Mental Health Awareness Week: 9 – 15 May 2022
Mental Health Awareness week is a good opportunity to take time to reflect on the wellbeing of your employees and also a reminder to connect with your team all year round.
This year’s theme is Loneliness
Loneliness is a key factor of poor mental health and wellbeing. The recent pandemic led to many people working from home which can give people a sense of loneliness and isolation leading to disconnection from colleagues and daily routines.
As a result of the pandemic, home and hybrid working has become a larger part of the workplace, therefore more effort needs to be made to keep your team engaged and connected to colleagues.
Looking for signs of poor mental health is important, warning signs include:
- Feeling sad, down or irritable for a long time
- Confusion or finding it hard to concentrate
- Excessive fears or worries, anxiety or extreme feelings of guilt
- Extreme mood changes of highs and lows
- Withdrawal from friends and activities
- Significant tiredness, low energy or problems sleeping
How to Improve Employee Wellbeing & Feelings of Loneliness
To prevent or overcome your team feeling lonely or disconnected when working from home:
- Suggest they work in the office, if possible, or outside of their home at least one day per week
- Allow flexible working hours, make the most of not having the commute
- Check-in with individuals to make sure they are coping and not showing any of the warning signs
- Provide coaching and/or training to get the best out of your employees
- Involve members in social activities outside of work to bring the team together
- Have weekly virtual team meetings to allow employees to connect
- Schedule a yearly company event
