This week is Mental Health Week.

As part of this week, organizations everywhere -hopefully- put the spotlight on mental health and reflected on what’s working, what’s not and what could be improved to improve employee wellness. However, this exercise shouldn’t be done once a year but regularly as part of team check-ins and reviews of team culture and dynamics.

A workplace that prioritizes wellness promotes the physical, emotional, and mental health of its employees. It sends a message that the organization cares about its employees and is invested in their well-being. This can help to reduce stress, burnout, and absenteeism, and increase employee engagement, motivation, and productivity.

When employees feel supported and valued by their employer, it can lead to improved morale and job satisfaction. This can also lead to increased loyalty, reduced turnover, and a more positive workplace culture overall.

To achieve this, managers, leaders and organizations need to:

Educate themselves and their teams about mental health, including common mental health conditions, how to identify signs of distress, and how to support colleagues who may be struggling. There are a number of great programs like The Working Mind that can help with this!

Provide access to resources such as mental health services, employee assistance programs, and educational materials about mental health. By offering these resources, managers show that they care about their employees’ mental health and are committed to supporting them.

Encourage open conversations about mental health and create a safe space for employees to talk about their experiences. Managers can initiate conversations with their team members about mental health, showing that it is a topic that is safe to discuss. By normalizing mental health issues and encouraging open dialogue, team members will feel more comfortable sharing their struggles and seeking support.

Model the behaviors you want to see in your team. Show that you prioritize mental health by taking breaks when needed, setting boundaries, and prioritizing work-life balance. This can help to reduce the stigma.

Be flexible with your team members’ workloads and schedules, especially during times of high stress. This can help prevent burnout and allow team members to prioritize their mental health. We are all human. There will be good days and there will be bad days, and perhaps a lot of mixed days in between. Acknowledge that. Support those days with empathy and flexibility, and don’t lose sight of the people at the heart of your team. This will likely lead to better productivity than not.

Despite progress in recent years, there is still a stigma around mental health in many workplaces. This can make employees feel uncomfortable discussing their mental health, and can make managers hesitant to bring up the topic.

We all have a role to play to end the stigma; so, this week, and most importantly beyond, let’s aim to end it together.