Optimum Talks Blog

Addressing Emotional Health in the Workplace

The World Health Organization defines mental health as a state of well-being where every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively, and is able to make a positive contribution to her or his community. Every person is likely to experience a mental health challenge at some point in their life, and supporting mental health is a shared responsibility of individuals and organizations. The statistics are crystal clear. To help leaders and their teams work towards better well-being, we’ve compiled the following tips and techniques that can be applied immediately.

Taking Care of Yourself First

• Accept your vulnerability and that it is okay not to have all the answers.
• Permit yourself to feel any emotions that come your way.
• Look after your mental, physical, and emotional health whether it’s through meditation, journaling, eating healthier, talking with your support network, or going for a run.

Leading Your Employees with Clarity + Compassion

• Be present for your team and show that you care.
• Address the uncertainty around you as best as you can.
• Learn about the individual needs of each one of your employees.
• Listen empathically, be silent, and ask simple yet powerful questions.
• Learn to recognize the symptoms of mental health issues and how to respond to these challenges.

Leading Post COVID-19

• Manage your leadership brand by first determining what type of leader you want to be known as (adaptable, resilient, collaborative, compassionate). 
• Role-model appropriate behaviours for your employees and peers.
• Help foster a psychologically safe culture to build compassion and trust.
• Normalize flexibility and focus on outputs.       
• Set clear expectations.
• Encourage active participation in decision making and solutions.
• Celebrate successes, no matter how small.

Mental health is costing Canadian businesses billions of dollars per year and many employees are struggling with a range of personal issues that impact their performance at work. Through Workplace Emotional Health, Optimum Talent can partner with your organization to implement a program that promotes positive mental health and well-being. With our integrated offering including virtual seminars, an organizational wellness audit, one-on-one or group coaching, and assessment, we can help leaders learn how to support employees to manage difficult personal issues to ensure compassion, engagement, and performance.

Downloadable tip sheet here.

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