Vartika Kashyap* says stress and poor mental health was a problem in many workplaces before COVID-19 – now with the pandemic dragging on, leaders must act.
I was reading an article on mental health published on Forbes.com in which Indian entrepreneur, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw talked about how leaders must emphasise the mental health of their employees.
I came across some shocking statistics after reading the article.
Back in 2017, 14 per cent of the total population in India was suffering from mental illnesses.
Even worse, 90 per cent of the population does not have any support to battle these issues.
This was the situation just a few years ago. The ongoing pandemic has made things worse, not just in India but globally.
Reports of stress, stress-induced insomnia, anxiety, depression, insomnia, fear, and frustration rising in populations around the world, has increased many times.
With the healthcare systems under pressure, it becomes our moral responsibility as leaders to ensure we protect our team members and employees from the evils of stress and anxiety as much as we can.
How can we do it? Well, here’s how.
Talk more often
Talking relieves stress. Encourage your employees to talk amongst themselves, especially when they are working remotely.
Talk more often about things that are beyond work. It’s important not just to get immersed in work-related talks all the time.
Inspire them to take virtual breaks together.
Show them the way by arranging for virtual coffee breaks and casual conversations where you talk about things other than work.
That’s one way to have fun and relieve stress.
Encourage breaks
Burnouts can quickly happen, especially during these times when employees are working from home.
It can be quite challenging to keep track of time, and one can easily spend long hours working on their tasks without paying attention to the fact it can lead to mental fatigue.
In such situations you, as a leader, can encourage them to take regular breaks.
Use a time-tracking tool like ProofHub, and make sure that every team member is giving his or her brain the much-needed break it deserves.
Make mental health a priority
Mental health has often been considered a taboo subject in the past — people don’t really want to discuss it.
However, you need to spread awareness in your team that this is not the case.
Share relevant study material, if required, on the topic.
There are countless virtual resources available, talks happening all the time, so encourage your team members to be part of those sessions.
On a personal level, encourage people to talk about it, so that it does not remain a taboo topic.
Let them come out, share their problems, and help them find the right solution to their mental stress and health issues.
Not talking about mental health is the biggest problem. By not talking about it, you are eventually suppressing something that will not end on its own.
It is only with proper counselling, guidance and the support of people close to you that you will get rid of mental health issues.
As a leader, you can play a massive role in eliminating this problem from your workforce.
The steps mentioned above are just a few simple things you can do.
If you have something else that you practice, or any ideas that have worked for you, don’t hesitate to share them as widely as possible.
*Vartika Kashyap is Chief Marketing Manager at project managing company ProofHub. She is an expert in digital marketing and entrepreneurship. She can be contacted on Twitter at @kashyapvartika.
This article first appeared on the ProofHub website.
