Blog Post

“Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary.” ~ Fred Rogers

 Start a conversation

Starting a dialogue about emotional and mental health is the first step to creating a safe space for expressing feelings without any stigma and shame. Anil and Suneeta are two working spouses who have been facing issues recently at work and home. It turns out that improper workload management has affected their productivity and performance at work and has moved beyond it to affect their personal lives at home. 

 With time and no channels to let out stress from the workplace, things at home kept getting intense. It reached a point where they were pushed to consider divorce as an option. Sometimes it isn’t the lack of love and understanding between people that makes relationships so complicated; it's simply unexpressed emotions and unhandled stress.    

Projecting workplace stress

Without an outlet to appropriately express certain emotions, people often project their problems onto someone or something other than the issue that needs to be resolved. Such is the case of Anil and Suneeta, who are unable to deal with the workplace stress; hence leads to conflict in their relationship. 

What can the employer do?

The onus to look after the mental health of their employees is on the employer. The organization is majorly responsible for workplace stress. The employer can start by initiating Stress Management Programmes and Mental Health Training Programmes at the workplace.

Such initiatives make the workplace environment more sensitive towards such issues and tackle the challenges of productivity and efficiency by providing an atmosphere that caters to the mental health of its employees. Such programs deal with the burnout faced by the employees and reduce the stigma associated with mental health and illnesses. Further, such programmes boost the organisation’s workplace culture and decrease employee conflicts. 

Learn, Adopt and Grow

Every workplace is different from the other. Organisations must understand the factors that cause burnout or stress for their employees. Start with learning the behavioural patterns of the employees, the activities they engage in as a part of their escapist tendencies and their reactions. Such data can be collected with the help of various quizzes and activities available on the internet; however, the assistance of mental health professionals is advised.

 Evaluate the data collected to decide on a strategy that suits your workplace environment and employees. Create a program or a regime that helps reduce employees' burnout. This can include watching a movie together, going out for dinner, or simply organising in-office quizzes and competitions which facilitate the winners with exciting rewards to keep the employees engaged. 

Consider the company's time spent on these activities and programmes an investment rather than a sacrifice. An organisation that looks after the unexpressed needs of its employees speaks volumes of its work culture that sees its employees’ growth as its growth. 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aryan Gulati  : An avid reader, researcher, and versatile content writer who is still learning and enjoys the company of animals and books on a peaceful Sunday evening.