Mental Health Mistakes That Employers Make

The mental health of your employees matters - it is key to workplace morale, productivity and retention. Many employers make mistakes that can negatively impact the mental health of their employees. Below are some of the blunders to avoid to keep your team sane and happy. 

Mistake 1: Overlooking the signs of burnout

Burnout occurs when an individual reaches their physical and mental limit as a result of stress. At this point, an employee becomes too sick and exhausted to work and has no choice but to take time off. If this is one of your most valuable employees, the cost of burnout can be huge. Make sure to look out for signs that your employees may be nearing burnout. Do they seem stressed and tired? Are they making mistakes they wouldn’t usually make? Are they regularly working long hours? By spotting the signs early, you can intervene early - reducing their workload, letting them take scheduled time off or finding other ways to support them. 

Mistake 2: Engaging in/allowing micromanaging

Micromanaging is stressful for both you and your employees. Trying to keep on top of every individual detail puts more pressure on your employees and makes them feel less valued because you cannot trust them to make their own decisions. It also creates more work for you. If you notice yourself micromanaging, consider taking a step back and seeing what impact it has on everyone’s mental health. You should also warn assistant managers not to micromanage. 

Mistake 3: Ignoring workplace bullying

Is there a workplace bully in your team? Bullies can stress out the rest of their team and be a cause of anxiety and depression. Workplace bullying comes in many forms including insults, manipulative behaviour, spreading rumours, discrimination and sexually inappropriate behaviour. Make sure none of your employees are guilty of this behaviour. Make sure that you regularly consider your own behaviour too. Are you being fair with all your employees?

Mistake 4: Failing to outsource professional support

You may not be a mental health expert, but you can always hire or outsource mental health experts to aid you. These could be outsourced services that you can recommend to employees free of charge if they are mentally struggling - especially if you do not feel qualified to give advice. There are also options like mental health chaplaincy to provide spiritual mental health support to those who are religious. Larger companies could even consider hiring full time staff members to provide mental health support. 

Mistake 5: Not encouraging open communication

Your employees need to feel that they can open up about their problems. If you constantly dismiss employee complaints or are unavailable to talk to, it could lead to employees bottling up negative feelings or feeling that they have no choice but to leave for their mental health. Making yourself approachable and encouraging employees to be open can help you to identify issues that employees are having and solve them together. Regular one-on-one meetings could be a great way to encourage this type of communication.