Introduction
Tom Oxley, in the TEDxNorwichED, explains the things that are related to workplace mental health. He says that mental health disorders cause Anxiety, depression, and stress that, in the long run, can lead to up to 30% of physical health disorders. The cost of treating people with mental and physical health problems is up to 3 times higher than those with occurring conditions. The effect of workplace mental health is central to the individual and the productivity of the organization. Mental health status can affect employee performance, leading to absenteeism and accidents, therefore, paralyzing the organization. Working is good for mental wellbeing but offering a hostile working environment is dangerous for psychological and physical health.
Mental disorders due to the environment may be due to poor interactions between aspects such as skills, resource support, and workload. A good example is when someone has the best skills to perform a task but faces the risk of few resources or unsupportive management. Other dangers to mental disorders in workplaces include less health and safety policies, poor communication, inadequate control set up over one’s area of work, unsupportive employees, inflexible hours of working, and less organized tasks. In my opinion, if one or more of these risks becomes persist in daily work life, then it might utter my normal functioning, primarily the brain. Excess workload due to fewer employees can lead to overthinking, which is harmful to the brain. It causes stress and Anxiety, eventually leading to long-term mental disorders and physical disorders. Psychological harassment or otherwise bullying can also be cause stress which is a form of mental illness. Such risks cause negative family and social interactions, which lead to reduced productivity and increased turnover in staff.
A healthy workplace has good relations between the employees and the organization, including a safe working environment. The only solution to mental health in workplaces is creating a more healthy environment. The European union compass stipulates the government legislation and policies that promote the establishment of healthy workplaces. A 2014 published report shows that workplace mental health can be facilitated by the three ways approaches. The first approach is by reducing the factors that promote risks in the organization. The second approach is strengthening employees by promoting positive aspects of work. Lastly, it is best to develop a forum that addresses mental health issues within the workplace. Other crucial approaches include; promoting communication and relations between employees and managers within the workplace, understanding and assessing the needs of employees individually, initiating health and safety policies within the organization to reduce the risk of accidents, and above all, recognizing and appreciating the contributions of all workers within the organization. Organizations need to provide mental health interventions to promote prevention and therapy sessions to workers.
Conclusion
Organizations have been assigned the responsibility of responding to workers with mental disorders. The WHO and the UN have also created strategies that promote good mental health in the workplaces. In conclusion, the best way to conquer mental disorders in workplaces is by creating awareness on mental health and offering good relations between employers and employees.
References
TEDxTalks. “Workplace Mental Health – All You Need to Know (for Now) | Tom Oxley | Tedxnorwiched.” YouTube, YouTube, 16 July 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0XUimJbz44.
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