Apparently, today is the gloomiest and most depressing day of the year. With workers fully back into the daily grind after the Christmas/New Year break and dark mornings and evenings, it’s understandable that moods may be low. If you combine that with the prospect of credit card bills after Christmas and the possibility of a potentially long month between pay slips (some companies pay their staff early before they close for the festive break, leaving them with a 6-week gap between pay slips) you could argue that the last two weeks of January are ‘blue’.
Mind, the UK mental health charity, argues that money worries can have a direct impact on mental health and that poor mental health makes it harder to manage money. This circle can lead to stress, anxiety and feelings of lack of control. Despite recent campaigns to remove the stigma of poor mental health a study by Mind found that 30% of staff said they would find it difficult to talk to their manager if they were feeling stressed. More positively, 56% of employers said they wanted to do more to improve staff well-being, however they didn’t feel they had the right training or guidance to do so. So, what can employers and managers do to improve staff morale and well-being?
Encourage openness
Creating a workplace environment where team members feel comfortable about voicing their concerns and also their ideas. Creating a culture where staff feel that their thoughts are valued and listened to not only improves the chances of them disclosing issues sooner, but could also potentially reduce staff sickness. By listening to your staff, you can begin to identify issues that are causing stress and anxiety and find solutions for them. For example, if employees are concerned about finances, providing an employee discount scheme, travel loans or an employee assistance programme could ease their worries.
Look at the potential causes of mental ill health
Once you’ve created a climate where team members feel comfortable expressing themselves, you can begin to assess the potential causes of mental ill health. Meeting regularly with staff for one-to-one chats provides them with the opportunity to discuss workloads, deadlines, work life balance and anything else that is concerning them. Regular catch ups also allow managers to assess whether their staff need extra training or coaching and it makes it easier to do mid-year reviews.
Promote physical health and wellbeing
Research has shown that exercising three times a week can reduce the likelihood of depression by almost 20%. Regular exercise can also increase productivity. A trial carried out in Australia found that employees who walked 10,000 steps a day and worked out in a gym three times a week were more productive than their counterparts who just walked 10,000 steps.
While it probably isn’t feasible to install a gym on site it is still possible to encourage and promote physical health. Adding some flexibility to the working day to allow staff to go for a run or walk at lunchtime, or offering subsidised gym membership as an employee benefit are two simple ways to promote physical well-being.
Don’t just do it on Monday
The most important thing to remember is that promoting good mental health in the workplace shouldn’t just be about one particular day in the calendar. It should be a long-term investment in your team. If you’re one of the 56% of employers who want to improve staff-wellbeing but don’t know where to start, get in touch today.