Mental Health in the Workplace: How Measuring Mood Creates a Healthier Workplace
Mental health in the workplace… how often is that discussed at management meetings?
Mental health and productivity in the workplace
According to this Guardian article, seventy million working days are lost each year due to stress, depression and other mental health conditions in Britain.
This costs Britain £70-100bn annually, equivalent to 4.5% of the nation’s GDP.
Across the pond, in Canada, in any given week, 500,000 Canadians are unable to work due to mental health problems, according to the Mental Health Commission of Canada
It’s not hard to see the connection between mental health and productivity in the workplace.
And this was BEFORE Covid!
Chronically stressed on the job?
Lauren Brednich, CEO of HR Company Store says, “When a workplace is unhealthy or even toxic, increased costs manifest themselves in a variety of different areas—healthcare costs, leave of absence data, productivity and even overtime requests.”
A Work and Wellbeing survey by the American Psychological Association (APA) reported that less than half of the workers surveyed felt their organization supported staff well-being.
One in three reported being chronically stressed on the job.
What are the numbers like in your place of business?
It’s time to talk more about mental health in the workplace.
We talk about tasks and deadlines more than feelings
Steve Brennan, CEO at user Bespoke points out:
“People don’t talk that openly about their feelings at most places of work. They talk about tasks and deadlines more than feelings.”
But, it’s clear that mental health is so intertwined with the workplace and employers need to step up to help improve mental health awareness at work.
Some users report that when launching the Celpax device, a few coworkers ask how they should be using the device.
Should they be pressing the button based off how the workday in the office went or how they feel at the end of the shift? Should they be thinking about how they got along with others?
Or more about whether or not they’ve gotten all their work done?
Our answer: all of the above!
Bring your WHOLE you to work
When you measure with a Celpax device, you’re asking employees, “How was your day?”.
By this, you’re also asking them, “How do you feel?” You can’t separate feelings from the individual.
The agile HR manager at user Dek Tech puts it well:
“If you’re going through a tough time at home, it will have an effect on your job too. The working environment is part of something bigger. How can we best help or support you when your spirit is low? Everything affects each other.”
One of our users at baby goods manufacturer Cosatto, reports that at the end of the workday, he presses the device based on his feeling at that moment.
Not based just on how much work he has gotten done but he reflects on everything; his mood, his coworkers, what’s going on in his personal life.
The whole person comes to work!
Mental health in the workplace: Take action
It’s a tool for managers in the workplace who are DOERS, to help start conversations and make changes. To create awareness around mental health in the workplace.
It could help you avoid the snowball effect of workplace issues. These issues leading to stress and even more serious mental health issues, such as depression or order disorders, which obviously have a negative impact on us.
Measuring allows you to look at how the mood is trending over a period of time.
As mood trends downward, you can take action to change what makes employees press the red button.
Crosscheck with productivity, revenue, sick-days… Engaged employees bring increased productivity and job performance.
Lastly, measuring sends the message to your teams that you’re making mental wellbeing a company value.
That you’re listening and there to support them.
Hey there! I’m Alex, marketing specialist at Celpax and I love helping to create workplaces people love. We’re a for-profit helping workplaces improve employee morale with simple tech tools. Let’s put a spotlight on workplace mental health and productivity in the workplace!
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