Mental illness is one of the leading causes of workplace absence and lost productivity, costing businesses around America approximately 300,000 jobs per year, according to BBC News.  Harvard Medical School states that 80 million days are lost at work every year because of mental illness, making this a major concern for organizations nationwide. By speaking to your employees about mental wellness, you not only improve their personal and professional lives, but you reduce your chances of decreased productivity and employment termination due to mental health concerns the employee feels they are not supported with. Consider mental wellness interventions as an investment – the more support and information you can provide your team, the more likely you will get back in the success of your company.
If you’ve decided to move forward with mental wellness interventions, you want to be sure you move forward with those programs that have the most proven success in businesses thus far. A 2016 study published in the journal Psychological Medicine assessed 20 research articles to pull out major mental wellness interventions that have been effective in the past. The following interventions were found:
- CBT-based stress management – cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a therapy approach that helps individuals identify thought patterns that are negative and unproductive, with tools to help them focus their thoughts more on what will benefit and help them. For employees who are undergoing a lot of stress (which life has shown us comes in waves), CBT-based stress management could be extremely beneficial.
- Problem-focused return to work programs – a type of CBT approach that focuses more specifically on problem-solving skills that can be applied directly to the workplace upon change.
- Exposure therapy – for employees who have undergone workplace safety incidents and the like, exposure therapy could be a beneficial intervention to help those employees regain confidence and composure in workplace environments using cognitive restructuring.
Be sure to inform your team of the human resources that are available to them should they need mental health services. Another great step that you can take to begin creating a more respectful, inclusive atmosphere as it pertains to mental illness is to take care of your own mental health. Employees look up to managers and executives and may follow your lead if you decide to make your own mental health matters a top priority.
Don’t wait any longer to seek the help you need. Your life and happiness matter.
Trauma is most often the root cause of many emotional, behavioral, and mood disorders. Until you can heal your trauma, you will find great difficulty finding the healing you need to live a life of recovery, health, and wellness. At Khiron House, we provide effective residential treatment and cutting edge therapies which seek to transform mind, body, and spirit from the effects of trauma. Call us today for information. UK: 020 3811 2575 (24 hours) USA: (866) 801 6184 (24 hours).
