6 Mental Health Courses to Support Your Team and Improve Your Business

Mental health matters. When your team is struggling and doesn't receive enough support, everyone suffers. Moreover, it is bad for business, bad for morale, and bad for the very people who are at the heart of your mission. In fact, according to the World Health Organization, approximately 12 billion working days are lost every year to depression and anxiety worldwide, which costs an estimated $1 trillion USD every year in lost productivity. By investing in and safeguarding the mental health of your team, you can help to create a culture where all of your employees can thrive and bring their best selves to carrying out your organization's mission. 

At Vector, we beieve it is our responsibility to keep our employees safe - in both body and mind. There are many ways you can approach implementing mental health initiatives in the workplace, including wellness activities and retreats, mental health technology and apps, or a curated eLearning program designed to address common mental health issues, like our Vector Cares initiative.

Mental Health Courses to Prioritize Your Team

No matter your industry, the following six Vector courses, which are part of a series called Smart Mental Health, can help your team. The courses in this series cover a diverse range of topics related to reducing stress and anxiety, managing emotions, and fostering a life that is rich in joy and satisfaction:

Reducing Stress and Anxiety

Stress is our body's way of responding to physical, emotional, or mental demands. Although typically associated with negative circumstances, stress can be caused by both good and bad experiences. Our bodies react to stress by releasing chemicals into the blood to give us energy and strength to handle difficult situations. This evolutionary reaction can be a good thing when stress is caused by real physical danger; however, this survival response can wreak havoc if it builds up without a proper outlet. 

This interactive online course discusses the signs and symptoms of stress and explains the physical and emotional effects of built-up stress, such as pain and anxiety. The course also describes stress management techniques, treatment options, and lifestyle changes to help your team have a better understanding of how to alleviate stress.

Managing Anger and Emotions

The modern workplace is often thought of as a strictly professional, rational, logical environment. Cooperation is key - personal opinions and emotions must be put aside in the name of teamwork, which may be easier said than done! No one can expect to connect closely with all of their colleagues. Feeling overworked and overwhelmed is natural in the workplace, especially when it comes to dealing with change.

 The purpose of this course is to illustrate ways you and your team can overcome the emotional barriers you all may face in the workplace. This course will guide learners through various exercises and give tips to help manage emotions at work so you and your team can perform to the best of your abilities. 

Happiness is a Choice - Keys to Living a Joyful Life

This course will take learners on a journey through five core areas of the human experience: the physical, the psychological, the spiritual, the social, and the occupational elements of being human that make up our lives. Each area will cover a tried and true pathway leading to greater happiness. For each of these pathways, this course offers tips and tools to help you and your team implement strategies to build happier and more contented lives.

Goal Setting and Visualization Techniques

Goal setting is the foundation of all successful endeavors. When we set a goal, what we are really doing is defining the roadmap of our life. With each goal we set, we establish the path we wish to take toward our objectives. 

This course will help you and your team define what a goal is and how it can help you achieve success, teach you various visualization techniques, and help you understand what to do when you achieve a goal or when you fail to achieve a goal. This course will also cover the five criteria referenced by the SMART acronym.

Core Values and Finding a Purpose in Life

Feeling uncomfortable in a relationship or out of place in your company, but not knowing why could mean that the person or the corporation has core values that are different from your own. This course helps you to gain a stronger sense of your values and your life's purpose. Throughout, this course will guide you and your team to define your core values and to explore practical ways and strategies to create a personal and professional life that are in harmony with the inner you.

Keys to Successful Parenting

Supporting your employees as they navigate their homelife means a healthier team. Understanding the common pitfalls of parenting, how to provide constructive discipline, and how to develop a healthy relationship with your child are just a few ways to identify areas for connection and improvement. This course is intended to help those on your team who are parents so they can not only define their role and style but to improve upon problem areas. Learners will receive examples of tactics to create a loving and nurturing environment for children and to help their development in the most effective way possible.

Better Mental Health Means Better Business

Part of being an effective leader includes working to keep your employees healthy. For instance, at Vector Solutions this issue is so vital that we created the Vector Cares initiative, through which we provide our employees and communities with access to free online wellness courses. By making mental health support a standard part of your business model, you will go a long way toward helping to ensure your valued team does not simply struggle in silence through hard times. 

As always, online training offers you an excellent way to protect your team and prioritize mental health in the workplace. And, in doing so, you will create better mental health outcomes for your team and a better business in the process.