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By Christina Nielsen, Content Marketing Specialist at CfL, August 2024
A strong mental health and good psychological well-being form the foundation for thriving in the workplace. When both leaders and employees are mentally healthy, everyone performs better and together creates a positive work environment.
The motto is: you must feel good in the long run to perform well.
On the other hand, lacking mental health can lead to serious consequences such as stress, anxiety, depression, and increased sick leave. Therefore, it is essential to work actively to promote good mental health and offer appropriate treatment when challenges arise.
But what does mental health mean for our ability to perform at work? How do you, as a leader, take care of yourself? And what role do you play in your employees’ mental health and the overall workplace environment?
Mental health refers to our emotional, psychological, and social well-being – it influences how we think, feel, and act on a daily basis.
In the context of work, mental health means being able to handle work pressure, establish good relationships with colleagues, and demonstrate effective problem-solving and decision-making skills.
Conversely, when psychological well-being is poor, it can result in reduced energy and motivation to perform tasks, and in the worst cases lead to stress, sleep disturbances, anxiety, and more. These challenges significantly affect our work capabilities and overall well-being.
By understanding and working actively with mental health in your workplace, you can implement strategies and initiatives that promote best practices – ranging from psychological support to exercise. This creates a solid foundation for both individual and collective well-being, ultimately leading to a more robust and successful organization.
In an organizational analysis, you can even map your company’s performance in relation to its environment, strategy, future, and overall health.
As a leader, your own well-being and job satisfaction have an impact on the entire workplace. At CfL, we often see that leaders’ self-care and self-management are underprioritized. If this sounds familiar, know that it is a disadvantage not only for you but also for your team and organization.
The notion of the leader as an all-knowing, omnipotent superhuman is an illusion. Today, it is considered a strength when you, as a leader, engage with and involve those around you – asking for feedback and advice.
Everyone in a team and workplace can be both a resource and a burden – including the leader. It largely depends on the conditions in the environment and the leader’s own psychological work setting.
Stressful Factors
Protective Factors
Some circumstances that can create a high risk of poor well-being for leaders include:
Leader well-being directly influences your employees’ psychological work environment, productivity, sick leave, and retention. This connection is evident in:
Research shows that:
A key strategy to promote mental health in the workplace is to focus on work conditions that meet each individual’s needs as much as possible – based on the core task.
Such work conditions might include opportunities for remote work, flexible hours, and a general emphasis on work-life balance. Creating a culture where you and your employees have control over your schedules can reduce stress and enhance well-being.
A supportive workplace improves mental health. When your employees feel valued and safe, they perform better. It requires an active effort from the leadership to establish a welcoming environment focused on support, openness, and trust. Regular conversations and feedback sessions help identify potential issues early and address them before they escalate.
Det er vigtigt, at dine medarbejdere har adgang til ressourcer. Det kunne være alt fra adgang til mental sundhedsrådgivning til fleksible arbejdstider.
Ved at fremme aktiviteter, der styrker sammenholdet, kan du og den resterende ledelse skabe en følelse af fællesskab og solidaritet. Det kan omfatte teambuilding-events eller regelmæssige sociale arrangementer.
Breaks are often underestimated. Regular, self-determined breaks are essential for strengthening mental health at work. They help reduce stress and burnout, increase energy, enhance well-being, and boost productivity.
Implementing exercise and physical activity in the workplace can greatly contribute to mental health and overall well-being.
Physical activity reduces stress, improves mood, boosts energy levels, and increases concentration.
Psykologisk tryghed på arbejdspladsen er essentielt for den mentale sundhed og trivsel på arbejdspladsen. Det bygger bro mellem medarbejdere og ledere, hvilket skaber en stærk organisatorisk kultur.
When employees feel safe and appreciated, their engagement and productivity increase, and they are more likely to share innovative ideas and collaborate on problem-solving.
To achieve this, you and your leadership must actively encourage and practice open communication at all levels.
We all need to feel that we belong to a cohesive group and that our presence and actions matter. The work community should always be stronger than the individual because a strong community gives each person courage and strength. It is not the individual, but the community that must be robust. Social bonds can have an even greater impact on longevity than factors like fresh air and exercise.
Here, you can draw a parallel to the “I” in DEI – Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. In practice, inclusion often focuses on the individual rather than the community, and you and your leadership must be aware of this when considering DEI initiatives.
Good mental health improves job satisfaction and performance. When both leaders and employees feel motivated and happy, overall well-being increases, leading to higher productivity and lower absenteeism. A positive work environment fosters collaboration and creativity, resulting in a more innovative and quality-focused workforce.
Increased mental well-being produces better work results, reduces conflicts, and leads to higher employee satisfaction and lower turnover. This, in turn, reduces recruitment and training costs and creates a stable, loyal workforce.
Ultimately, focusing on mental health promotes a sustainable workplace that benefits not only the individual but the overall success of the company, making the workplace an attractive environment that draws and retains top talent.
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