Thriving Minds: Fostering Mental Wellness in the Workplace
In the evolving landscape of public service, mental health in the workplace is more important than ever. With nearly half of working Canadians citing their job as the primary source of stress, it's clear that fostering a supportive and understanding work environment can make a significant difference in the overall well-being of employees.
The Reality
The statistics are eye-opening: about 9.1 million Canadians will experience mental illness at some point in their lives (1 in 3), with many feeling the effects of stress from their jobs. This stress often stems from factors like poor management, a lack of support, and heavy workloads, which is why 47% of Canadians have said they credit work with their source of anxiety. Moreover, a substantial 43% of employees express a desire for greater backing from their senior management and human resources departments. Managers and supervisors also have it rough. Between supporting a team and meeting targets they are 37.3% more likely to report suffering from work related stress. The financial impact is also significant, with the cost of workplace disability leave for mental illness being twice that of leave due to physical illness. Not to mention, those with low mental well-being miss five work days per year on average. And when they are at work, they confess to having low productivity.
The need for mental health assistance is abundantly clear when faced with the reality of the Canadian workforce.
Solutions
Providing employees and managers with resources and training to properly support one another can work wonders for morale. Studies have also shown that when organizations implement proper programs and policies, there was a 13% increase in productivity as well as higher levels of creativity and job performance. When your staff feels valued, healthy, and supported, so does your organization.
Creating a positive mental health culture at work doesn’t have to be complicated. But, it does have to be done with intention, planning, action and commitment. Leaders can take intentional steps by eliminating stigmas, defining resources clearly, promoting work-life balance, distributing workloads fairly, introducing conflict resolution strategies, and acknowledging staff contributions.
This can take the form of a workplace assessment to determine pain points, a workplace restoration to help your staff heal after a harassment claim, or courses and policy implementation to develop strong supports for your employees and managers. QMR has an extensive network of seasoned professionals with years of expertise dedicated to assisting organizations in discovering their full potential through implementing the things they need to improve mental well-being. To start building the positive and healthy workplace that suits your needs, email us at info@qmrconsulting.com.
References
https://www.camh.ca/en/driving-change/the-crisis-is-real/mental-health-statistics
https://health-infobase.canada.ca/datalab/mental-illness-blog.html
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/230619/dq230619c-eng.htm
