Mental Health Awareness Month: Acknowledging the Hidden Pandemic
As workers return to their offices and “the new normal,” here are suggestions for keeping them centered.
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Facilitate the creation of professional networks of support by scheduling or sponsoring networking events, offering diversity enrichment opportunities and creating mentorship programs.
Offer opportunities for mindfulness, meditation and other spiritual practices and encourage employees to take advantage of them. Invite an instructor to provide basics on the practice, then allow time for regular 15-minute mindfulness break during the workday.
More than 40% of Americans report feeling loneliness at work. Whether on-site or remote, many workers feel no real connection to their co-workers. This impacts their productivity and that of their teams. Pulse surveys can help gauge employees’ outlook and uncover areas where more needs to be done.
“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new,” said Albert Einstein. We all try to avoid making mistakes, but we’re all human, so we inevitably do from time to time. A healthy response to mistakes keeps what should be a learning experience from turning into a soul-crushing disaster. An honest mistake should not be met with finger pointing and criticism. Examine it to determine what went wrong, then use that information to move forward.
Employees must feel that they are seen and appreciated; that their efforts and achievements are valued. Celebrating employees’ “wins” can bring about a shower of positive benefits, from boosting their self-confidence and making them feel more connected to the business and their co-workers to increasing their productivity and encouraging innovation.
Remember all the great accomplishments made when people strove to be “workaholics?” Yeah, neither do I. The work environment should allow people to set reasonable limits on work hours, promote physical and mental well-being and encourage people to seek mental health support if it’s needed.
Remember all the great accomplishments made when people strove to be “workaholics?” Yeah, neither do I. The work environment should allow people to set reasonable limits on work hours, promote physical and mental well-being and encourage people to seek mental health support if it’s needed.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. And while Dr. Fauci assures us the U.S. is not currently in a pandemic phase from coronavirus, Americans continue to struggle with a different, hidden pandemic: mental illness.
Every day, nearly 53 million Americans struggle to live with a mental illness, according to the CDC. That’s approximately 20% of the U.S. population. And according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the pandemic had severe and long-lasting mental and emotional effects, particularly among young adults and marginalized populations.
Nearly two in five adults (40%) struggled with mental health issues in 2020, compared to about one in five (20%) before the pandemic. NAMI reports that among people with mental illness, only 46% received treatment in 2020. The number is far lower for Black Americans (37%) Hispanics (35%) and Asian Americans (21%).
The crisis is especially acute among youth and young adults, as trends predating the pandemic have become even more ominous. In 2020, 75% of people aged 18–24 reported at least one mental health or substance use concern. In 2021, emergency department visits for suspected suicide attempts were 51% higher among adolescent girls than in 2020.
The American Psychiatric Association’s Center for Workplace Mental Health has some tips to help employers and employees elevate mental health and well-being for a resilient workplace.
Scroll through the gallery above to see a few of their suggestions on keeping centered as they come to grips with “the new normal.”
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