A safe work environment is crucial for both employees and organizations. Workplace stress is a growing concern across the countries and balancing work and personal life has now become more important than ever before. Various factors such as increased working pressures, safety challenges, or lack of adequate social support can affect your mental health at work.
Oftentimes many organizations, in a bid to maximize performance fail to consider situations like employee’s well-being. What’s worth noting here is that mental health experts have shown that 83% of people in the United States (US) suffer from daily work-life stress. In addition, 50% are not engaged at work leading to a loss of productivity.
In this article, we will discuss the circumstances under which stress occurs in the workplace risking people’s mental health, and necessary precautions that companies must implement.
Understanding Problems
Workplace stress is among the leading notifiable occupational factors in mental and physical health issues that result in about 120, 000 deaths annually. To create a mentally safe work environment and lower the number of employees under stress, it’s important to understand workplace factors that contribute to stress. Common examples of such factors include:
- Unrealistic Deadlines – Rushed and packed work schedules mean employees wake up to extremely tough working schedules and develop work-related stress illnesses.
- Lack Of Control Over Tasks – Employees forced to carry out tasks with no possibility to change them find they have nearly zero control over their work, which leads to dissatisfaction with their jobs and high levels of stress.
- Unsafe or Hazardous Work Conditions – An environment that threatens physical safety also decreases the likelihood of having a safe work environment because high-stakes jobs demand intense attention and precision.
- Poor Communication or Lack of Support – Lack of communication or mixed messages within organizations creates tension and apprehensiveness, while lack of resources creates isolation among the workers.
The impact of workplace stress is not only on individuals but also on organizations. Common examples of organizational impact include reduced production, increased absenteeism, and high turnovers.
Guidance And Tips for the Employers
To create a safe work environment, stress management solutions like maintaining a more supportive organizational culture are essential. For employers to achieve a safe work environment, certain changes to organizational operations and culture are required. Some key tips that help build a safe work environment include:
- Promote Open Communication
Allow employees to speak out their concerns and also allow them to submit complaints anonymously. It would help to have regular conversations with employees and management to consider all sources of stress that can be solved properly. - Ensure Training and Material Support
Training as a safety measure is vital for minimizing stress in high-risk areas. For instance, OSHA 30 training empowers supervisors, allowing them to ensure that all work operations are safe. When safety protocols are followed, the workers are more comfortable which can help lower stress. In addition, employers should also implement initiatives for mental health, such as EAPs or counseling services for the employee. - Check Responsibilities to Avoid Burnt Out
Make sure that staff workload is reasonable or fairly apportioned. In addition, closely monitor some key risk indicators which include decreased productivity, emotional exhaustion, frequent absenteeism, etc. - Communicate and Educate
Special attention should be paid to policy development and implementation regarding employees with mental health issues. This entails aligning with laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and making reasonable adjustments. - Develop a Positive Workplace Environment
Try to develop the principles that involve inclusivity, support, respect, and implementing teamwork. This culture-supportive form of change management means less stress and better overall mental health.
Training Resources
For workplaces with a focus on stress and mental health issues, it’s crucial to be ready to devote specific training. Illustra Pro’s OSHA 10 and 30 trainings enhance organizations’ abilities to design and control hazardous work activities. These courses deals with safety-related oversight, providing participants with the necessary knowledge of how to identify risks, develop mitigating measures, and monitor compliance with OSHA requirements.
OSHA 10 and 30 training has a broader range of focus on safety in workplaces. It prepares participants for the assessing environments, regulated activities, and compliance with set safety standards. Such training helps to guarantee that whilst meeting compliance, teams are also reducing risks, improving employees’ confidence, and encouraging a safety-first culture.
While safety training is highly effective, to ensure a safe work environment some other training resources that can be used include:
- Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) – The National Council for Mental Wellbeing, the MHFA recruits and certifies instructors to educate the participants to identify mental health and substance use.
- QPR Gatekeeper Training – This online one-hour course from the QPR Institute is dedicated to suicide prevention as it teaches participants how to Question, Persuade, and Refer those in one’s company to available resources.
- Stress First Aid – Developed by the U.S. The Department of Veterans Affairs, SFA, helps in recovery from stress through a 30-minute presentation.
Suicide Prevention in the Workplace
Reports have shown that the number of workplace suicides has increased in the US. Suicide rates in the workplace can be prevented through strategies like:
- Creating A Supportive Environment – The NAVSEA Shipyard’s Command Counseling Program targets mental health, willingness to speak to someone, and eradicating the negative perception of mental health, and is something that should be implemented to create a supportive environment.
- Peer Support And Counseling – Sets of action to embrace disability, peer support programs besides professional assistance to improve the workplace understanding and flow.
- Promoting Awareness – The goal of the program is to find signs of workers being in mental distress and provide them with resources to seek help.
- Fostering An Open Dialogue – About mental health awareness, the workplace encourages conversations involving employees and their health without stigma.
Final Thoughts
Workplace stress can be addressed through proactive leadership and the right resources. By promoting open communications and essential training organizations can maintain a safer and more supportive environment. In addition, programs like Illustra Pro’s OSHA 10 and 30, Fire Watch and PAI trainings help employers meet the safety standards that contribute to employees’ mental health. Take the first step toward a safer, healthier workplace by investing in safety and mental health training today!