The month of May has been reserved for mental health awareness since 1949. However, the importance of prioritizing mental wellness has only recently become a topic of conversation, particularly in the workplace. Above all else, the well-being of your employees is most important. Acknowledging your employee’s mental health is not only beneficial to them, but to your company as well. Furthermore, as an employer, the more you prioritize the mental health of everyone in the workplace and encourage them to do so, the more they will feel motivated to produce excellent work. Here are a few ways you can prioritize and encourage mental wellness in the workplace.

1. Introduce a Survey

Reach out to your employees to discover what stressors are present while at work. Upon reviewing the survey results, if you notice a pattern, it will be easier to identify which ways you can help improve your employee’s mental health or alleviate stress.

2. Help Reduce Stress

Once the main stressors in your workplace have been identified, implement different ways to accommodate your employees as it pertains to the specific issue. For example, if work environment and time have proven to be an issue for most employees in the workplace, a few ways to help reduce the stress associated with this problem would be to allow employees the option to:

• Create a more flexible schedule outside of normal work hours
• Work a hybrid schedule 
• Transition to a virtual environment

3. Observe Hours Worked

We all need to rest and recharge. Especially those of us who work in fast-paced environments. Observing and managing the number of hours that your employees work helps to ensure they are avoiding burnout which in turn results in less stress and improved mental health. If they do decide to work longer hours, be sure to encourage them to prioritize enough time for themselves while eliminating work duties.

4. Leave Time for Fun and Connection

A great way to build trust and increase productivity in the workplace is simply having fun. Using downtime for playing games or connecting through conversation outside of work matters could help to relieve the stress associated with your employees’ workload throughout the day. If you are unsure of how your employees would prefer to spend their downtime or if they would like to engage in these work exercises, creating a survey or poll is a great way to gain more insight into their preferences. 

5. Offer Employee Care and Support

It is very important to ensure that you provide your employees with adequate benefits to cover mental health services such as group therapy, individual therapy, and couples therapy to name a few. Providing access to a variety of qualified mental health specialists such as therapists and psychiatrists is also important which can be offered through an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Another great way to provide access to mental health resources could be compiling a list of apps, websites, and books that offer services or provide information that aid in mental wellness.

About Lewis-Price & Associates Inc.

Lewis-Price & Associates, Inc., is a fast-growing mission solutions company supporting federal agencies through premiere training, program management and IT services. Serving federal agencies across the government spectrum, from defense to civilian, we ensure the success of ongoing federal agency operations through effective curriculum development, professional coaching, program management, and administrative and technical services. Lewis-Price is committed to providing high-quality, effective and on-time solutions to partners and customers through a team that values integrity, intention, and excellence in everything we do. Learn about how we can bring our unique approach to success to your organization today at lewisprice.com, and please follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.