Mental health at work is just as important as it is at home. Learn how to foster healthy habits in your workplace as a business owner.
If you and your team are stressed out and overworked, it’s not because there aren’t enough hours in the day. It means it’s time to talk about mental health at work.
Although having a good job promotes mental health, the World Health Organization points out that a negative work environment can actually lead to serious mental health problems.
Larger companies can invest in huge programs to promote mental health for their employees … but what about small-business owners like you?
Well, the good news is that you still can promote mental health at work for you and your team. And it doesn’t take an expensive program to do it.
How to Promote Mental Health at Work
Promoting mental health in your small business starts with forming small but powerful habits.
1. Educate yourself and your employees on mental health at work and at home.
Mental health at work starts with mental health not at work. In other words, make sure you and your employees know how to adopt daily habits that will reduce stress overall.
According to the CDC, some of those habits are:
Exercise several times a week.
Eat healthy foods every day.
Sleep 7-8 hours every night.
Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.
Take regular time to relax and rest.
Pursue hobbies you enjoy that have nothing to do with work.
Do something creative.
2. Set a schedule for your work hours—and keep it.
Many of us say we work to live, but the truth is we often find ourselves living to work. It’s easy to start feeling that your business’ success defines your worth, but that’s simply not true.
You know you’ve started getting out of balance when your family rarely sees you, you’re not getting enough sleep, or work is all you can think about.
Don’t let your work creep into time you’ve set aside for your family or your own mental health.
It’s easy to make compromises here and there, so be firm with yourself. Take your mental health at work and at home seriously.
This goes for your team, too! Don’t expect them to work during non-work hours. This is one of the easiest ways to burn out your team.
3. Check in with your team regularly regarding how they’re feeling about their work.
You’d be surprised how many employees feel guilty or uncomfortable approaching their boss about their work stress. That’s why you have to be the one to approach them.
Ask them how they feel about their workload. Do they have all the time and tools they need to accomplish their tasks? Are they getting along with their co-workers?
Remember, if they do come to you to express their work frustrations, make sure you respond with empathy. As a leader, it’s easy to forget what it’s like to be in your employees’ shoes.
4. Express gratitude often.
This one might sound cliché to you, but it’s one of the most important ways to promote mental health at work.
One of the leading causes of job stress is feeling overworked and underappreciated. Saying “thank you” often, applauding team members for their contributions, and giving random gifts of gratitude are all small and inexpensive ways to make your team feel seen and appreciated.
You’ll find that expressing your gratitude for your team will help your mental health as well!
5. Hire out tasks that you and your team can’t handle alone.
Don’t feel like your team has do to every little thing it takes to run your business. That, my friend, is a highway to burnout.
Create much-needed margin in your life by hiring contractors to take care of tasks you either don’t know how to do or don’t have time to do.
This is why many of our clients hire us to take care of their accounting. Some of them might be able to do it themselves, but why spend extra hours on something our team can do in half the time?
The extra time our clients get by hiring us allows them to invest more into making sales and landing clients.
If you need help with your business’ bookkeeping or want expert financial advice, click here to schedule a consultation call with our team at Foray Business Group. We’re happy to serve you!