Shifting Priorities: Support Employee Mental Health & Wellness Today

Employee wellbeing confronts every employer and its relevance increased recently due to the global health pandemic. Employers are reconsidering the importance of employees’ state of mental health and overall wellness, while employees are experiencing significant change with elevated anxiety and stress. Research indicates that happier employees increase productivity from 12% -20%1.

What happens to highly stressed staff?

Stress triggers cortisol, a naturally produced hormone. When cortisol is elevated, clear thinking and decision-making are affected. Mistakes and safety incidents surge as a result. Increased cortisol levels can last 48 hours after the stress event ends. Eventually, elevated cortisol is linked to anxiety, depression, and sleep imbalance. This can affect performance and product quality.

A regular health checkup can be helpful to identify if there are any mental health issues. In this article, you will find a few insights about how employee mental wellness makes a difference in the workplace and some tips to connect, communicate, and support your workforce during this unprecedented time. Click to learn about Ideal streaming configuration

1.Employee Engagement

While workplace stress is widely recognized, if left unchecked, it eventually undermines employee engagement. When encountering stress and uncertainty, demotivation can cause underperformance. Helping employees maintain good mental health is a self-healing loop, perpetuated by employees enjoying their work and performing at their best.

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2. Business Outcomes

Psychological well-being is directly associated with individual and organizational performance. As COVID-19 realities set in, survival will rely on the employer’s ability to maintain stability. A 2010 meta-study2 reported that maintaining employees’ mental health has a positive impact on business outcomes in terms of customer satisfaction, productivity, and profitability.

Higher mental wellbeing also correlates with lower employee turnover and absence. Acknowledging changing employees’ emotional needs and capturing unexpressed concerns, increases the likelihood of a financially viable future for an organization.

3. Attract and Motivate Top Talent

While many firms have restrained hiring, or are restructuring, the pressure will be on companies’ top talent. High performers are less motivated by monetary rewards and rather care about employers meeting their personal, professional, and emotional needs. Ensuring excellent employee performance is crucial in this scenario, as it can not only enhance productivity but also foster a culture of commitment and innovation. Attracting high-potential/high performer populations can provide actionable intelligence with individuals who will bear the greatest role in recovery.

Investment in providing support and respect for future talent acquisition can produce high returns. Now you have seen the importance of addressing employees’ mental wellness amid this upheaval. Are you wondering, “What is the first step?” An Employee Wellness Toolkit like the one from Retensa LLC will help leaders ensure their employees are heard, helped, and have what they need to feel safe.

Rather than waiting for employees to express their concerns, leaders can use technology to capture employee’s current state of mental health by gathering data and identifying areas of focus.

As employee wellness permeates today’s company culture, the company that understands develops, supports, and motivates its staff is the company that succeeds. Alternately, imagine if you don’t. Take the first step. Get the answers to take the actions that will make a difference.