, and incorporating mental wellness engagement challenges.

4.  Reduce stigma around mental health

Reducing the stigma around mental health is important in creating a workplace culture where employees feel comfortable discussing their mental health concerns. Employers can promote mental health awareness through educational programs, company-wide campaigns, and by ensuring that employees have access to confidential mental health resources.

5.  Foster communication and collaboration

Finally, fostering communication and collaboration in the workplace can help to promote good mental health. Encouraging open communication and collaboration between colleagues can help to reduce stress and improve morale. Collaboration amongst teams is always a good indicator of a healthy workplace. Employers can promote collaboration through relationships like mentoring, 1:1 leadership/supervisory meetings, collaborative projects, encouraging regular communication between team members, and fostering a sense of meaningful community.

Workplace wellness should be a priority for employers who want to support the mental health of their employees.

Finding new ways to explore strengths, create meaningful connections, and build supportive and trusting relationships to support the business you have grown is our passion. Our Workplace Wellness Services are designed and led by clinical therapists to enhance your team’s individual mental health and collectively improve the culture, happiness, and engagement of your team.

At Stronger, we offer Workplace Wellness Events to assist getting your team on board to feel more present and connect both in and outside of work isn’t something that’s taught in business school. BUT, as licensed clinicians, we understand the value of connected teams and the growing pressures for business leaders. Our Workplace Wellness events can help take the emotional wellness burden off your plate for us to create personalized workshops, lunch and learns, and retreats to pour into the health and wellness of your team. Teams that prioritize their own mental health and value a healthy workplace culture experience less irritability and anxiety within the workday, use fewer sick days, and allow for more collaboration & creativity to shine through.

Click here to learn more about the workplace wellness services we can offer you and your team.

Ready to get started with Stronger?

Click HERE to submit an inquiry to begin working with a therapist on our team for workplace wellness services.

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