CAREERLIFESTYLE & TRAVEL

Mental Health in the Workplace

As you journey through your career, managing your mental health often gets moved to the back burner. With work stress and deadlines, you may start to feel burned out or lack the energy needed to complete your work tasks. Let’s review a few tips to keep your mental health a top priority and determine what your company can do to assist you.

Pursue Work-Life Balance

In certain instances, people can become workaholics which often leads to poor mental health. This can contribute to problems at home which can then affect your capabilities at work. As an employee, you are tasked with finding the sweet spot between giving the appropriate amount of attention to your home and work life. Being organized with a calendar can assist you in making sure you don’t overwork. The more you plan to avoid burnout, the more you set yourself up for success in both places. Be sure to give yourself grace in this process because you’re human and things will happen that are out of your control.

Utilize Your Paid or Personal Time Off

Some people choose to use every minute of paid or personal time off (PTO), while others avoid using it completely. Finding a balance where you can take time for yourself and save some PTO for emergencies is key. By giving yourself time off, you’re allowing your body and your brain to have a break. Work is important but at the end of the day, you must make sure you’re in a great mental and physical place to do your job to the best of your ability. Taking the time to rest your mind will allow you to feel refreshed and stable. Understand that it’s OK for you to put yourself first — remember what they tell you about putting on your own oxygen mask first on the airplane. You deserve to be at your best so you can give your best.

Understand the Impact of Mental Health

Poor mental health can affect many things in the workplace such as communication with coworkers and low job performance. Those who don’t prioritize their mental health can begin feeling depressed. According to the CDC, depression can interfere with a person’s ability to complete a task at work about 20% of the time. This includes reducing an employee’s cognitive performance about 35% of the time. Seeing the signs that your mental health is deteriorating can help avoid certain pitfalls early on.
Most companies provide resources to employees to seek help if needed. Providing tools such as quarterly or annual mental health assessments can assist companies in gaining a better perspective on the environment they’re creating for their employees. It also lets employees know their employer cares about their mental health. Also, providing training to management on how to recognize the signs and symptoms of stress and depression can help avoid future pitfalls.

Struggling with mental health is normal. Acknowledging you may need help could be the best step you ever take. Have confidence in knowing that what you feel now is temporary. At the end of the day, you are not alone and there are resources available so you can become the greatest version of yourself.

Sources:

https://www.cdc.gov/workplace-health-promotion/php/index.html?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion/tools-resources/workplace-health/mental-health/index.html