How To Assist Employees With Mental Health Problems
Mental health problems are becoming more and more common throughout America. In 2016, nearly 45 million adults in the United States reported experiencing a mental illness. Most of those people are not confined to institutions. They are attempting to live normal lives and maintain regular jobs.
That means you may have one or more employees on your payroll who are experiencing emotional disorders. While you may think the workplace is the wrong location for mental health interventions, that is not the case. In fact, workplaces are great for promoting positive health culture. They offer central programs, a strong communication structure and support networks. Employers also can easily track the progress of their employees.
Health Coverage
One of the best things you can do for any struggling employees is make sure they can afford the costs of treatment. That means including mental health coverage as part of your company’s health plan for workers. Make sure the plan includes in-network psychiatrists and psychologists. You can also provide a health savings account for workers to help them pay for out-of-pocket costs.
You should also research mental health resources within the five boroughs and provide this information to employees. For ADHD treatment NYC has particularly good options.
Free Programs
Your office can provide direct mental health counseling, as well. Invite a qualified mental health professional to conduct subsidized or free depression screenings for workers. You may also want to offer mindfulness seminars that teach breathing exercises and other stress reduction techniques.
Assessment
You and other managers need to be on the lookout for evidence of emotional problems. Provide training to leadership personnel so they know the warning signs. You could also distribute fliers and brochures to all team members that describe the symptoms of mental illness along with treatment options.
Some employees may feel embarrassed about seeking mental health assistance through work. You should thus normalize the use of the available resources.
Communication
Talking to your employees is the best way to find out about any mental health issues they are having. Stop by each worker’s cubicle to find out how he or she is doing. Ask specific questions about what an individual needs. Even if a person is not comfortable sharing the details of his or her problems, the worker will appreciate that you are listening and showing compassion.
Leadership
Whatever steps you take may not seem legitimate unless you practice what you preach. Take some time to focus on your own self-care. Tell workers when you are going on vacation or attending a therapy session. This could make them more willing to share their own mental health struggles, as well.
The above suggestions will not just help your employees. They should also boost your company as a whole. Per the Centers for Disease Control, workers with poor mental health may struggle to remain engaged with work. They may not communicate well with other co-workers, and their productivity could suffer. Depression, in particular, reduces cognitive performance approximately 35 percent of the time, and affects a person’s ability to complete physical tasks around 20 percent of the time.
In fact, one study found that nearly 86 percent of individuals with depression reported improvement in their work performances after receiving treatment. Depression treatment may also reduce absenteeism by up to 60 percent.
Focusing on your employees’ emotional well being will also increase their odds of staying with your company. More than a third of the respondents in a 2019 survey stated that they left a job at least in part due to their mental health.
By assisting workers who are struggling, you will not have to spend extra time and money looking for replacement employees. You also may reduce the amount your company pays for employee health care. That’s because those with serious mental health problems are twice as likely to develop metabolic and cardiovascular diseases.
Helping employees with mental health disorders will not only make those workers feel better. It could also improve the morale and output of your company as a whole.
