May 4th to 9th is Occupational Health and Safety Week here in Canada. The focus of this is primarily how best to prevent physical injury at work, which is obviously an important and worthy topic of discussion. However, in recent years, there has been a shift to include mental health in the conversation as well.
Workplace stress, burnout, and compassion fatigue are increasingly common across all sectors. If someone is dealing with these challenges, their decision making abilities, focus, and communication can be impaired, leading to an increased risk of workplace accidents, absenteeism, and higher turnover. According to the Mental Health Commission in Canada, approximately 1 in 5 people experiences a mental health challenge each year. So, what can people do to manage mental health at the workplace to avoid a physical or psychological injury?
Most importantly, explore any supports that your workplace offers, including peer supports, debriefing groups, and EFAP. Outlets like these allow you to connect with someone about what has been going on, so you don’t feel as though the burden is yours alone to carry. The less alone you feel, the more confident you can be in managing your symptoms as they arise, leading to a healthier workplace overall. Many people feel as though they are being a burden to others if they talk about their mental health, but that could not be further from the truth; keeping it in and trying to manage it yourself can lead to more severe consequences. Hiding stress only leads to it popping up in other parts of your life where you may not expect it.
How do you know what to look for? Early warning signs often come in the form of irritability, withdrawal, increased mistakes at work, and general changes in your mood and behaviour. Sometimes these are hard to catch when you aren’t paying attention to your own behaviours and thoughts, so if someone says that you don’t seem like yourself, or that you are acting a little off, maybe it is time to dig a little deeper and see if there is anything going on in your life that could be discussed with a mental health professional.
A few practical ways you can improve workplace mental health are as follows:
- Use Walmsley EFAP early, don’t wait for a crisis.
- Check in with colleagues, especially those who might be having a hard time.
- Be open about your own struggles and how you manage them, normalizing conversations around mental health.
- Have your own mental health toolkit, including some breathing techniques, self affirmations, and ways to ground yourself.
- Workplace Health and Safety affects everyone, and focusing on it is necessary, not just for a week, but every day moving forward. Use this time to spread awareness of what it is and how to manage it in a healthy way.
Rob Baker, MA RCC