Happy employees make happy organizations. And it is not all about health and monetary incentives. How well are employees connected to their work? Employers stressing on Mind wellness programs have significant benefits than those who do not. Workplace anxiety and burnouts are common in today’s competitive world and unless there is a mind-body synergy at work, corporate organizations will not be able to reap full benefits of employee engagement.
But what we see is, a majority of the corporate wellness programs are focused on physical wellness like helping in maintaining vital parameters or supporting smoking cessation etc. Needless to mention, monitoring each of these can significantly reduce employee healthcare costs often covered by employers, lessen absenteeism and promote productivity. But mental and emotional wellness also matter a lot in employee performance and productivity. Mental stress and issues also lead to job abandonment, high turnover and productivity loss and escalate health-related costs.
Organizations can no longer ignore Mind wellness
If employees have to mentally drag themselves every day to work and if they are unable to open up about their issues and concerns, it can be a problem for them and the organization. Job burnout, workplace violence and injury can plague the entire operation of the organization. Organizations need to observe the drivers influencing the employees’ resilience and their ability to remain mentally and emotionally well at the workplace.
Incorporating mind wellness into workplace wellness programs – the need of the hour
Organizations need to ensure that their work culture and practices support the emotional needs of their employees. They can incorporate:
- Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) allowing employees access mental health benefits through mental health professionals, counselors, wellness coaches and experts in the privy.
- Wellness awareness program and learning sessions to address various mental and emotional concerns specific for male and female employees based on their age and designation.
- Post-work exercise programs where employees can enter their stress logs.
- Sessions on mindfulness, guided imagery and group therapy.
- Motivational speaking. The speaker can be an in-house member or hired recognized speaker.
- Mental illness awareness programs to de-stigmatize mental disorders and encourage employees to open up instead of suffering silently.
Challenges
Mental issues are very private to every individual more than any health issue. Therefore, the best efforts may either take a long time to yield or may not work at all. Employees may not be willing to attend educational sessions fearing they may be isolated or marked. They will also fear that they will be considered less competent or incapable.
To mitigate this, organizations need to conduct these sessions regularly with a clear message that they care for employee’s mental and emotional wellness. They should create the ambience of ‘emotional safety’ setting standard rules like not allowing judgmental comments, interruption in conversations and cross-talk. This would be meant to take care of sensitive employees.
Finally, organizations apprehend that implementing employees’ mind wellness programs may increase medical cost. Such programs may need complex psychiatric treatments and psychotropic drugs. But when employees start attending their mental issues from the beginning owing to the organization’s effort, the cost automatically comes down. They will themselves become more aware of mental wellness which will work in the organization’s favor.
As corporate wellness programs continue to evolve, mind wellness will get more attention. It will not be right to think of mind wellness programs as a solution for complex mental disorders. The aim is to nurture mind wellness of employees along with physical wellness where employees get the feeling of wellbeing at the workplace. That would create the healthy growth of both the employees and the organization.
