Morale and Mental Health Awareness in the Workplace

Morale and Mental Health Awareness in the Workplace

Employee morale or mental health awareness? Which should be prioritized? The simple answer is neither, but instead equal priority should be given to both.

For many years now, the importance of high employee morale has been studied, documented, and prioritized by most organizations. The importance of cultivating and maintaining high morale cannot be overstated.

However, in recent years, with the rise of mental health awareness in the workplace, it may often seem as though employee morale has taken a backseat to mental health awareness. A common misconception is thinking the two detract from each other when in fact they enhance one another.

Morale can be defined as the overall attitude or outlook employees have toward their work, their role, their employer and ultimately how this impacts their lives.

High morale contributes positively towards ensuring positive mental health, while low morale is likely to feed aspects that degrade the mental health of employees. In this newsletter, we delve into the symbiotic relationship between morale and mental health awareness and highlight the importance of prioritizing both within the workplace.

Positive Morale = Positive Mental Health

Morale can be used as the lens in which we observe the mental health of a company. High morale would be reflective of a supportive and inclusive workplace. This is to say, a workplace wherein employees feel valued, respected and motivated.

The opposite sentiment is true, in that, poor morale can contribute to increased stress, anxiety, and burnout among employees.

Which all factor negatively towards the mental health of employees. Only through increased moral can an environment that supports positive mental health be created and maintained.

Open Communication, Support and Reducing Stigma

Cultivating a culture of open communication and support is essential for promoting mental health awareness in the workplace. Open Communication on elements negatively affecting mental health can be the difference between a healthy work environment and a constrained one.

It is only when employees feel comfortable openly? discussing their mental health concerns without fear of judgment or stigma, that they are more likely to seek help and access the support they need to thrive.

Addressing mental health stigma is essential for creating a workplace where employees feel safe and supported in discussing their mental health challenges in all their forms.

Only through openly discussing mental health and providing education on the matter can the stigma around mental health be tackled.

Promoting Work-Life Balance

It is essential to ensure that employees have a well-managed work-life balance.

Too much emphasis on one aspect will result in a negative balance. Which will cause declined mental health and morale.

Instead of aiming for a perfect balance, which is difficult to main indefinitely. Employees should rather aim for work-life? integration, wherein one aspect feeds into the other instead of taking from each other.

Only by prioritizing both morale and mental health awareness in the workplace, can we effectively create a supportive and inclusive environment where employees can thrive both personally and professionally.

The two are intertwined and as such one cannot be prioritized over the other. The ultimate goal then is to achieve a well-rounded and inclusive work environment that will allow employees to contribute positively to the company.