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So how can we fix something that has to do with the mind and thoughts? What to do when mental health affects work?
To answer this question, I decided to make a list of helpful tips for mental wellness, which will prevent stress and burnout at work and ensure that you take good care of yourself.
People tend to forget how significant mental health is. Whether it’s about employees or employers or just people in general, having a clear mind and being joyful is a must, as otherwise, days become miserable.
Some would say a healthy lifestyle is only about fitness and diets, which are also highly necessary but are tough to pay attention to when you are down and need mental support. That is why everybody should start their journey to happiness while primarily paying close attention to their mindset.
A stressful day at work when you have a million tasks to do, and you don't know where to start or end them. Sounds familiar, right?
That is when people start to panic and fail to complete everything, after which they feel the disappointment wave cluttering their mind, which is fair and completely understandable.
But there is something everyone needs to remember: it's okay to fail. So why blame yourself for every little misfortune if that only leads to more stress? Instead, try to analyze your day, and you will comprehend why you didn't accomplish everything. Further, you should try to correct your mistakes, and trust me: you will feel ten times better!
Socialization is a perfect way to get away from daily struggles and also develop communication skills. Firstly, you will get some tension off of your shoulders if you talk to people. You don't have to be close to them to open your heart a little, right?
Not only will you feel heard and understood, but you will go out of your comfort zone and get better at interactions. Of course, trying wouldn't hurt anybody.
Everybody should take part in group activities, independent of their position. To ensure that no one is having a hard time, and going through things alone, be aware of who is rejecting leisure offers more often.
Try talking to them and understand their reasoning. Then, encourage them to participate, even if these activities seem meaningless to them, as they're simply thinking negatively.
Motivate people as much as you can!
It's not random that I mentioned motivating others. By your attentive gestures, you make sure that people feel loved and noticed.
It's not random that I mentioned motivating others. By your attentive gestures, you make sure that people feel loved and noticed.
While mental health depends on the particular person, a small help from outside is enough to get them back on track when they feel down. There's an app I recommend using for employee engagement; it's called Lucky Carrot!
It doesn't require much effort to make others happy.
Even though I mentioned that a healthy lifestyle starts with mental health, the right food and exercises also act as building blocks. So try and talk about these topics more often to see how people feel about them.
Be an example by forming healthy habits yourself, as people are highly influenced by actions more than words.
Yes, it's time to tell you once again to drink water more often, but I will add one more step for you; share this tip with your colleagues. Too easy to forget this simple task, isn't it?
Dehydration is known to cause many adverse effects on the organism, such as bad mood, headache, lower concentration, and more. These also affect work productivity and overall health.
To prevent this, you can even start a water challenge and make the staff participate!
One of my teachers at school insisted we submit our homework until 11 pm and go to sleep at least at midnight. I always asked myself why she cared so much about when we went to sleep. It turned out that when we lacked sleep before her class, we didn't listen to her carefully and didn't benefit from the lesson, as we were tired.
The same is at work! Get your sleep so you can concentrate instead of yawning every 10 minutes.
What if I told you to start meditating?
Meditation is a super calming and stress relieving exercise and perfect for full-time workers, as it doesn't require much time. It is an activity you can start right today while gradually trying to increase the period of practice.
If you want to start meditating, begin everything slowly by following tips and tutorials, as you will need to learn the basic steps first. Here's something I'd recommend!
Here's a perfect pastime idea for both mental health improvement and team building!
Taking trips to new places is an incredible getaway from work and quick prevention from burnout. Spots that are full of nature's beauty are even more relaxing and enjoyable.
This activity will also help you communicate and listen to your group more frequently.
If you want to take care of your staff and optimize your productivity levels, you should start using health care tools!
Many apps can help you create challenges and tasks for your employees and track their growth over time. For example, you can make a water challenge for everyone to drink 8 cups every day for a week or a goal to walk 20.000 steps in two days; a great way to gain motivation and develop a healthy lifestyle.
Self-care days are essential.
If you come to notice someone in the group, who is too overwhelmed and tired, suggest they take a day off to rest their body and mind. Everyone should have one day a month to stay at home and reflect on everything.
To check up on your teammates or coworkers, you can form surveys with a few questions about their life and health. The answers can help you understand the overall state and give you an idea of what to plan next.
The questions can be about anything broad, from their sleeping schedule to their social life. Try to make them less personal and more informative.
Here’s an example of a mental health survey you can analyze!
As much as team support is necessary, sometimes it might not be enough to help people with their problems, especially mental breakdowns.
I recommend planning meet-ups with specialists to discuss solutions and receive proper advising for every situation. These sessions can be individual or with groups, depending on preference and the subject being reviewed. Here’s an article on specialists you can turn to.
Also, Moodfit and Headspace are excellent applications I recommend for dealing with mental health in the workplace!
Whenever the task or the goal is not clear enough, moving forward is impossible. Try to explain everything to your group, especially to the new members, step by step, so they don't get confused and overwhelmed about their work.
Messy table and cabinets, dull colors all around, and pretty much nothing to motivate you to work; that needs to get fixed ASAP!
Clean your workspace every day before sitting down to work and tell everyone to do the same. You will not only be satisfied but will give yourself more energy for mental work.
Try to inspire the new-coming employees. If the rooms are too sad looking, paint them in bright colors and add some artwork around, or hang the achievements your team has received.
When given multiple tasks, don't get disoriented and start worrying about time. Instead, make a to-do list and categorize the assignments by "Urgent" and "Not urgent."
Further, start with the ones from the "Urgent" list that require brain work, moving down to the more easy tasks, which you can easily do later in the day, even if you're tired.
And there you have it, no need to hurry and stress yourself!
If your work doesn't seem to distract you from your thoughts and there's no one to talk to, try writing everything in a journal.
So many people I know have tried to keep a journal, and the majority loved the process. You don't have to write a whole storybook about yourself; you can try your own ways of journaling, for example, writing down random words, drawing, etc.
Nevertheless, the journal strategy might not be everyone's favorite, so it's easier to encourage you to do the things you enjoy.
There's no harm in fixing your gloomy mood with a 10 minute Youtube video or a small game session. Do not feel guilty for caring about yourself and your mental state, no matter how much work you have on your shoulders.
Show your coworkers something funny or send memes during the day.
Receiving some serotonin during work will boost your energy and motivate you to work.
Music is the best remedy to any situation. If you're having trouble with concentration, try putting on a playlist!
Figure out what type of music makes you more willing to get some work done.
Whether you like active or passive rest, choose an activity for the upcoming weekend that will refill your energy.
Do not lose more energy, as you will be super exhausted during next week. You can even try to fix your sleep schedule in those two days.
So as an employer or even a staff or group member, what can you do to entertain the people around you and make work less stressful?
You can plan some activities inside and outside your working area, including physical and mental action.
There are far too many health and wellness challenge ideas for the workplace, for example, water challenges or walking/step challenges. However, the easiest way to gain motivation is to organize a 2-week long step challenge. In fact, you can start a free trial right away and try this challenge with your employees!
So which tip are you going to try first? Maybe journaling?
Photo Credit: Unsplash
