Business Matters: Stress Awareness Month

Lancashire Mind have delivered mental health and wellbeing training for a decade to businesses across the county and have expanded services to include group and 1:1 wellbeing coaching.

Whilst interventions like these are an effective way to support employees, there are a few things that employers can start doing straight away.

1. Encourage open communication and support seeking when needed. Weekly team check-ins can provide a productive safe space to share concerns.

Promoting an honest and open environment can not only normalise support seeking, but also enable your employees to see the positive outcomes of support seeking.

This promotes a strong team mentality, which also strengthens an open, approachable company culture. It may be the case that an employee seeking help and support in one area can offer help and support in another creating an exchange and promoting fair tasks delegation.

2. Support staff dealing with workplace stress by promoting education around work-related stress and the impact this can have.

You can do this by displaying up-to-date posters and leaflets which offer support and education surrounding mental health and wellbeing.

Make sure information and support is readily available, and make it clear who employees can approach for support.

Encouraging and normalising support seeking within the organisation makes employees feel supported and they are less likely to develop symptoms of burnout and other work-related stress symptoms.

3. Celebrate employee achievements.

Employees who feel valued and appreciated are more likely to perceive their role as a meaningful activity. This in turn increases their confidence to seek support when needed and promotes overall job satisfaction, which will safeguard against work-related stress.

4. Offer mental health training opportunities and encourage team-building activities as ‘mental wellbeing’ days.

Promoting the fact that everybody needs time to check in with their own mental wellbeing, and actively encouraging this as an organisation, not only reduces the stigma but also reinforces that your organisation acknowledges the negative impact workplace stress can have.

Prioritising workplace wellbeing is not only the right thing to do it makes good business sense too. So, what’s stopping you? Make the start today, you won’t regret it.