It’s estimated that one in four American adults suffers from a diagnosable mental disorder.
Unless you run a company of one, this means that it is practically a certainty that some of your employees are struggling with their mental health. There has been a growing movement in recent years to take away the stigma from the notion of mental health issues.
World Mental Health Week is an opportunity for employers to take action and help their employees learn how to manage stress and boost their wellbeing.
Are you wondering what wellness programs for work are available that you can offer to your employees? Let’s take a look at what you need to know.
Jump to:
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When and What Is World Mental Health Week?
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Why Is Mental Health So Important in the Workplace?
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Classes an Employer Can Bring to the Office During Mental Health Week
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Boosting the Health of Your Employees and Your Business
When and What Is World Mental Health Week?
World Mental Health Day is October 10, 2021.
The overall objective of this day is to help shed light on mental health issues throughout the globe. On top of that, it aims to help organize efforts to support the mental health of the world’s inhabitants. World Mental Health Week runs from October 3rd to October 10th.
This is an opportunity for everyone involved in mental health work to discuss what needs to be done to extend effective mental health care to people across the world.
Mental Health Awareness Week is another annual event that is based in the UK but open to everyone. Focused on achieving good mental health for all, this event has been occurring for 21 years. The goal of Mental Health Awareness Week is to start conversations about mental health and the realities of life that can impact it.
Why Is Mental Health So Important in the Workplace?
Mental health issues like anxiety and depression are, unfortunately, quite common in the United States and Canada. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), 7.1% of all American adults suffer from at least one major depressive episode during any given year.
Organizations like the American Psychological Association are warning that the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic is likely going to lead to a mental health pandemic, as well. While stress has always been a concern, data collected from 2020 points to the fact that serious health and social consequences might be felt for years to come.
Supporting your employees’ mental health doesn’t just benefit each individual but it also has quantifiable benefits for your business. When employees receive effective mental health treatment, it leads to:
- Increased productivity
- Lower total medical costs
- Lower absenteeism
- Decreased disability costs
When you invest in the mental health of your employees, you are creating a supportive work environment where your workers feel appreciated and cared for. As all business owners know, it’s far more expensive to hire a new employee than to keep an existing employee. When your employees are getting the help and support that they need, they are much less likely to look for opportunities elsewhere.
Classes an Employer Can Bring to the Office During Mental Health Week
Bringing awareness to mental health in the workplace doesn’t have to mean dry lectures and pamphlets. When you offer classes that benefit the mental health of your employees, you are teaching them skills that they can use at home and at work for years to come.
Resilience Class
If we didn’t know it already, the events of 2020 have taught us that we can’t control everything that happens to us in our lives. However, we can control the way we respond and react to events.
A person’s resilience is their ability to adapt well and quickly recover after adversity, stress, tragedy, or trauma. People who have a resilient disposition are better able to maintain a healthy level of psychological and physical wellness in the face of challenges.
People who are less resilient are more likely to feel overwhelmed, dwell on problems, and utilize unhealthy coping mechanisms when they are faced with stressors.
By offering resilience training as a part of corporate wellness training, you can help to support your employees’ ability to deal with stressful events. This can enhance their quality of life, improve their resiliency, and decrease anxiety and stress. Through this type of training, your employees can learn how to view the inevitable challenges of life and work as opportunities rather than obstacles.
Chair Yoga
Exercise is one of the best ways to manage stress and anxiety. Unfortunately, as a part of mitigating the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, many Americans and Canadians found that the fitness and yoga studio they relied on could no longer be open for business.
This means that people have needed to find new ways to make time for their physical and mental health outside of the gym. With our virtual fitness classes, employees can get exercise that helps to strengthen both their bodies and their minds.
Our chair yoga is a class that is accessible to every employee. It functions perfectly as a break from office work and can be practiced by people who have mobility limitations.
This is the perfect class for beginners and can help improve strength, reduce stress, and increase flexibility. You can learn more about the benefits of chair yoga here. When you offer chair yoga in the office, the mental health and wellbeing of your employees can be positively impacted.
