World Mental Health Day: Prioritize Mental Wellness at Work!
Hey, I know you have plenty of deadlines at work and you are striving hard to be more productive but tell me when was the last time you genuinely got asked by your colleague “How are you feeling?”. Do you not think amidst too many things on your plate addressing mental health at the workplace should be a priority now? It indeed is!
1. Breaking the Stigma
Discussing mental health is not taboo! It is going to be refreshing when we build a work environment which is open and supportive. Every employee, be it an intern or a head has a space to express what they feel and talk about the struggle they go through. Does it not sound so refreshing?
2. Mental Health Impacts Everything
Do you think that if talks about mental health are left untouched it does not impact your routine? Unfortunately it does. Every tiny task would make you overwhelmed, heavy to take up, the day just began and you would already be drained. You might not be able to concentrate though you have been staring at the screen for hours. Whereas prioritizing mental health enables you to concentrate, trigger your creativity and overall teamwork can be improvised.
3. Quality Over Quantity
Your signing in early and signing out later than the actual work hours does not prove that the work done is productive or you have locked in your concentration all along. You do not have to work hard, smart work would suffice when you prioritize your mental health. This will create an environment which is more productive and engaging for everyone, without the stress to work.
4. Simple Steps to Foster Mental Wellness
You do not have to do too much to imply this. You will not believe it if I tell you even a simple smile can make a difference. Create a workplace which welcomes open communication, casual conversation with colleagues about mental health, addressing if anything is suspicious or when someone is hesitant asking for help. Encouraging everyone’s effort irrespective of the outcome is important. We all have downtime and breaks, at that moment encouraging us to do better gives us a mountain of strength. Not all of our works are similar though we work under the same roof. Especially those in the research field which we do not even try to wrap our heads around.
5. Invest in Mental Health, Invest in Your Team
Mental health investment is equal to investing in an overall better well-being. It is hard to be in a place where one can not voice out about how they feel to work. There might be plenty of reasons to feel burnout and when this goes unnoticed, the consequences would absolutely not be pleasant.
Let us now take a moment on this mental health day and come together for the sake of us and our colleagues as well to build a workplace that is healthier as well as happier. Start now, for a better tomorrow.
