Supporting staff mental health good for business and community
It’s definitely tough out there for many businesses right now. Staff and material shortages are the latest in a long line of COVID-related blows to the business community and that means more pressure on staff and owners to keep putting the ‘open’ sign up.
Yet while we can’t do a lot to control the economic climate, business owners can do something to control how equipped they and their staff are to deal with these mounting threats to their team’s mental health and wellbeing.
When people are suffering from mental distress, having someone to talk to early on can make a real difference and stop a situation from escalating. People are more likely to talk to a trusted workmate, friend or family member before they reach out for help and giving your team the skills to handle those tough conversations can mean they say the right things, at the right time and help a situation from escalating.
Would your staff know what signs and symptoms of mental distress to look for? What to say to someone who is clearly not coping well? By building the capacity of your team to talk to each other about mental health and learn how to listen, what to say and what to do you are proactively helping your staff to get through these challenging times.
What’s more, investing in the mental wellbeing of staff shows employees that you care, not just about the KPIs and targets but about them as individuals. By giving staff and people managers the skills and resources to talk about mental health you’ll be taking positive steps to avoid burnout, reduce absences and help staff feel supported and listened to. It’s about doing what we can do in these challenging times.
At the end of the day, every business owner and staff member has mental health, just like we have physical health. So by learning more about it, we can take steps to look after it and keep ourselves mentally well.
People who attend our workshops tell us they are able to use the skills they learn straight away, in their communication with their partners, colleagues, family and whanau. Its powerful stuff and it helps build a community that we can all benefit from.
So, let’s not waste this opportunity to support our staff and leaders to protect their mental wellbeing, so that we can reap the benefits not just as members of a business but also as a community.
Free GoodYarn Small business workshops are running through May and June funded by Te Hau Toka Southern Wellbeing.
Click here to find out more or to book your place.
Article by Anna Dorsey, was printed in the Lakes Weekly Bulletin 17/5/22 and published on the Southern Wellbeing Trust website.
Photo Image: Jazz Barden (left) GoodYarn facilitator and Mary Mansell (right) GoodYarn facilitator