The importance of taking care of our mental health has finally become something that is being talked about more openly.
In the popular Ted Lasso series, Coach Lasso has mental health challenges that he encounters and the show highlights his work with a therapist. Actor Jason Sudeikis, and the other start of the series visited the White House earlier this year to help bring more awareness to the importance of mental health.
So how are you handling mental health issues in your workplace?
Following are some suggestions from a recent article in Harvard Business Review:
*Create an Employee Well-Being Statement. Address issues of work-life balance in your statement and give specific examples of mental health benefits. Publicize this broadly in hiring and orientation.
*Develop a Culture of Support for Mental Health Issues. A statement only goes so far. Culture is the set of activities and behaviors that your organization exhibits. Create a specific list of these activities and behaviors that employees are expected to follow which is consistent with your Well-Being Statement.
*Train Leaders and Managers. Most leaders and managers have not been trained on how to support employee well-being generally, and certainly not mental health issues. Their education and follow-through with your Well-Being Statement is crucial to the development of a supportive culture.
*Promote Well-Being Opportunities. Make sure to promote various employee well-being opportunities and services. Some of these might include meditation apps, coaching, sleep tools, and gym memberships.
Coach Lasso would tell us all to BELIEVE in one another and to support each other. Taking care of ourselves and others is a wise thing to do for your organization – and the right thing to do as well.
*Ideas for this blog taken from: Wong, B., Varley, T., & Parmar, S. “How to Support New Workers Mental Health,” Harvard Business Review online, September 14, 2023.
