Mental Health Awareness in the Workplace.
The days of not speaking out about mental health are over!
Mental health is something we have all experienced. From feeling anxious to feeling low, we have all been there.
Here at Duell Training Associates, we understand the importance of mental health and the well-being of others.
Mental health is a person’s well-being. It is how a person copes with everyday stressors, this could be anything from life at home to work tasks.
At work, positive mental health is the main priority for business owners as this keeps employees healthy and happy.
But it also allows companies to challenge their staff to:
- Grow in Confidence
- Expand skill sets
- Improve their quality of work
But without facing new challenges, how will we be able to grow?
As employers, we aim to offer the best work experience for our employees.
- 1 in 4 individuals are estimated to experience mental ill health
- 15% of the workforce have symptoms of an existing mental health condition
- 300,000 individuals leave their job through poor mental health each year
In association with Highfield Qualifications Awarding Organisation, we offer training courses to support businesses manage their employees’ mental ill health.
Not only will this help your organisation function smoothly but simply because it’s the right thing to do.
The well-being of your staff’s mental health should be incorporated into a workplace’s Health and Safety culture. Attending the Lv2 Awareness course will highlight the common causes of poor mental ill health and can them empower a staff member to speak out.
For quick tips, here are some helpful points to practice at work and home that can benefit your mental health:
1. Healthy Communication
Communicating openly and honestly when things are difficult may seem daunting to reduce work-life stress. But this is one of the best things you can do. Communicating with a friend, colleague, manager, boss or your direct mental health support team within your workplace can open many doors for you to receive the support you require. In your workplace it could be the most simple things you are taking for granted that add to workplace pressures which in turn create tension in the body and in turn further annoy you creating a negative mindset. Add to this any of your own personal issues and the increasing cost of living we are currently experiencing. You can see how easily it all adds up. Remember, your work life IS important to you so it makes sense to talk about things work related. And your personal life is surely of the utmost importance too.
What annoys you at work?
- Your office chair doesn’t give you a good posture
- The PPE you need to work safely doesn’t fit right
- The equipment I use at work has been broken for some time
The list goes on…
Clearly the benefits are as follows:
- Improving your work environment
- Support with work tasks
- More communication within the team
2. Deep breathing
Deep breathing is a great exercise to help release tension in the body and mind, relax unwanted nerves, and help increase your energy levels. There are strong studies that a person that has been practising breathing exercises can reduce their own pain levels too.
This exercise is perfect for taking a moment to yourself to help clear your mind. Performing this exercise can be discrete and can be performed standing or sitting at your work desk!
How to perform this exercise:
- Take a slow deep breath through your nose for five seconds
- Hold a deep breath for three seconds
- Slowly release your breath through your mouth for five seconds.
3. Prioritising work
Are you feeling stressed with your workload?
Do you feel like you won’t meet your deadlines?
To avoid feeling overwhelmed at work, prioritizing work tasks is something we can do to help manage our day.
Having a work schedule will highlight to your employer the work tasks you have planned. The benefits of this are:
- Your employer will be able to see when you have planned to work on projects and will know when they will be completed by.
- Your employer will to able to see your workload. This will prevent too much or too little work from being passed to you.
Benefits for you:
- You will feel more organized
- You will have a clear plan for your day
- You will feel more flexible with your time.
Planning the working day/week reduces the risk of feeling overwhelmed and under pressure to meet deadlines.
Speak with your line manager/employer about a tool to use in the office to help you prioritize your work.
4. Take Lunch breaks
We have all been there…
Working through a lunch break is very tempting to have an earlier finish. But working through every lunchbreak, with no breaks during the day can be overwhelming and may cause:
- Eyestrain
- Fatigue
- Headaches
- Produce lower quality work
Working with no breaks may cause stress. Here are some relaxing things to do during your lunch break:
- Go for a walk
- Listen to music
- Use that app on your phone with all of those relaxing sounds and put on your headphones.
- Speak with friends
- Read a book
Oh yeah – and remember those breathing exercises we just talked about !!
5. Eat healthy meals
Eat well for mental health.
After a long day at work, it is very easy to order a takeaway. Studies have shown eating sugar and processed foods contributes to mood swings, anxiety, and depression. Now we aren’t saying ordering the odd Chinese will make you feel terrible the next day, but we do advise that eating a balanced diet with exercise will boost your mood and contribute to your work life.
For more information on mental health please visit Home – Mind
If a face-to-face in-person course isn’t right for you and your business, we also offer e-Learning courses you and your employees can complete at a time which is right for you!