Mental Wellbeing In The Workplace
There is no doubt that mental wellbeing in organisations should be much more front and centre, considering employees spend at the very least 1/3 of their lives at work. Organisations ought to start thinking about, and having this very important conversation, around the impact that both employee work and personal challenges have on their employees’ mental wellbeing, the impact on the organisation and what role organisations ought to play.
For employees to render a valuable service, and which is in the company’s best interest, they not only have to be present at work, but they too must be fully engaged. The operative words being “fully engaged”. An employee can be present at work but not fully engaged, resulting in the employee performing the bare minimum or even worse, going into self-preservation or quiet quitting mode, just to earn a salary at the end of each month. The question organisations need to ask themselves is, “Why and how does this happen to an employee?”. The simple answer is that, for whatever reason, these employees are either struggling with workplace, life or relationship challenges, resulting in them becoming disengaged or even losing a sense of belonging. And this all stems from a mental wellbeing state of mind. It goes without saying that organisations need to become more sensitive to employee wellbeing, as it is the very key to get people to become more engaged, and to remain fully engaged at work.
Yes, we could blame burnout, laziness, or even the current mental health roller coaster we all seem to be on. Regardless of what's to blame, disengagement or even worse, “quiet quitting”, has become more and more prevalent in organizations. The term “quiet quitting” explains the phenomenon where instead of actually quitting, many employees have stopped doing anything extra, and do the bare minimum at work. This could be reflected in employees’ not speaking up in or out of meetings, skipping non mandatory company events, or not volunteering to take on a new project or work additional hours, or simply struggling with life, workplace or relationship challenges. Are these employees just going through the motions and doing the bare minimum to earn a pay cheque each month-end? Have these employees a lack of direction or purpose, or are they simply struggling to cope with workplace, life and / or relationship challenges? These are just a few of the very concerning themes which ultimately impact the bottom line of all organizations.
The question which organizations need to ask themselves is: “Does it make good business sense to invest in employee mental wellbeing?” From an economical, legal, moral and risk management perspective, the answer is a resounding “YES”.
The greatest gift an organisation can give its employees is not a pay cheque - it’s a culture that values employees and the greater humanity. So, together let’s end the ‘silent crisis’ of employee mental wellbeing by embarking on a holistic mental wellbeing strategy. It begins here. It begins now and it begins with US!!
So, here is our challenge to organisations and leaders - Will you continue to be part of the silence, or part of the solution?
We look forward to guiding, supporting and walking this wonderful journey with you and your employees.
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