Mental Health and Effective Communication in the Office: HR’s Role

Today, the importance of mental health and effective communication in the workplace has been an incredibly popular topic. As each day passes, the well-being and mental fortitude of employees have become a high-priority field for several organizations. In companies, the HR departments/committees play an essential role when it comes to creating a positive workplace culture where everyone feels involved and welcomed. In this blog post, I will be demonstrating the importance of mental health and effective communication in the workplace, and how human resource departments can prioritize it, and I will also be discussing how to stay up to date about destigmatizing mental health.

Why is Mental Health Important in the Workplace?

Nowadays, being a successful employee can be very daunting. Burning out at work has become very common over the past few years. Workers are being tasked with more difficult tasks than ever. As a result of this, the mental health of workers has been disregarded at times, causing a high amount of employee turnover. Companies are now prioritizing the well-being of their employees so that the interests of both parties are accounted for. Recognizing the importance of mental health in the workplace is the first step towards a more welcoming and productive workplace. 

Investing in mental health initiatives has many benefits for the company. According to EssentialHR, the writers say that making investments in the well-being of employees has a positive effect on their bottom line. If worker productivity is increased, it only makes sense that profits will be increased because of that. At the end of the day, there aren’t any negative benefits of making sure that your workers are doing okay.

How can the HR Department Have a Role in Prioritizing Mental Health and Effective Communication?

There are many ways that the HR department within a company can have an impact on an employee’s mental health. An employment agency called Michael Page (source) explained that there are three ways HR can affect the well-being of employees: providing resources, being empathetic, and eliminating the stigma of mental health. These can all be accomplished by emphasizing strong and efficient effective communication. If the workers in HR were to educate themselves and those around them, it could help remove the stigma that suppresses people from not speaking about their problems. Effective communication creates a more secure environment for all. 

As previously mentioned, a way for HR to destigmatize the negativity surrounding mental health is by providing resources to its employees. For example, there are employee assistance programs that will train the management and higher-ups on how to approach an employee who is having a hard time with their mental health. Even this small program can have such a great impact. This is just a small sample of what a human resources department can do to combat the false negativity around speaking up about mental health in the workplace.

Summary

Mental health in the workplace is one of the most important topics of discussion in today’s world. I encourage you to check up on the people around you, whether it be at home or in the workplace. It can make a huge difference in productivity and happiness levels for all parties involved. If you are currently employed in an HR or management position, I recommend you get inspired about the stigmatization of mental health. 

Here is more information about how HR departments can have an impact on the mental health of employees. https://www.michaelpage.ca/advice/management-advice/development-and-retention/hr%E2%80%99s-role-mental-health-awareness