It has become clear that stress has an enormous impact on the UK workforce. We have devised our top tips that you can incorporate into your business, which are proven to have a positive impact on employee wellbeing and mental health!
“76% of employees report moderate-to-high or high levels of stress”
-The workplace health report
What mechanisms do you have in place to help your team members manage their mental health and well-being?
At Apricus, we have a set of principles in place to help us support the welfare of those working within our business. We acknowledge that we are a small team, yet our principles are effective and can be easily applied to larger teams.
The principles we follow include:
- Ensuring a positive work environment
Encouraging open communication ensures transparency, honest feedback, and the opportunity for team members to talk about any concerns they may have to stop these worries from enhancing.
“13.7 million working days are lost each year in the UK because of work-related stress, anxiety and depression”.
-NICE
Ensuring a positive work culture is created that prioritises wellbeing, inclusivity, and respect will improve relationships, boost morale, reduce stress, and enhance trust, with team members feeling more confident that they can confide in you about any problems they may be facing.
“At Apricus we very much work on the principles of openness, equalness and togetherness. All team members that we work with are encouraged to bring their expertise, decision-making capabilities, and personality to the business. We work with people we like working with, know, and trust which leads to mutual respect and wanting to do well for each other”.
-Clare Taylor (Founder of Apricus Marketing)
2. Check-ins and catch-ups
It’s important to schedule regular check-ins or catch-ups with your employees to not only comprehend how they are getting on with their work tasks but to understand their wellbeing so that support can be provided where necessary to reduce stress levels.
These catchups also facilitate feedback which can help employees professionally develop by providing feedback on their performance or work. This feedback can improve job satisfaction and employee self-confidence.
Check-ins allow employees to discuss their goals which can boost motivation if employers facilitate
this alongside feeling valued. In addition, these check-ins help keep the employee accountable which increases productivity and helps employees stay on track.
3. Support a work-life balance
Employers can ensure a positive work-life balance is promoted in the workplace by encouraging regular breaks (which is found to boost productivity and employee well-being) alongside offering flexible and remote working.
“I choose to work with wonderful companies and people who respect my flexible approach to remote working, enabling me to structure my workday in a way that accommodates my professional and family commitments. This results in a better work-life balance overall”.
-Sarah Dunthorne (Social Media Consultant for Apricus)
If your employee mentions that they are stressed and find it difficult to switch off outside of work, try to encourage them to not overwork themselves and that they aren’t under pressure to perform outside of work hours. Why not suggest activities for them to begin such as running which can help with stress at work?
Our founder Clare Taylor is an avid fan of running and openly admits that it helped her through home schooling, lockdown and even the stresses of managing a business!
4. Be understanding and open
If you aren’t supportive or understanding of your staff and the importance of wellbeing, your employees won’t open up to you!
Being understanding and open allows employees to know that they can come to you at any point about their concerns or wellbeing. This can improve wellbeing, job satisfaction, communication, and transparency, and reduces stress.
“Clare has been fully flexible and appreciated my stressors as I’m working alongside coming up to my final university assignment deadlines. She has listened and supported my wellbeing by coming up with an agreement to reduce my stress”.
–Olivia Wilkinson (Marketing Assistant)
Have you got these mechanisms in place to help your employees manage their mental health and well-being? With the most common type of stress in the UK being work-related, it’s essential that you incorporate procedures to make the wellbeing of your employees a priority.
For more information regarding the impact of stress on employees or how to reduce stress, please visit the following sites: