Whether you work from home or work in an office, there's always xomething you can do to boost your mental health
Nowadays, mental health is widely spoken about and has a lot more awareness. This is extremely positive and makes such a change to what the situation was 20 years ago.
Decades ago, people were not familiar with the term mental health and didn't understand that it is something everyone has. The majority of people struggle with their mental health at some point in their lives. Whether that's depression, eating or just generally not looking after themselves well enough.
Your workplace can have such a huge impact on your mental health - more than you could ever imagine. Most people attend their workplaces 5 days a week and sit in the same chair for around 7 hours a day. This is a considerable amount of time and therefore can have a huge impact on somebody's mental health.
How can workplaces improve?
Firstly, take your workspace into your own hands to make sure it's giving you a positive feeling every time you enter it. Make sure it's tidy and clean - this will set you up right for the day when you come in. Entering a workspace that is cluttered and dirty will stress you from the start of the day. So ensure, at the end of your working day to tidy your desk ready for the next morning.
Also if your workplace allows, add some personalisation to your desk - maybe a picture of a loved one or customizing your home screen of your computer. Without you realising, throughout the day this could really boost your mental health.
This may sound silly and not useful, but companies should ensure that the temperature of their workplaces is correct for the time of year. Imagine somebody going into a freezing office everyday knowing they have to sit there all day and are expected to be working at their maximum capacity. this will have an effect on their mental health as this will cause dread and possibly anxiety about going into work.
Managers can in general be aware of people's mental health - making their team aware that they are there if they need to talk. For a lot of people their work can have a huge impact on their mental health, therefore if their managers are aware if this and encourage them to talk this could relieve many people. A simple conversation with a boss about how you're feeling could help somebody so much especially as a lot of people seek approval from their bosses and feel very pressured by them.
Companies can also make effort to ensure their teams of employees know each other and feel comfortable with each other. Feeling comfortable with colleagues and knowing you've got support around you is so important. Out of work, meals could be arranged for colleagues, this can be completely optional as some people like to keep their work and home life completely separate.
It is understood, especially today that the amount of people working from home has hugely increased. This is due to the amount that had no choice to during the pandemic and this has now become a permanent situation. For people that work from home, their workspace is completely up to them.
Being in the same position all day and then when it comes to logging off from work still very much still being in that same environment can be tricky. Many people do have a separate workspace for when they work from home, but it can't be reiterated enough how important this is. This means at the end of the day you can leave that room and fully switch off from work.
Also, during your breaks I would recommend getting out of the house. Even if this is just sitting in your garden for 30 minutes or going for a 15 minute walk. This fresh air and just leaving the house itself will boost your mental health for the rest of the day without you realising. During these breaks, also ensure to eat a balanced diet and give yourself energy for the day.
Overall, there are many things in the workplace you and companies together can do to boost employees mental health. This is so important and if an employee's mental health is boosted it means that most of the time the work they're producing is going to be of a higher standard.
Remember, there are always people to talk to if you're struggling - your friends, family, colleagues, managers and anonymous sources that are available online. Never struggle alone.