Awareness of mental health in the workplace is vital to running an organisation. Meeting the bottom line may have always taken precedence. However, nowadays, especially after the pandemic, we must be mindful of how emotional wellbeing affects individual and company performance.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), an estimated 12 billion working days are lost every year to depression and anxiety, which costs US$1 trillion per year in lost productivity. This figure is incredibly high, which means that while it is our responsibility to look after our wellbeing, we must also create psychologically safe workplaces to help boost mental health.
Although specific challenges will need specialised treatment and intervention, increasing awareness of mental wellbeing in the workplace and building a culture around it can help create more productive organisations with less staff turnover.
In this post, we’ll discuss some risks to mental health in the workplace to understand how to create more supportive work environments. We’ll then discuss how you can equip yourself with the relevant skills to help boost your own and your organisation’s mental wellbeing.
Mental health risks in the workplace
In the article referenced above, the WHO discusses how working and performing good work boosts mental health in the workplace.
As the article states:
Decent work supports good mental health by providing:
- a livelihood;
- a sense of confidence, purpose and achievement;
- an opportunity for positive relationships and inclusion in a community; and
- a platform for structured routines, among many other benefits.
However, working in a toxic environment can negatively impact employees’ mental health. For this reason, it’s essential to be aware of some of the workplace risk factors contributing to poor wellbeing.
These risks, according to the WHO, include:
Being under-skilled or skills not being used to full potential
When someone is not reaching their full potential at work or feels overwhelmed with their workload, it can be challenging to perform in the workplace. Employees with underutilised skills can start to feel resentful. Employees who cannot adapt or upskill quickly enough can begin to suffer from burnout and related challenges.
Lack of staff, excessive workload or pace
Pressure can be a regular part of any job. However, when workloads are excessive, and people are working overtime to compensate for a lack of staff, employees can start to burn out or struggle with their mental wellbeing.
Inflexible, unsocial and long hours
Everyone needs to incorporate rest into their routine. We need to get work done, and sometimes we need to work overtime. However, long, unsocial and inflexible hours are not conducive to optimal wellbeing or performance.
Not being able to control job design or workload
A lack of autonomy and a heavy workload in a role can lead to deep frustration. Managing your schedule in collaboration with others, including superiors, is also essential for your mental wellbeing.
Poor and unsafe physical working conditions
Feeling unsafe or in danger is an obvious threat to physical and mental health in the workplace. A poor working environment, for example, having to work in a space with no natural lighting, can also harm our wellbeing.
Toxic organisational culture
A toxic work environment can create a lot of unnecessary stress. We can spend excessive mental and emotional energy managing conflict and power imbalances, negatively affecting our wellbeing and productivity. We need to build organisational cultures that weed out this behaviour, especially since it can often be insidious.
Authoritarianism and no support
Feeling isolated in a role can feel demoralising, especially when you are under pressure from an authoritarian manager who doesn’t value collaboration. Working with colleagues and having a healthy relationship with your superiors is crucial for wellbeing in the workplace.
Violence, harassment or bullying
It goes without saying that being subject to violence, harassment, or bullying is detrimental to wellbeing. Organisations must develop strict measures to deal with these issues quickly and effectively.
Discrimination and exclusion
Feeling discriminated against and excluded in the workplace is profoundly undermining, and organisations must learn how to create psychologically safe spaces for everyone, regardless of differences in race, religion, beliefs or appearance.
Unclear job role
Feeling unsure of your responsibilities can lead to under or overworking and feeling insecure in your role. Organisations must build clear talent management strategies and human resource capacity to ensure clarity around job expectations.
Under- or over-promotion
Not being promoted or elevated into a position above your expertise can equally damage a person’s mental wellbeing. Organisations can focus on fostering open communication to help employees and managers speak openly about role expectations and how they would like to grow within the company.
Job insecurity, poor pay, or poor investment in career development
While employees must work hard to grow within an organisation, organisations must invest in their staff and help them build mutually beneficial careers. If you feel uncertain about your future, aren’t being paid well or don’t feel supported, it can be challenging to maintain optimum mental wellbeing.
Navigating personal and professional responsibilities
Home life also impacts one’s overall sense of wellbeing, which can spill over into the workplace. Organisations must develop support structures where people can express their needs during family distress and feel supported as they negotiate difficult times or multiple responsibilities.
South African mental health in the workplace statistics
The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) recently completed their Working Life survey of mental health in the workplace in South Africa. Their findings echo those of the WHO, with some additional local insights.
32% of respondents said they struggled with depression, 25% with stress, 18% with Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD), 13% from burnout and 10% shared in the survey that they were dealing with the effects of trauma in their lives. As we can see from these statistics, many people struggle with their mental wellbeing in South African workplaces. These struggles can be ignited, exacerbated or improved by the environment a workplace provides.
The top five challenges in the South African workplace include too little remuneration or pay, tight deadlines and time pressure, working long hours, conflict with colleagues and constant organisational change.
How to address risks to mental health in the workplace
We’ve covered some of the primary risks to mental health in the workplace, but how do we address them?
Education and training are core components of managing mental wellbeing in the workplace. Building an organisation where people can feel supported and openly discuss their needs is powerful, but it doesn’t happen overnight. Everyone in an organisation must receive mental health literacy training to help clear up any confusion around specific terms and break down negative stigma.
Training managers, for example, can help supervisors respond more empathically and effectively to emotional distress. Learning better communication and active listening skills can also help. By fostering these skills, managers can learn how specific stressors affect mental wellbeing in the workplace and respond and adapt accordingly.
Organisations can also help create a less stressful environment through preventative measures such as managing employees’ workloads, offering social opportunities to have fun and get to know each other outside the workplace and implementing psychosocial support interventions when needed.
Build mental health skills at SACAP Global
As discussed, integrating education around mental health into an organisational culture is the most effective strategy. However, where does one begin to learn how to do this?
Anxiety and depression are some of the most common challenges that people experience globally. Learning more about these can help equip everyone in an organisation with coping tools.
A general overview of managing your mental wellbeing is also helpful in covering various challenges people might experience. A general short course or workshop can also provide more information about how our brains and bodies work and share beneficial ways to enhance your overall wellbeing.
To help make learning these skills more accessible, SACAP Global offers a variety of online short courses to help you upskill in this area. Some of our most popular courses include:
For our full range of courses, browse our course list.