HR Professionals: 3 Action Items to Better Improve Mental Health in the Workplace

Employees can suffer from poor mental health in the workplace due to a multitude of factors. As a student at Northwestern University with an interest in Human Resources and mental health in the workplace, I have found two articles that help define how mental health affects employees’ engagement and performance.  

In the article “How to Talk to Your Boss About Your Mental Health” by Caitlin Flynn from Glamour, Flynn provides a few examples of times employees felt uncomfortable discussing their mental health in the work place and how it negatively affected their workplace relationships. In order to ensure others do not run into this issue, Flynn offers a few ways to discuss one’s mental health with their boss. These suggestions include creating an action plan before hand and being open to their suggestions. This is an important topic to discuss when improving mental health in the workplace because an open relationship between bosses and employees surrounding mental health allows employees to prioritize their health. 

https://www.pageuppeople.com/resource/managing-stress-in-the-workplace/

Carson Kessler, shares an interesting view of mental health in the workplace in her article,  “How CEOs Are Making Mental Health a Less Taboo Topic at Work” published in Fortune. Kessler highlights CEOs like Alex Gorsky of Johnson & Johnson and Brian Moynihan of Bank of America as they attempt to increase mental health awareness in their companies. They are reducing stigma by embracing employee feedback, offering digital behavioral technology in insurance plans, and integrating mental health policies into existing practices. These actions are allowing employees who once feared being shunned for talking about their mental health to start turning to their employers for support during their time of need. Kessler also mentions not only is prioritizing mental health humane, but also financially beneficial due to the money lost from absences, low productivity, and other negative factors. 

Based on these articles and my studies in Learning and Organizational Change at Northwestern University, I have made these three recommendations in order to better improve mental health in the workplace. They are:

•  Include Mental Health in Health- Treat mental health and mental health treatment the same way you treat physical health and physical health treatment.
• Speak Openly with All- Engage with others in discussion surrounding mental health without judgement.
• Policies Create Awareness- Create new policies within the workplace that can increase awareness of mental health practices and help those struggling with mental health.

As HR Professionals, we have to be concerned not only with the physical health of our employees, but also their mental health. Next time you are thinking about mental health, remember these three action items as a way to help you build a better workplace.

I'm Haleigh Stark, a Senior Learning and Organizational Change student at Northwestern University, also studying Latino/a Studies and Integrated Marketing Communications. Outside of school I am involved in greek life, volunteer at an after school program, work as a nanny, and manage my photography business. Last year I worked in D.C. as an internal consulting intern for the U.S. Department of the Treasury. After I graduate in June 2019, I plan to pursue a career in Human Resources. You can follow me on Twitter and Linkedin.