In a world challenged by multiple threats, it is only natural that mental health and human resources should be a predictable pairing within the work ecosystem. All companies aspire – or should aspire – to work healthily, protecting the well-being of employees and differentiating themselves from their main competitors.
Therefore, mental health and human resources are two closely related topics since it is precisely those responsible for the Human Resources department who is in charge of leading strategies to care for the well-being of workers, including psychological well-being.
Mental health and human resources
Taking care of employees’ mental health from the Human Resources area has become one of the organization’s main challenges. Responding successfully to this task can be done in different ways. However, since we are talking about people’s health, it is advisable to limit improvisation to a minimum and, on the contrary, to have a strategic vision that allows mental health and human resources to be a coherent and valuable equation within the company.
Each company must find its way to prevent problems in the well-being of its workers and must, of course, count on the help of well-being services for companies designed by professionals to meet this objective. However, here are some aspects that HR departments should keep in mind when embarking on this task.
Protecting mental health through Human Resources
1. Improve internal communication processes in the company
In addition to preventing communication from becoming a stressor, it is possible to use it as a helpful tool better to understand the needs and characteristics of team members. Only in this way is it possible to target, even highly individualized, those aspects that put their psychological well-being at risk and, therefore, the best resources to prevent this effect and enhance their health.
2. Implement practical inquiry tools
On the work environment perceived by employees, their motivation, the flaws they detect in the general functioning of the company that can become significant stressors, Wellness Action Plans (such as the one designed by ifeel) for well-being structured in conjunction with team managers… There are many topics on which it is worth listening to employees: they are the key informants for Human Resources on mental health.
3. Design a strategy for action
Active listening and inquiry are fundamental, but taking action is essential to take action to take care of mental health in the Human Resources department. As we said before, this should not be done in an improvised manner but through a strategy that starts by detecting needs. It should be well scheduled, include a good evaluation, and act transversally with all employees under the company’s corporate culture.
4. Count on specialized and professional help
Although Human Resources managers usually already know how to do their job very well, it never hurts to have the support of external professionals to receive personalized advice on best practices regarding mental health with the people they are in charge of. Psychologists specializing in occupational health are the right professionals, especially in large companies with highly complex processes.
We care for emotional well-being in organizations
At ifeel, we believe that what is vital for the proper development of any organization is to have healthy, motivated employees committed to the company’s mission. This is not achieved for free, nor is it a function of a single person or department. However, Human Resources managers greatly influence the mental health of the members of a company.
Our team of psychologists, experts in well-being at work, has created an emotional well-being program for companies that can guide HR managers in this task and help the rest of the company’s members.
With this service, HR managers can receive personalized, data-driven advice on improving the psychological well-being of the teams in their charge. If you are part of the HR department in your organization, we recommend that you try our program now and see how it could help you.
This program offers all employees a complete mental health care service that they can access in different ways depending on their needs. Those who wish to have access to an online therapy service with one of our psychologists specialized in cases like yours or interact with one of our professionals to receive emotional support in a more specific circumstance that worries them.
Of course, in our Resources section, you can find different materials that will help you with many of your day-to-day functions as part of the HR department. For example, podcasts, HR guides on various topics (e.g., employee experience or how to design a good HR strategy), or Interviews with leading HR executives. In addition, we have a Psychosocial Risk Factors Template, which you can use to comply with the requirements of the Labor Inspectorate.
We hope you found this post on mental health and human resources interesting. If you would like more information about our emotional well-being program for companies, simply request it, and we will contact your team as soon as possible.