Mindfulness
In this chaotic world, it’s easy to never spend any time in the present moment. However, bringing yourself back to the present can provide improvements for both psychological and physical health and bring positive changes in attitudes, health, and behaviors.
Practicing mindfulness at work is perfect for releasing stress and calming the mind. It can help to improve the well-being of your employees and improve their resiliency to the challenges they face. Employees who practice mindfulness can experience improved cognitive abilities and productivity, as they are more able to deal with the concerns of the moment rather than wrapped up in anxieties about the future or regrets of the past.
Mindfulness also helps to improve the physical health of your employees. This means less absenteeism, a healthier work environment, and more productivity. Research has found that practicing mindfulness can help:
- Reduce chronic pain
- Relieve stress
- Treat heart disease
- Improve sleep
- Lower blood pressure
- Alleviate gastrointestinal issues
Psychotherapists have been turning to mindfulness meditation in recent years. This is because of its ability to help therapeutically with a number of mental health conditions. These include depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, and more.
Mat Yoga
Our mat yoga classes are taught by a registered yoga teacher and are specifically designed to include modifications that allow people of all skill and ability levels to participate. All your employees need is a mat or a towel to participate.
It’s no accident that yoga has become increasingly popular in recent years. It’s incredibly effective at:
- Helping to reduce stress
- Boosting mindfulness
- Improving mental and physical health
This makes it the perfect antidote for the stressors of the modern world.
Practicing yoga in the workplace can have a number of notable benefits for your company that result from improved employee wellbeing. These include:
- Improved decision-making skills, concentration, and ability to multi-task
- Improved productivity stemming from employees that are happier and have more energy
- Decline in stress and the illness that results from it
- Relief of a number of work-related injuries such as head, neck, and back strain, high blood pressure, and carpal tunnel syndrome
- Enhanced employee outlook and attitude
- Better customer service
- Improved general wellbeing in the workplace which improves employee retention
Offering mat yoga in the office is a win-win situation. Not only does it benefit your employees, but it can lead to notable improvements in the business as a whole.
Work From Home Wellness
There are a unique set of challenges that come along with working from home. It can be very difficult to define the boundaries between work and home life. Through this class, employees can learn simple techniques that help them both maintain and improve their wellbeing while at home.
It doesn’t matter whether working remotely is a temporary or a permanent arrangement at your work. Learning the skills for optimal health and wellbeing while working from home can have countless benefits for your employees and the business overall.
Breathwork Basics
Breathwork is one of the best ways to stop rising stress in it’s tracks. When you run an efficient and successful business, stress is always lurking around the corner. With our breathwork basics course, your employees can learn one of the most effective and simple tactics for achieving a state of calm.
Mindfulness For Stress Reduction at Work
Researchers are increasingly learning just how damaging stress can be to a person’s health and wellbeing. It also can take a serious toll on your company’s culture and productivity. Our mindfulness for stress reduction class focuses on two specific techniques that can help your employees reduce stress at work in a healthy manner.
Movement Fitness Class
One of the downsides of the modern workplace is how much we sit. When you offer your employees a movement fitness class, you’re giving them an opportunity to take care of their physical health and improve their mental state. It’s also an incredibly effective way to create a healthy, supportive company culture and offers an opportunity for employees to grow closer as a team.
Corporate Wellness Programs: Boosting the Health of Your Employees and Your Business
As you can see, there are countless benefits to incorporating corporate wellness training at your company. Not only does it help your employees improve their mental and physical health, but it also leads to a more functional and productive workplace.
Are you wondering what your options are this World Mental Health Week? Get a quote from Twello Co. today!
At Twello, we believe that the right set of workplace policies and practices will create a better work environment for employees and positively impact productivity and morale. Our Workplace Programs team ensures our policies are aligned with best practices in the industry and makes sure our clients are informed about our current programs and the various vendors we work with. Click here for additional information about our corporate wellness services and how you can set one up for your company.
