Our mental wellbeing has never been more in front of mind than it is today.
The effects of the pandemic are being felt by all sections of our community, not only our work environment. Large organisations generally have more access to, and budgets for, resources to help their teams cope both in their work environment and at a more personal level but how can SME’s (small and medium enterprises) manage this on little or no budget?
How might you begin to talk about mental health with your team and feel confident in your ability to support your staff and yourselves.
The following steps may help:
The most important first step is to openly acknowledge that mental health is important to you and your entity, that you care about your team’s wellbeing. This can help in supporting conversations around mental health at work. A less formal way is to gather your team - in a group discussion or if you feel this might not promote open discussion, then try one to one or small groups - and ask them how they are feeling. Perhaps using a scale of 1-10 – how are you now? – where do you want to be? How can we help/support you to get there?
You will need to be prepared to listen and support them when/if they share their mental health challenges and then follow up and monitor their progress. It’s also important to consider accessing professional help if the situation is outside your expertise.
There’s little point in communicating that wellbeing is important if you don’t demonstrate this. Perhaps share your own story or struggles with the pressure of running a business and how you are trying to help yourself. Model good practices like taking time to exercise, be it going for a walk or to the gym/yoga or allowing time off to watch children’s sporting or school events. If you’re in a situation where your team work at screens all day consider providing vouchers for a neck and shoulders massage? Mental health and physical health work hand in hand. It’s not a choice of one or the other.
As a small business you may have a better opportunity to assess how well the implementation of new initiatives are working. Some may work well for some employees and not others. Check in with them and listen and then adapt if necessary.
Most SME’s and sole practioners are motivated by the desire to work for and help their clients but this maybe at the expense of their own mental health. It’s important to include care (of your team and your clients) in your business model.
Learn from others. Face book community and business networking groups can provide opportunities to ask what they have tried and what has worked for them. You don’t need to be limited to your own particular industry, workplaces across industries are more similar than you might think. Ask, share and learn wherever you can so that you feel more confident supporting each other in the workplace. (LOGAN GRANGER)
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