We all know the importance of physical health, but looking after your mental health and wellbeing is equally important. Unfortunately, debt plays a huge part in the UK’s mental health crisis. Mental health can often have a huge effect on your finances but equally, your finances can also have a serious effect on your mental health. This makes it crucial to stay on top of both whenever possible.
Although there are some public mental health support services that can provide help, it’s important for businesses to take the initiative and provide mental health guidance to employees.
How to support employee mental health
Mental health training
Educating your team on mental health should be a top priority, now more than ever, considering what we have all gone through during the pandemic. Employees should be educated on how to improve self-care, reduce workplace stress and avoid burnout. It can often be beneficial to organise a mental health professional to speak on these topics as they will be able to answer any questions your employees may have.
Host regular check-in meetings
It’s important to host regular check-in meetings where employees can chat openly about how they are feeling. Senior employees should also be encouraged to speak openly about their feelings on mental health as this will show others that they can speak freely about how they are feeling. Regular check-ins can also help reduce the stigma associated with mental health issues.
Offer mental health days
When your employees are feeling ill and need to go to the doctor, they can simply call in sick and get the day off. Are you viewing burnout, stress and mental health issues in the same way? Why not offer time off from work to deal with any issues relating to burnout, stress or mental health? After all, your business depends on the health of your employees.
Offer free financial wellbeing and mental health resources
There’s a variety of financial wellbeing and mental health support resources that you can offer your employees. Things like an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), bereavement leave, grief counseling and access to therapists can play a vital role in providing support for your employees.
EAPs are specifically important as they provide employees access to professional, confidential assistance for issues like substance abuse, financial issues and mental health conditions. In terms of the EAP, these services are provided to employees for free (at the expense of the company). EAPs are designed to enable companies to provide assistance to employees while giving them confidentiality at work. Supporting your employees’ mental health will likely empower your employees to work harder. Focusing on employee mental health is extremely important, as poor mental health can negatively affect job performance and employee retention.
If you are experiencing mental health problems, there are dedicated services that you can turn to for help and guidance in your time of need. Read here for some of the mental health and debt support services available.
At Debt Movement, we know that bad debt happens to good people. Our mission is to rescue people who have found themselves in financial difficulty. Our qualified team of debt specialists have helped thousands of people move out of debt and find financial freedom. Contact us today, to start your journey to financial freedom.
