An employer is usually more concerned with profits, production and sales. They rarely have the time or inclination to care for any mental challenges their employees may experience at the workplace. Yet, almost every other employee faces anxiety, stress, depression, and other mental challenges at their workplace. This is a serious cause for concern and must be addressed because it can have a critical effect on a company’s bottom line.

If you have any mental issues, you can always consult a mental health expert at health2delivery, who is always available to reach out if you need help.

10 signs that your employee has mental health issues

Observe your workforce for these ten signs, and you will know if any of them experience mental health challenges that may affect their productivity;

1. An unkempt appearance –people with mental health issues rarely care for their physical appearance. They may dress inappropriately, have poor hygiene, have unkempt hair and beard, untrimmed nails, etc.

2. Erratic behaviour –workers class is usually well-versed in keeping their emotions in check at the workplace, but mentally challenged people find this endeavour very difficult. They may experience highs and lows in their mood and erratic changes in their behaviour.

3. Easily irritated –the excessive anxiety and stress may cause people to snap at the slightest provocation. They may become easily irritated with the difficulties in a project or a coworker’s approach.

4. Taking many leaves for absence –often, mental health problems cause a variety of psychological and physical issues that require special care and time away from work. Sometimes, depressed individuals just cannot muster enough strength to get out of bed in the morning.

5. Changes in eating and sleeping patterns –mentally disturbed people often refuse to eat lunch or eat with their coworkers. They may also exhibit insomnia, narcolepsy or other signs of mental health degradation.

6. Getting easily confused –resolving complex problems is not easy for people with mental health issues. They quickly get confused, get stuck on a matter or take too much time solving a relatively easy problem.

7. Excessive fear and anxiety –paranoia is a fundamental part of many mental illnesses. The employees may look towards their coworkers with suspicion and wariness, remain uptight in following regulations or have unreasonable fears.

8. Decrease in productivity –mentally unhealthy workers may experience fatigue, insomnia, stress, depression, etc. Their mental hang-ups make it challenging to concentrate on work and be productive.

9. Avoidance of social situations –every company has its own social culture. Employees that remain withdrawn from interaction and only do the bare minimum may be at risk of mental illness. They may be suffering from loneliness, depression, anxiety, isolation and self-loathing.

10. Substance abuse –people with mental health problems often turn to prescription or non-prescription drugs, alcohol, food, tobacco, or sex for relief. 

If you witness one or more of these symptoms in your employees, it may be a red flag for declining mental health. Try and get them help as soon as possible; otherwise, the company’s bottom line may be affected.

Why should employers care for their employee’s mental health?

Let’s ignore the legal or moral dilemma that might arise from ignoring employees’ mental health for a moment. The sharp drop in company performance and profits alone should provide an employer with enough incentive to take into account their employee’s mental health. Employees with depression, excessive anxiety and other mental health problems face a number of work difficulties that decrease their productivity. Hundreds of billions are lost from absenteeism, medical costs, and reduced productivity every year.

Mental health has gained a lot of attention in recent years but still faces stigma in many cultures and countries. People are reluctant to speak of their difficulties, let alone get the necessary treatment. Mental illness affects people from all races, genders, cultures, religious affiliations and socioeconomic classes. Depression alone is thought to be the leading cause of disability globally by WHO. 

A great way of finding out how your employees are feeling is to create an employee engagement survey. This can help you understand your staff better, reduce absences and improve employee retention. To find out more information and get a free template look at this website.

Symptoms of depression and workplace experience

Depression manifests in a number of ways that you may need to watch your employees for, like;

• Becoming apathetic to the world

• Losing interest in most activities

• Little to no social activity

• Difficulty concentrating

• Change in eating habits

• Change in sleeping habits

• Feeling worthless

• Suicidal ideation

Depression is a major cause of workers missing weeks of work and unproductivity every year. The prevalence of depression is so high that if you employ a few people, at least some will have this mental illness. These individuals can benefit from your support and increase their productivity manifold, ultimately creating more profit for your company.

Mentally sound employees are good for business

The numbers may seem scary at first glance, but depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses are treatable. When employers help their employees overcome their mental hang-ups, their productivity and work effectiveness increases dramatically.

An employer should introduce some wellness programs to their employees to avoid stress and overcoming anxiety in workplace.

Addressing mental health problems saves money in the long run for the employer. It provides an undeniable economic benefit. When compared to the total medical costs in more severe illnesses caused by mental illness, increased productivity, decreased disability costs, and lower absenteeism, spending a meagre sum and attention on mental health does not seem so terrible.

Employers get mental illnesses too

Education and transparency in mental health are critical to making employees understand the effects of mental illness. Mental health issues may affect the employers too because they have financial stress and exhaustion too. They will benefit from proper knowledge about symptoms, triggers, and treatments. Leaders of society need as much mental health support as the ordinary workforce.

Some parents focus too much on their children’s health and ignore their own, which becomes detrimental for the whole family in the long run. The same is the case when employers ignore their own mental health symptoms in favour of their employees or increase workload. Mental wellbeing should be one of the universal areas of focus for a company, focusing on everyone vulnerable.

Stress in workplace

Like depression, stress is common in a workplace environment too. Stress is not necessarily a medical condition but may be a symptom of an underlying illness. More than a quarter of the workforce feels debilitating stress at work, but these numbers are even more critical for higher positions. Stress occurs when circumstances or bosses make demands of a worker greater than their capacity to handle. Controlled stress is better because it may help increase productivity and urgency to meet deadlines. But excessive stress is only destructive to both the workforce and the economic condition of a company. That is why the causes of stress must be discussed and reduced in a work environment.

4 ways to manage stress in the workplace

1. Regular assessment of employee workload

Prepare for an intervention and a constructive conversation if a socially active and outgoing employee suddenly starts showing negative behavioural changes, like sullenness, anger, or isolation. Try and identify the cause of such a change, is there a personal life event taking place? Who is managing employee workload and making sure this has a balance between tasks, pressure and working with others? The sooner you find it out and begin to address it, the better.

2. Eliminate hostile work environment

Contrary to the mistaken belief, converting the whole workspace into something resembling a prison, where the workforce is the prisoners and the managers are the correctional officers, does not increase productivity. In fact, this atmosphere proves toxic and results in severely diminished returns. Creating a more positive work atmosphere where everyone’s concerns are addressed will help reduce mental health issues.

3. Take periodic breaks

Allow employees to take small breaks throughout the day to let their minds relax. They can take a short walk, go to a friend’s cubicle and chat, or just stand around the water cooler to gossip –such lighthearted activities will severely reduce the mental burden and increase work efficiency as well as productivity.

4. Promote healthy diet and exercise

In most cases, a healthy diet and exercise are enough to subvert many mental and physical challenges. Exercise is also an excellent outlet for frustrations and anxiety, letting you deal with your emotions healthily. According to the old wisdom, ‘it doesn’t matter how frantic or anxious you are, a mere 20-minutes’ walk will likely help with it.’ Similarly, a healthy diet also helps provide a constant source of energy that helps counter stress and depression.

Last word

This age has seen a lot of increase in work-related stress and anxiety. This issue is becoming increasingly problematic and increasing the overall medical and liability costs for businesses. That’s why it is essential that employers take steps to reduce the fallout before the conditions become dire.

Disclosure: This is collaborative post.