Most of us are reeling under the aftermaths of covid-19 pandemic in our own different ways. For some, working from home is a challenge and for the others, it’s a relief to be staying home. While, amidst all this, commercial space for lease in India have started opening up for work too ensuring the mental health of its employees.
In order to make a smooth transition from work from home to work from office, an organization needs to make sure that it offers a mental health-friendly workplace for its inmates. Here’s how to do it:
1. Endorse Openness on Mental Health/Illness
When anyone from the top management starts talking about their issues and experiences with mental illness, it makes the entire office comfortable talking about it. Anxiety and depression are still not labelled as serious health issues in India and are looked upon as a taboo.
However, if a manager initiates the dialogue and promotes openness in talking about mental health, the employees are more likely to know that nobody is alone in this. This is one of the first and biggest steps in ensuring a mental health-friendly workplace.
2. Offer a Mix of Work & Play
Leading offices and workplaces like Candor Techspace Tikri Gurgaon offer a mix of both work and play in a hybrid manner. When you step inside an office, you’d find a table tennis corner at one side and ping pong table at the other one. There are indoor games and group plays for employees to rejuvenate their tired brains and destress themselves. All this culminates into a mental health-friendly workplace.
3. Promote Destressing Techniques
Turn your board room into a yoga or meditation room every morning for an hour or so. What better way than get your employees started on the day with a relaxing yoga or meditation session.
This helps them take head on with the day ahead and face the challenges in a coherent manner. Once in a year or so, hire a masseuse to get all employees a calming massage.
4. Cut Alcohol from the Social Meetups
Mental health issues and alcohol are largely interrelated and not many people are aware of that. Usually, at every office party or client meetup, booze becomes an essential part. However, in order to promote a mental health-friendly workplace, it is important to exclude alcohol from the social gatherings. You can load up on the mocktails, fresh juices, and detox drinks instead to promote a healthy work event.
5. Distribute a Mental Health Toolkit
Ever since an increase in the mental health illnesses and suicides, there is an increasing focus on ensuring mental health of their employees by the corporates. To weave it deep into the organization culture, it is a great idea to have a mental health toolkit for all. The toolkit is a collection of resources that support those with mental health issues.
This kit should be made a mandatory part of a new joiner’s resource list and for existing employees too. The toolkit, however, has to be updated regularly for the maximum effect and reach.
6. Offer Subsidy on Health & Wellness Packages
We all know that physical and mental health are corelated and the best way to ensure a mentally-stable workforce is by empowering them with subsidized health and wellness activities. For instance, an organization can offer discount on gym subscriptions, health check packages, medicines, and even learning a foreign language.
