World Mental Health Day this year focuses on improving mental wellbeing in the workplace. Lou Campbell highlights eight changes that could make a big difference.
This year’s World Mental Health Day will take place on Thursday, 10 October. The annual awareness-raising event for 2024 will have the theme: “It’s time to prioritize mental health at work”.
It will also provide an opportunity for HR professionals, occupational health practitioners and employers to pay attention to the challenges of mental health in the workplace.
The number of workers who experience mental health problems at work is still high. One quarter of UK employees have said they are unable to deal with the stress and pressures at work. last year, one out of five employees had taken time off due to mental health issues.
More than 50% of sick leave is due to stress, anxiety or depression. The mental health issues that have been left behind by the pandemic are a part of it, but the daily demands of work also play a role.
Work-life balance, long hours, and being available for messages and emails outside of normal working hours are all factors that contribute to mental stress. If people don’t have the tools and support to cope with these pressures, then workplace mental health will continue to be a problem.
Eight ways to build mental resilience and support mental health
Here are eight tips and techniques you can share with your employees on World Mental Health Day to support their mental health and build resilience. This will allow them to thrive both personally and professionally.
These small, but significant changes can easily be woven into your day to help you build the foundations for good mental health.
Set boundaries for work. Setting boundaries is good for mental health and helps you perform better at work.
If we don’t take action, working long hours or being “on call” during non-worktime can lead to burnout, stress and sleep problems.
To help maintain balance, a shutdown schedule is a simple solution. It is a set of steps that we follow as the day ends.
You can do this by reviewing your work, making a list of tasks, recognizing what you have achieved, closing the computer or logging off from the work sign-in, and doing a post-work activity.
This helps us manage our workload effectively while also creating the mental boundaries and behaviours needed to switch off and rest at the end the day.
Work to reduce negative thoughts. Negative thought patterns are often the cause of stress and anxiety. Self-criticism, perfectionism or catastrophising thoughts can exacerbate difficulties.
Labeling is a way to reduce their impact. Stop, take a deep breath, and then ‘label’ the thoughts that are currently on your mind.
This simple, yet effective technique interrupts the automatic flow negative thoughts. It gives us mental space and reduces their impact on our mood and behaviour.
A feeling of belonging is essential to mental health. It is crucial to maintain a connection when you are experiencing anxiety or stress.
Stay in touch with your friends by organizing meet-ups. Do not be afraid of confiding in someone when you’re struggling. Sharing vulnerability is an act of strength, and the foundation of healthy relationships.
Looking for connection through hobbies, interests or community/volunteering projects in our personal life can also help boost our mental wellbeing.
4) Increase your serotonin. This neurotransmitter helps to stabilise mood and reduce depression.
Spending time in the sun, exercising regularly and spending time with family and friends can help boost serotonin.
Spend 30 minutes each day in the natural light. This will help you to boost your serotonin levels.
Improve your sleep and improve sleep hygiene. A healthy sleep is essential for our mental health.
Strengthening the link between bed and sleeping is the most important thing that we can do in order to improve our sleep.
Our goal is to teach our brain that our bed is a place for sleeping, and not to check our phones. It is a good idea to keep mobile phones out of the bedroom and charge them in another area if you can. This will help create the separation we need from technology to establish this connection between bed and sleep.
Further, the blue light produced by phone screens suppresses melatonin production, preventing healthy sleep. By removing screens in the bedroom, the melatonin level can rise more quickly to the required level for restorative and healthy sleep.
Recognise mindfulness’ value. It has been scientifically proven that mindfulness reduces stress, anxiety and depression while boosting mental well-being. Focusing on your breathing for a few moments can be an effective mindfulness practice to interrupt the automatic stress reaction.
Stretching for a few minutes every hour will make a big difference to our mental health and help us get more exercise in the day.
Stop what you’re doing when you feel stressed and concentrate on your breath. You may feel it in your nose, mouth, or torso.
While you are breathing in, inwardly state “breathing out”. When you exhale, say to yourself “breathing out”.
Continue doing this as long as possible, and then get back to your normal routine. It can be done at your desk with your eyes closed or open. This will trigger your parasympathetic system, which reduces stress and increases resilience.
Move more. Regular movement is good for your mental health as well as physical health.
It can reduce feelings of depression and anxiety, as well as negative thinking patterns and moods. It also boosts confidence and self-esteem, and improves sleep quality.
Moving more is a great way to improve our mental health. Increasing your formal exercise levels is a great way to move. Stretching regularly during the day allows us to move even more, and breaks up stress hormones that are stored in our muscles.
Stretching for a few minutes every hour will make a big difference in our daily routine and help us to move more.
Asking for help is the best thing we can do if we’re experiencing mental health issues.
This is not a sign weakness, but strength. Speak to your doctor, employee assistance program or another healthcare provider. They can provide you with support and treatment if needed.
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