Mental health at work programme: 5 initiatives

The mental health of employees should be a priority for companies. The WHO recently noted that 60% of the world's population affected by Covid-19 suffer from pandemic fatigue affecting their mental health. This term refers to the demotivation, problems and fatigue generated by the pandemic situation felt by the population. In this article we talk about the initiatives that a company can implement to improve the mental health of its team, proposing 5 easy-to-implement initiatives for any company and its employees.

1. Psychological care

Since the pandemic began, the demand for treatment for anxiety and depression problems has increased notably. In response to this situation, some companies have decided to incorporate a psychological care service into their wellbeing plan. In addition, they have also opted to create yoga or mindfulness programmes for employees with the aim of reducing stress, improving concentration, productivity and increasing the well-being of their employees.

"This requires an adaptation syndrome, which can go through many different stages, such as anhedonia or lack of a sense of vitality and enjoyment of life's pleasures, fear or panic of suffering from the coronavirus, obsessive-compulsive disorders and somatisation of all this stress in the form of different types of pain". - Laura Quijano, from the team of clinical psychology professionals at the Nosotras Mismas Association.

2. Promotion of physical exercise

One of the key factors in reducing stress, depression and increasing psychological well-being and team productivity is sport. This is why many organisations offer a physical wellness plan as part of their value proposition to their team. The trend is to conduct online classes with a specialist. In this way, small working groups can be created to reconcile and personalise the activity according to the interests of the team.

3. Nutritional care

Creating a balance between taking care of our body and mind will be a perfect combination to promote psychological well-being and productivity in the workplace. One of the fashions for improving health and avoiding depression is to create spaces where you can learn how to cook a healthy diet. For this purpose, the company usually has a person specialised in the subject. In addition, communication channels can be created to share recipes and food tips among the team.

4. Social accompaniment

Loneliness has marked the pandemic era. Working from home, social distance, lack of interaction and limited travel or meetings have created a feeling of loneliness and isolation. To avoid this feeling, people departments have created support dynamics to further encourage interaction between people in the company. To encourage communication and interaction among the team, several ideas are:

• the creation of other, more direct channels of support and communication
• developing virtual coffee hour or afterworkspaces
• working with group dynamics online

5. Mentoring programme

Professional advice from someone senior who is also part of the company will be a differential factor when it comes to attracting, engaging and developing the talent and productivity of the work team. Mentoring programmes for employees help to create an atmosphere of trust in which people's concerns and difficulties can be addressed. In addition, mentoring helps to improve the performance and confidence management of employees. In conclusion, the pandemic situation has prompted concern for the care of people within the organisation. Physical and mental wellbeing programmes will from now on be part of the value proposition of companies. In short, the key is to put people's needs at the heart of HR strategy.