“Just because no one else can heal or do your inner work for you doesn’t mean you can, should, or need to do it alone.” — Lisa Olivera

Mental health has been a critical topic of discussion for the past few years due to how the pandemic changed our lives. Over the past year, nearly 50% of Americans believe their stress has increased. Employees are becoming more stressed due to the decrease of work-life balance because of the staffing shortage the world is facing.

Today, it is crucial for a workplace to support mental health.

Mental health is a topic that has gained public attention for the past few years now. With everything going on in this world, it has become more encouraged to focus on mental health and be open about it.

In just a few years, we have seen many celebrities and athletes come out as advocates for supporting mental health. Sports athletes like Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka, Dak Prescott, and many more have made world news because of their experiences with mental health. Now that the importance of supporting mental health has become a hot topic in the news, it is no longer a nice-to-have at work but a necessity.

What is Mental Health?

The first step of supporting the mental health of your employees is by understanding what it is. Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. When you experience mental health problems, your thinking, mood, and behavior could be affected.

Many people aren’t aware of all the different types of mental health. Some mental health conditions include anxiety disorders, behavioral disorders, eating disorders, substance use disorders, mood disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, personality disorder, psychotic disorder, suicidal behavior, and post-traumatic stress disorder. To learn more about each, please visit MentalHealth.gov.

Reasons Why Mental Health is Important in the Workplace

There are many reasons why companies should support mental health in the workplace. Overall, supporting mental health in the workplace is essential to improving office wellbeing. Speaking about mental health is very important as happy employees are more productive. Those with mental health issues while working usually have worse decision-making, decreased productivity, less engagement, and worse communication.

Bad Decision Making – Poor mental health can have a lot of negative impacts on one’s work. One significant impact is poor decision-making. When an employer of yours has poor decision making, they can lead the company down the wrong path by missing meetings, showing up to work late, or not following company policy.

Decreased Productivity – I am sure all of us have had those days where we don’t feel great, and as a result, our productivity decreases tremendously. Unfortunately, those with poor mental health have those days consistently.

Less Engaged at Work – Those with poor mental health will have less motivation and focus than those with good mental health. When someone has poor mental health, they usually think about other things that aren’t related to work.

Lack of Communication – It is challenging to communicate with coworkers when you have poor mental health. When communicating, those with poor mental health can come across as passive-aggressive or hostile.