Mental Health in the Workplace

Mental illness is the greatest cause of worker disability in the U.S. This has inspired many companies to start to paying attention to employee mental health. Yet, there are other advantages to cultivating a compassionate and stigma free culture.

The first step is to return to the basics. Let’s care for employees as people first and not their conditions. The face of the company and the employee expereince are people leaders. Leaders need to genuinely care for thier people if they want to cultivate a compasionate workplace.

Fewer that 1 in 3 employees affected by mental illness actually receive help. A stigma free culture affords employees to feel safe and well-supported talking about thier challenges. When this happens, they become aware of available tools and obtain the treatment they need sooner. Feeling better mentally and physically will only translate into employees realizing higher job satisfaction.

Fundamentally, we all want to have the freedom to just be ourselves at work. Employees want to feel safe and appreciated. A compassionate work place will serve the success of the overall organization and its greatest asset – its people.

So, what next steps could you take to bring more compassion to your own work environment?