Mental Health in The Workplace. How do we protect it?
Whatever it is that you do for a living, it’s important that it is not getting in the way of your overall wellbeing.
Your mental health is a central aspect of your overall well-being. If you are keen on taking care of yourself thinking about your mental health in the workplace is imperative.
Your work has the potential to interfere with your mental health in some unfortunate ways. It is vital that you stop this from happening.
Let’s take a look at how you can make sure to protect your mental health in the workplace.
Mental Health Discrimination
One of the ways that a job can get in the way of your mental health is through mental health discrimination in the workplace. This can happen consciously on the part of your employer, or it can be an accidental thing. However, in either case, it is going to affect your mental wellbeing profoundly.
If you feel that you are the victim of mental health discrimination you must go to your HR manager, your direct report manager, or the manager above that.
If you feel that they are not taking the issue seriously, or if it gets worse, you may then need to report it to the authorities.
Working in Unsafe Conditions
If you ever find yourself feeling unsafe in the workplace, that is a clear sign that there is something wrong. It could be that there is something awry in the health and safety protocols. This could mean that they are unclear, not being followed or that they are not being followed well enough. It could also be that you are actively being encouraged to work in unsafe conditions. If you get hurt on the job then you should do your due diligence which may include seeking advice from highly skilled personal injury attorneys. Even if you are not hurt, unsafe conditions should always be called out. This should not be a problem as your Human Relations department should want to avoid someone getting hurt.
Try Out Different Types Of Work
If your current work isn’t mentally good for you then it is time to look for different work. This is something that can be hard to put into action. It is especially difficult if you are already feeling that you are in a bad place mentally. However, in the long run, having good work that you enjoy and find rewarding is an extremely important aspect of good mental health. It’s definitely something that you should be considering.
Try out a few different career paths. In this way, you can see which ones seem to be good for you. Click To TweetTrying different things can help you to discover something that you really want to do!
Taking Breaks
Take regular breaks while you are at work. This is a good opportunity to offer yourself the mental break that we all need. There are certain minimum limits on the amount of break-time you are entitled to. Be certain to take advantage of those. Regular, and appropriate, breaks help to protect your mental health. As well, it will help you to be more efficient.
The Social Side To Work
The positive effect that work can have on your mental health comes up in other ways too. Your work, within reason, can be an opportunity to be more social. When you can make friends at work you will feel more joyful. In general, this also means that more aspects of your humanity are being respected and dealt with. When you are looking for a job this is definitely something to actively aim for and seek out.
If you can focus on all those things, you should be able to find work that helps to support your mental health. Consequently, you will experience a great improvement in your overall sense of wellbeing.
32 thoughts on “Protect Your Mental Health in The Workplace”
This is such an important article. Taking short breaks is crucial for mental health at work place. I used to do that a lot.
Those breaks really benefit us greatly.
There’s such a stigma attached to it that it’s hard for people to share (sometimes). Especially true at work where people can be so judgmental. I have a dear friend struggling right now and it’s the stigma that gets her every time.
The stigma of having any fragility in our mental health is a true barrier to proper care.
Taking your mental health is very crucial nowadays thanks for sharing this great informationn for us to awareness of our mental health nice post.
It can be hard but taking a day off. For sure, having a reset can help. Also great breathing.
Great tips, I always try to take breaks during work and refresh because it always gets overwhelming if we keep working without break.
That self-care is so important to your personal mindset.
Many people do not realize that mental health is just as important as physical health. I work from home, so I miss out on the social aspect, but I do love when I get a chance to chat with other self employed moms.
Unfortunately, issues of mental health are not taken as seriously as issues of physical health.
The pandemic has been very mercurial and very difficult for me. I agree. Try out a few different career paths. In this way, you can see which ones seem to be good for you. You might not now, it may be the best one for you.
Sometimes, you get surprised.
This is a really important topic given the fact how many hours per day we are spending on the job. For me, remote work during the pandemic turned out to be very destructive. Dealing with people just on the phone or via email made me kinda paranoid and turned me nuts.
Remote work is 100% not for everyone. You highlight a very real issue. Some things that a workday includes may be very bothersome when working from home even though they may not be as bothersome when surrounded by co-workers.
I am so bad about taking breaks during work – thank you for the reminder! It really makes a huge difference, especially now that I work from home!
Many people think that when we work from home we take breaks more often but most actually take them less often.
These are nice tips. I wish I knew them earlier. The office can sometimes adversely affect our mental health.
Thank you. I wish that you knew them earlier too.
These are important tips. Sometimes, you will have to discuss this with your supervisor so that you can take you time that you need to be safe and cared for. Thank you for the reminders!
having that open-door policy allows the manager to learn from the employee.
My former job had a very toxic environment and I would end up crying every day from the mistreatment. Thankfully I decided that my mental health was not worth the paycheck and stepped away, even before finding a new job. My job after that was amazing.
Thank goodness you took care of yourself. It is terrible to work in a toxic environment.
Trying out different work sounds like a good idea. Personally, I have never tried it but on reading your elaboration, I love the idea! Thanks for sharing.
You are so welcome. Exploring different possibilities can be so fun.
This is such an important post. It’s so important that we look after our mental health, especially in work. It might make us feel bad or even embarressed but if we don’t take account for our MH, no one else will.
Our mental health is of huge importance to all factors of a good life.
Mental Health in The Workplace is such a great topic. Thank you so much for sharing with us.
You are very welcome.
I actually experienced this mental trauma when i was working in one of my previous employer. The job itself is already stressful but what really traumatized me is the management system. It actually put me in si much depression that i had to quit the job to save my sanity. Wow it took me awhile to recover fron that. It made me realized that higher compensation should not me the topmost priority but a healthy working environment
Thank you so much for sharing your experience. It is when people share so openly that others can really benefit.
I am happy to hear that you took control and did what you needed to do to get to a healthier place.
I totally agree about taking breaks, during my lunch break I had to pull myself away from my desk and put myself in another area to prevent myself from working and just decompress. It really helped me keep a clear head.
Alice, that is so real for so many. If we take our break at our desk it is not usually a real break.