Although mental health is rarely discussed in professional environments, it clearly has a staggering effect on employee productivity and organizational success. We know that depression is the leading cause of disability in the world and that mental health disorders cost the global economy $1 trillion in lost productivity a year - which means that, when it comes to mental health issues in the workplace, taking a hands-off approach will only hurt your business. Even more importantly: it hurts your valued and talented people and, unfortunately, very often, the stigma associated with mental health issues means that many remain untreated.
Now is the time to be a leader in creating healthier patterns in your industry. Choose not only to open the conversation about mental health with your employees, but also to use all the tools at your disposal to ensure that your team has what they need to stay healthy. With a little effort, you can refresh your understanding of mental health issues and impacts and begin making small changes to help support your valued team in ways that make a real difference.
Here are some ways you can harness the power of technology to support your team - all while helping to make your organization as healthy and productive as possible.
Preparedness and Awareness Software
- Ensure that your team has the tools and time they need to be appropriately prepared for their work. High-quality, easy-to-access online training libraries, like those we have at Vector, can help keep your team safe, trained, and ready for whatever their job may throw at them. Being prepared gives your employees more confidence in themselves and their abilities, helping to eliminate confusion, mistakes, stress, interpersonal tension, and depression. Ultimately, a workplace culture that values effective training also fosters high performance.
- Offer training courses that help your employees understand how to deal with stress in high-risk situations, like those faced by our first responders. For instance, Vector hosts courses for firefighters that teach them how to safely interact with compressed gasses or what to do in the event of a water rescue, both of which can go a long way in preventing dangerous situations from spiraling out of control. Training like this helps to ensure that risky situations are more manageable and have better outcomes, too.
- Provide your team with tools to recognize when someone on your team is struggling. Vector Cares is another tool that can create awareness and understanding, helping your staff and leadership to recognize and respond to mental health issues or even prevent them before they arise. Our Vector Cares initiative combines our technology and capabilities to serve our communities with complimentary resources. This catalog of microcourses can help foster diversity and inclusion, train you and your team on how to appropriately and effectively support LGBTQ+ employees, teach you to recognize and support those who are dealing with PTSD, and help you understand how to recognize and prevent youth suicide, just to name a few.
Performance and Recognition Software
- Use performance tracking software to help combat mental health issues in the workplace. For instance, Guardian Tracking for law enforcement officers is a performance and conduct management tool. This early warning and recognition software helps transform agency culture by identifying personnel in need of additional training before an adverse incident takes place. It also encourages high performance by recognizing individuals who go above and beyond. Guardian Tracking is a customizable tool that sends officer conduct notifications to the employee's chain of command when preset thresholds are triggered. Coaching, disciplinary procedures, direct conversations, or even an awards assembly can be readied. Timely tracking and notifications help agencies retain high performers, save careers, and establish an inspired workplace culture.
- Utilize performance management software for regular check-ins with your employees to make sure that everything and everyone is on track. Too often, the annual or bi-annual evaluation process can be complicated - self-assessments, manager reviews, calibrations, approvals, and many other steps need to be accounted for. Programs like Vector Evaluations+ Performance Management can strengthen staff development and effectiveness by providing you with tools and immediate feedback capabilities, which means staff can quickly react to evaluations and take the appropriate next steps to fill gaps.
Stress and time management software and apps
Stress in the workplace can be insidious - especially for those who are in mission critical industries, like teachers, first responders, and more. That’s why encouraging a certain amount of self-care in the workplace is essential to help increase workplace happiness and productivity. While the idea of self-care may at first make you picture spa days and massages, we’re talking about simple, effective mindfulness practices your business can make available to foster mental well-being in the workplace.
Just a few of the apps that may help you achieve this kind of work culture include the following:
- Calm Business is a popular sleep and meditation app modified for businesses to help them support a mentally healthy workforce. Employees can use this app to help them go through a short meditation or it can provide short videos that encourage movement or stretching.
- Headspace for Work is the leading mindfulness-based mental health benefit app that helps your team take care of their minds. With some of the highest adoption rates in the industry, it offers your team access to hundreds of meditations and exercises for stress, focus, sleep, and movement.
- Burnalong is an inclusive, online corporate wellness platform that helps your company and employees thrive in today's hybrid world. It includes on-demand fitness classes in many categories, health and wellness strategies, an easy-to-use mobile app, and more.
Our employees spend a lot of time on the job and their mental well-being is an important factor in how well our businesses can function. It is worth your time and money to invest in the technology and tools that will allow your team to stay healthy.
