• Skip to main content

Work Smart. Live Smart.

Mental Health and Resiliency Expert and Professional Speaker, Beverly Beuermann-King

  • Home
  • Beverly
  • Presentations
  • Blog
  • Resources & Courses
  • Contact

Mental Health Awareness In The Workplace

February 22

mental healthMay is Mental Health Awareness Month

Some Things You Need To Know:

Stress Is Cited As A Top Global Health Risk

For the majority of organizations around the world stress was singled out as the prime threat to health, according to Buck Consultants’ third annual global wellness survey, Working Well: A Global Survey of Health Promotion and Workplace Wellness Strategies.

Canadians Are Stressed Out

According to a Desjardins Financial Security National Health Survey of 1,769 Canadian workers, 30% of respondents feel more stress now than they did last year. Many workers blame their employers for not alleviating some of those stresses. Only 32% of respondents felt their employer helped them better manage their stress at work. Workers suggested employers needed to provide better recognition (36%), provide employees with better work tools (19%) and improve the work environment and working conditions overall (31% and 26% respectively).

Absenteeism Is Steadily Increasing

Work absence rates among Canadian employees have been steadily increasing for more than a decade. Statistics Canada reported in its 2009 Work Absence Rate report that in an average week in 1999, 6.0% of full-time employees holding one job were absent from work for all or part of the week for personal reasons. By 2009, the figure had risen to 8.2%. Total work time missed also rose, from 3.2% of the scheduled week in 1999 to 3.9% in 2009.

According to a study by the London School of Economics, 75% of medical absences are not medical. These absences could be personal (family, alcohol, finances, job satisfaction), organizational (related to the manager, shift, people policies, team or conflict) or macro context (climate, epidemics, day of the week, employment options).

Absenteeism Can Be A Sign Of Burnout

The odds of burnout are higher than ever, as many people have been asked to do more with less.

The Mayo Clinic has identified 13 signs that job burnout may be afoot:

  1. Being more cynical, critical and sarcastic at work.
  2. Loss of the ability to experience joy.
  3. Difficulty getting into work and getting started once there.
  4. Increasingly irritable and less patient with co-workers, customers or clients.
  5. Feeling like there are insurmountable barriers at work.
  6. Lacking the energy to be consistently productive.
  7. No longer feeling satisfaction from your achievements.
  8. Having a hard time laughing at oneself.
  9. Co-workers constantly asking “Are you OK?”
  10. Feeling disillusioned about the job.
  11. Self-medicating – using food, drugs or alcohol – to feel better or to simply not feel.
  12. Changing sleep habits or appetite.
  13. Troubled by unexplained headaches, neck pain or lower back pain.

Burnout to Depression to Suicide

Depression will impact 10% of the population at some point in their lifetime. One of the devastating symptoms of Depression is thoughts of death and suicide. Signs that a suicidal crisis is imminent can include:
  • Talking about suicide or death.
  • Making statements like “I wish I were dead” or “I’m going to end it all.”
  • Less direct verbal cues, including “What’s the point of living?”, “Soon you won’t have to worry about me” and “Who cares if I’m dead, anyway?”
  • Uncharacteristically isolating themselves from others in the workplace.
  • Expressing feelings that life is meaningless or hopeless.
  • Giving away cherished possessions.
  • A sudden and unexplained improvement in mood after being depressed or withdrawn.
  • Neglect of appearance and hygiene.
  • Sudden unexplained deterioration of work performance or productivity.

These warning signs can indicate that a person has serious problems that cona impact his or her life, productivity and the work environment. Workplaces need to understand, recognize and act on these warning signs, in order to help someone find professional assistance and become healthier, happier, and more productive.

Mentally Healthy Workplaces Start At The Top

Employers need to take action to help their employees remain healthy. Effective policies and programs need to be woven into the culture of the company. Some ways that employers can create a healthy workplace include:

  • offering flexible working arrangements and other work-life balance programs;
  • reducing excessive workloads;
  • providing clear job expectations;
  • creating a conflict resolution program;
  • offering appropriate training and tools for the role;
  • ensuring transparency in your communications;
  • offering opportunities for employees to have input; and
  • implementing wellness programs that help in maintaining mental and physical health.

Beverly’s Comments – What does this mean for your wellness programming?

Stress, Burnout and Depression impact our workplaces and lead to decreased productivity, lower employee engagement, absenteeism, turnover and disability. Workplace wellness programs are a critical business strategy that requires buy-in throughout the organization in order to be effective.

Question:

 

How are you focusing on the mental health of your employees?

 

If you have some strategies to share – comment on this posting!

 

Other Articles That You May Like:

Mental Health In The Small Business Workplace

Psychosocial Risk Factors

Employee Health and Barriers To Wellness

Celebrating Healthy Workplace Month

Lessening The Anguish of Depression Through Supportive Workplace Conversations

Your Employees and Burnout

Employee Engagement

Do You Know Your Stress Numbers

Mental Health In The Workplace

Childcare Professionals Day

 

 

 

 

 

[grid_5]
Click Here to Read Beverly's Articles
[/grid_5]

[grid_5]Stress & Wellness Workshops by Beverly
[/grid_5]

[grid_5]
Stress & Wellness Resources
[/grid_5]

[grid_5]Wellness Awareness Calendar
[/grid_5]

[grid_5]Follow Beverly on YouTube
[/grid_5]

[grid_5]Click to Watch Videos of Beverly in Action
[/grid_5]
[clear]
[hr]

Previous Post
Next Post

Written By Beverly Beuermann-King

Building Resiliency Through Stress and Mental Health Strategies.
For over 20 years, Beverly has used her S-O-S Principle™ with teams who want to control their reactions to stress, build resiliency against life’s challenges and live full and flourishing lives. Beverly works with teams and leaders to shift from stressed out to resilient, enabling them to be more engaged, productive and healthy.

online-courses
book-store
sos-to-stress-day
mental-health-week-tips
resiliency-quotes
vulnerability-test
visit-youtube-channel
wellness-calendars

Are you a team leader who wants tips to manage team stress and build resiliency?

Receive the Corporate Wellness Brief.

Absolutely

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

info@WorkSmartLiveSmart.com 705-786-0437

Copyright © 2021 Work Smart Live Smart · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Sitemap