World Mental Health Day: 5 measures employers can take to ensure mental well-being of employees

Poor mental health and stress at the workplace can physically manifest itself in a range of illnesses such as hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular conditions. It can also burn out employees, affecting their ability to contribute meaningfully to their work.

As mental health problems impact employers and businesses through increased absenteeism and have a negative impact on productivity, it is important to take a few measures in the workplace to ensure the mental well-being of employees.

Here’s a look at what employers can do.

According to research, having less discretion over how work gets done not only negatively impacts an employee’s mental health but is also associated with higher rates of heart disease. Introducing small changes in worker autonomy can help the employee's overall well-being. A study in a customer service call centre showed that employees who were given the training to take on new tasks and resolve more customer complaints on their own performed better on the job, Harvard Business Review reported.

Long hours of work and high demand can have a substantial toll on employee health and well-being. Employers can maintain enough staff to ensure that the workload is spread out. This will also ensure that the employees do not get exhausted or burn out.

Supervisors could be more supportive towards employees who are also caregivers for children or elderly parents at home. A study revealed that employees whose managers were more supportive of their family needs had fewer risk factors for heart disease and also slept better.

Employers can encourage staffers to take breaks in between work and also allow them to take time off without judgement. This way they can build flexibility into their office culture. Employees feel valued and safe in such environments

Earlier, health insurance only covered physical health. However, as directed by insurance regulator IRDAI, health insurance providers now cover in-patient hospitalisation expenses for mental illnesses. Apart from mental illness coverage, new-age health insurance providers also offer mental wellness sessions and related workshops to ensure that employees learn about mental health challenges.