What is Mental Health?
Mental health refers to our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we
think, feel, and act, influencing our relationships, work performance, and overall quality of life.
Causes of Poor Mental Health in the Workplace
1. Work-Related Stress: Excessive workload, tight deadlines, and lack of control can lead to
stress, anxiety, and burnout.
2. Poor Work-Life Balance: Long working hours, overtime, and the pressure to be constantly
available can blur the lines between work and personal life.
3. Lack of Support: Inadequate support from managers, colleagues, and HR can exacerbate
mental health issues.
4. Bullying and Harassment: Workplace bullying and harassment can have severe
consequences for mental health.
5. Fear of Job Insecurity: Uncertainty about job security, restructuring, or layoffs can create
anxiety and stress.
6. Poor Communication: Inadequate communication, lack of transparency, and unclear
expectations can contribute to mental health issues.
7. Unrealistic Expectations: Setting unrealistic goals, targets, or expectations can lead to
feelings of overwhelm, stress, and burnout.
Overcoming Poor Mental Health in the Workplace
1. Encourage Open Communication: Foster an open-door policy, where employees feel
comfortable discussing their mental health concerns.
2. Provide Mental Health Resources: Offer access to mental health professionals, employee
assistance programs (EAPs), and mental health days.
3. Promote Work-Life Balance: Encourage flexible working hours, provide paid time off, and
discourage overtime.
4. Foster a Supportive Work Environment: Train managers and colleagues to recognize and
respond to mental health concerns.
5. Monitor and Address Workplace Stress: Regularly assess workplace stress and implement
strategies to mitigate it.
6. Lead by Example: Leaders and managers should prioritize their own mental health and well-
being, setting a positive example for their teams.
7. Develop a Mental Health Policy: Create a comprehensive mental health policy that outlines
the organization's commitment to supporting employee mental health.
By acknowledging the importance of mental health in the workplace and taking proactive steps
to support employees, organizations can create a healthier, more productive, and supportive work
environment.
Stress is the emotional or physical tension the body creates when presented with events or
thoughts that cause worry, frustration, anger or nervousness. Although short-term stress can help
avoid danger, long-term stress can cause health issues.
Avoid
Stress can often be avoided by planning ahead, rearranging surroundings and carrying a lighter
workload. Approaches include the following:
Take control. Taking control of stressful, routine tasks helps to build confidence. For
example, leaving earlier for work or taking a new route can ease the stress of traffic.
Preparing lunch can ease the stress of waiting in a line during lunchtime.
Avoid bothersome people. Physical distance from someone who is causing stress can
relieve tension.
Say “no.” Most people have a lot of responsibilities and very little spare time. Saying
“no'' to social invitations, extra responsibilities at work, or volunteer requests can be
difficult, but it is often needed for personal mental health.
Prioritize a to-do list. Making a to-do list helps the mind let go of stressful thoughts
regarding required tasks. Scratching an item off the to-do list can create a feeling of
accomplishment.
Alter
When stressful situations cannot be avoided, behaviors, communication, and time management
may need to be altered. Approaches include the following:
Ask others to change their behavior. Small issues often snowball and turn into huge
problems. It’s okay to ask others to change bothersome behavior; however, it’s important
to listen to others about personal bothersome behavior, too.
Communicate openly. Honesty is always the best policy. When sharing feelings, using
“I” statements rather than “you” statements helps to negate any blame on the other
person.
Manage time better. Grouping similar tasks together can increase efficiency, resulting in
lessened stress.
State limits in advance. Prior to engaging in a long conversation, letting the other person
know if time is limited avoids any hard feelings.
Accept
Many times, acceptance is the best way to avoid stress. Approaches include the following:
Talk with others. Feelings are legitimate even if frustrating situations cannot be
changed. Discussing stressful situations with a friend who actively listens and
understands is helpful.
Forgive others. Forgiving takes practice. Learning forgiveness releases negative energy
from the mind and body.
Practice positive self-talk. Negative thoughts tend to feed off each other, creating
additional negative thoughts. Positive self-talk can reduce stress and help maintain
objectivity.
Learn from mistakes. Mistakes are inevitable and should be used as teachable moments
rather than create feelings of self-loathing.
Adapt
Adapting often involves changing expectations, which in turn, lowers stress levels. Approaches
include the following:
Adjust standards. Perfection is impossible. Striving for perfection can cause feelings of
frustration and guilt. Adjusting personal expectations can reduce stress.
Practice stopping bad thoughts. Negative thoughts should immediately be replaced
with positive ones. Refusal to replay a stressful situation in the mind may actually cause
it to be less stressful.
Reframe the issue. Looking at situations from a different viewpoint is often helpful. For
example, rather than being frustrated for using a sick day from work, use the day to catch
up on television programs or read a book.
Adopt mantra sayings. Mentally repeating confident sentences, such as, “I can do this,”
has a positive effect on stressful situations.
Create a list of happy resources. Making a list of happy experiences, situations and
thoughts can put things into perspective. Looking back on this list during a stressful
situation can help calm the mind.
Look at the big picture. Figuring out if something will matter in one year or in five
years is important. If it won’t, letting it go can relieve stress.
