In today's fast-paced workplace, prioritizing employee mental health has become a pillar in many company cultures. We asked a few leaders in this field what actionable strategies they’ve seen top companies take to create a mentally healthy work environment, and why this is so important – especially for the incoming workforce. 

Monday Talent

Why wellness should be top of mind

“There is a lot of benefit to providing your employees with mental health and wellness support and the ability to have a healthy balance between work and life,” says Laura O’Hare, founder of The O’Hare Group. All companies should be putting emphasis on this and making sure teams are getting out of the office and finding time to reset.” 

She continues, “the best leaders are putting processes in place to support mental health and wellness while also keeping their eyes on current events that could impact an employees’ ability to be productive in a time of great stress. Over the past few weeks, I have seen company leaders allow additional time off to employees who are struggling with the current situation in the Middle East. This should be a no brainer for leaders and should extend beyond current events. If an employee asks for a time to focus on their wellness needs, give it to them. It will benefit everyone.” 

The BMF team finds this focus on wellbeing at work crucial for attracting top talent, especially of younger generations. “Wellness has taken center stage over the past several years, emerging as a defining characteristic for both Millennial and Gen Z audiences,” they said. “Wellness holistically encompasses a multitude of dimensions, including the emotional, physical, occupational, social, spiritual, intellectual, environmental, and financial aspects of our lives. For brands, these dimensions present an invaluable opportunity to highlight the emotional benefits of their products, particularly when targeting a wellness-focused generation. And with its broad range of definitions, some Gen Zers define wellness as ‘anything that makes you feel good.’” 

Where to start 

“There are many ways to go about supporting teams and employees either in an office setting or remotely,” says O’Hare. “The benefits to employees having time to focus on themselves, will always outweigh the challenges around it. It is a minimal cost, high reward benefit.” These include: 

• Team activities – plant trees, paint a house, beach cleaning – besides being beneficial to mental health and wellness, you can create team building activities in partnership.
• Mental Health Days – giving employees additional time to be out of the office and spend time on themselves will always be helpful. These can be scheduled around company holidays (ex: the Friday before a Monday holiday, etc) to give people a longer weekend or at random as a nice way to cut a week short.
• Team lunches – on Zoom for remote employees, this can be a great way to further build team relationships. How about a remote cooking class? Or a remote cocktail hour where everyone learns how to make a unique drink? 

The hustle is over

As the team at Monday Talent writes, “Hustle culture was the buzzword of 2019 into 2020. Then the pandemic struck and totally disrupted workplace culture and how we view the work/life paradigm. We said goodbye to the days when it was the norm to stay up until 2AM working and being consistently on the brink of burnout.” 

“As a recruitment agency, we've observed a significant shift in priorities among job seekers. No longer is salary the main motivator. Today, the majority of questions we get from candidates center around company culture, flexibility, and, of course, work-life balance. According to Zippa, 72% of workers believe work-life balance is a significant factor when choosing a job, and 57% of job-seekers say a poor work-life balance is a dealbreaker when considering a new job.”

Their advice for employers: 

• Mental health benefits: offer subscriptions to meditation apps or reimburse therapy sessions.
• Physical health initiatives: provide gym memberships, fitness tracker reimbursements, or organize company-wide fitness challenges.
• Childcare or eldercare benefits: if you require employees to be in the office multiple times a week, providing them with onsite childcare or stipends for elder care can go a long way. This gives employees more support and a work-life balance, which is becoming a requirement for talent seeking their next career move
• Unlimited or flexible time-off policies: the desire for flexibility is a top priority for talent; therefore, providing them unlimited vacation or flexible work hours can help an employer stand out in a competitive market. However, as an organization, it is essential to encourage employees to use unlimited vacation as it can occasionally be discouraging for employees if they can’t grasp a company’s real expectations on this front.
• Generous leave policies: extended maternity and paternity leave. Sabbaticals or additional vacation days.

Tips for employees 

BMF’s people & culture manager, Sarah McCaslin, shares five tips for achieving mental wellness in the workplace. 

• Take your eyes off your screen for a few minutes every hour and stand up or stretch.
• Organize your day as best you can at the beginning of the day, breaking it down into more manageable tasks to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
• Drink plenty of water. We love an emotional support water bottle!
• Get plenty of rest after hours. Use your vacation time and give yourself the space to refresh and recharge.
• Think positively! You are more capable than you might think. Give yourself grace.

Fostering a mentally healthy workplace not only enhances employee well-being but also fuels productivity and contributes to long-term business success – and leaders would be smart to prioritize this now.