This year’s theme for World Mental Health Day focuses on workplace mental health, providing an opportunity for employers and employees alike to step back and consider the impact of work on our mental wellbeing.
The NHS’s five steps to mental wellbeing can all be applied to a professional setting and provide a good place to start for businesses that are looking to promote wellbeing in the workplace.
Firstly, connecting with other people is recommended by the NHS as a way to be energised and stimulated by those around us. Our workplace offers an opportunity for meaningful collaboration, relationship building and personal emotional support
Physical activity is the second step on the NHS list, there are multiple opportunities to build these into the working day including walking meetings and ‘go, look, see’ practices, which are often seen in lean working environments, and which enable context-based observations and can identify practical improvements. You may also like to evaluate how much emphasis you place on input as opposed to output and to make sure you are as flexible as you can be, in recognition that people have different patterns/times of day when they are at their best.
Learning new skills is the third step, and one which can be easily transferred to a workplace setting. Professional development should be available and accessible to all, with managers playing a key role in identifying opportunities for their team members to explore different areas by allowing them time to develop.
The NHS advises ‘giving to others’ as the fourth stage in mental wellbeing, which can be applied both within and outside of work. A great way to achieve this is by giving your time to mentor and coach those around you.
Finally, mindfulness – paying attention to the present moment – is vital to mental wellbeing, according to NHS guidance. All too often I see overstretched colleagues rushing between tasks and juggling overwhelming workloads, leaving little time or headspace to focus on the here and now. By reviewing team structures and reallocating responsibilities, business leaders can free up their teams to concentrate on what matters most to deliver value and take pride in achievements.
Importantly, business leaders and managers should apply each of these stages to their own mental wellbeing. We know that leadership and management responsibilities can very often lead to overwhelm, which results in lower productivity and performance and this will most likely cascade into teams. In trying to meet the many responsibilities of running a business, many leaders put others first and neglect themselves. Instead, I advocate putting your own oxygen mask on first – taking care of yourself so that you can lean into your responsibilities with confidence, capability and capacity.
