May is National Mental Health Awareness Month, and it’s important to talk about the various ways that mental health affects people in the workplace. It’s a month dedicated to educating, promoting positive conversations and ending the stigmas surrounding mental health.
It’s crucial for companies to understand how they can create a healthy workplace environment that supports employee mental health. In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, let’s explore some of the ways you can support your employees and become a mental health ally.
An article published by the Harvard Business Review reported that, “To be a mental health ally at work is to help those struggling with mental health issues feel valued and needed. This can have positive long-term benefits, including increased employee engagement, productivity, and loyalty. Strengthening and deepening relationships between colleagues can also benefit the broader employee community. When we’re supported, we’re also often eager to support others, creating a virtuous self-reinforcing cycle.”
At LYLA, we’ve seen the incredible impact that providing support to employees has on companies as a whole. When you take care of those that take care of your company, your workplace environment becomes a positive one.
Everyday Practices
Supporting the mental health of the people around you is sometimes as simple as checking in. We’ve grown accustomed to answering questions like, ‘How are you feeling?’ or ‘How was your day?’, with simple pleasantries that are oftentimes untrue. Openness and transparency is key when it comes to feeling supported and conquering mental health stigmas.
Prepare yourself to be more vulnerable and empathetic when doing employee check-ins! When you share your honest experiences with your coworkers and employees, it opens the door to building deeper relationships and establishes a foundation of trust within your workplace. And if your employees are vulnerable with you in return, ask how you can help! Feeling heard and understood is imperative when it comes to mental health conversations.
Education and Resources
Mental health awareness in the workplace is essential for employees to be able to identify symptoms of mental illness and feel comfortable seeking help. Mental health education can take many forms, from informational sessions led by mental health professionals to workshops on stress management and self-care.
By providing mental health education in the workplace, employers can create a more supportive environment, help employees to thrive and can also help employees to understand how to support each other in the workplace.
Many companies offer Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) to help support employee mental health. However, when it comes to resources that are successful at making a positive change in the workplace, it’s become clear that traditional EAPs often fall short.
We emerged during the coronavirus pandemic to get ahead of employee burnout and help with their mental health in a way that traditional Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) have not been able to. By combining artificial intelligence with an empathetic human touch, LYLA offers personalized solutions to today’s most pressing personal needs.
Sometimes the little things, like the stress of scheduling doctors appointments or making dinner reservations, can have just as big of an impact on mental health as monumental life events. We’ve accomplished over 7 billion tasks to help alleviate the everyday stressors of employees, so they have more time to focus on what really matters.
At LYLA, mental health awareness and support is a cause near and dear to our hearts every month. This May, take the time to think about ways you can help support your employees mental health and create an accepting, positive workplace environment.
Interested in learning about how LYLA can help your employees? We’d love to hear from you!
