7 Ways To Take Care Of Your
Mental Health In The Workplace

According to the World Health Organisation, it’s estimated that 264 million people around the globe suffer from depression. What’s more, the organisation Our World In Data estimates that 284 million people around the world suffer from anxiety.

So, if mental health issues are so prevalent in society, why don’t we talk about it in the workplace?

There can be a bit of a stigma when it comes to discussing mental health. Some people don’t feel comfortable opening up about their mental health problems, and some people feel that there may be judgement if they do.

And this problem can be all too prevalent in the workplace.

With workplace stresses, harsh deadlines, a bad boss, or unsupportive colleagues; there are many reasons why taking care of your mental health in the workplace can be challenging.

But if you’re looking for ways to take care of your mental health and look after yourself in the workplace, keep reading!

We give 7 ways you can look after your mental health in the workplace.

One of the simplest ways you can protect your mental health is by taking time away from social media.

This can be difficult to do if your job literally involves social media – like if you’re a social media manager. Sometimes, looking at social media can be unavoidable.

But we need to be aware of the effects that social media can have on our mental health and if you’re using social media for work, how to take care of yourself.

According to a survey carried out by Origin, Hill Holiday, 34% of Generation Z surveyed (those born in the mid-1990s to early 2000s) are quitting social media for good.

And 64% of them are taking a break from it.

Why? Because it makes them unhappy.

Social media can have very detrimental impacts on our mental health. Whether it’s reading something sad, getting FOMO from seeing something you want to do, or feeling pressure and insecure to live up to social media’s standards – social media can be a dangerous place.

So how do you begin dealing with your mental health if you’re using social media for work?

Firstly, you need to take time away from it. Giving yourself regular breaks helps you ground yourself in reality and calm your mind.

As well as this, you should start by only following social media accounts that are relevant to work or make you happy.

Unfollowing social media accounts that don’t pertain to work helps streamline your feed and can eliminate anything that has the potential to cause your mental health to dip.

This is something that any seasoned veteran of retail or customer service will tell you: sometimes, customers can be unnecessarily rude.

And you need to be aware that this isn’t your fault, and you shouldn’t take it personally.

This doesn’t stand true if you actually have made a mistake. If you’ve fulfilled a task or project improperly, spoke to a customer rudely, or done something wrong, then you should own up to that.

But, sometimes, things are out of your control. Sometimes things go wrong, and yet you find yourself on the receiving end of abuse from a customer.

So, how do you deal with this?

When taking care of your mental health when it comes to customers, you need to separate yourself from the situation.

A customer or client yelling at you or being rude isn’t a reflection of your job, and it isn’t anything personal.

They would be doing the same to any other person stood where you are.

Separating yourself from the situation and taking a step back can help protect your mental health.

You simply need to remain calm, be polite, and try and resolve the situation.

It can be very easy to let a rude customer ruin your day and impact your mental health. But by separating yourself and taking a step back you can protect your wellbeing.

The importance of mental health in the workplace cannot be overestimated. It helps you feel better, be more productive, and manage your workload better.

So, what’s another way of taking care of your mental health in the workplace?

Boundaries.

That’s right. Setting clear workplace boundaries is a fantastic way to protect your mental health as you’re eliminating the things which can be triggering for you.

One of the most obvious ones is by making sure you don’t do any work outside of your business hours.

This can mean eliminating the occurrence of taking your work home with you and keeping a clear distinction between work time and home time.

And this can be done very easily. You can set up an automatic email response when you get sent an email outside of office hours or on weekends. This is letting them know that you won’t be responding until the next day.

Or, you can set boundaries within the office too.

Perhaps you have a colleague that likes to overshare and talk about inappropriate topics. Maybe it can be distracting and stresses you out. Or perhaps they bring their home life to work and rant a lot about their partner.

In any case, letting them know gently that, whilst you care about them and their life, that you think it’s better if you save the conversation for your breaks is a great way for setting up a boundary.

It means that you can get back to working without distractions; eliminating stress, reducing anxiety, and getting rid of frustration.

When you’re constantly inundated with deadlines, swamped with work, and struggling to keep up, you sometimes forget to celebrate the good stuff.

You can get so used to smashing out work that you forget to take notice of your victories, even the little ones, and don’t end up rewarding yourself.

Work is hard, and you should be kind to yourself.

You need to learn to celebrate your victories and reward yourself when something good happens.

That doesn’t mean treating yourself every time you submit a deadline, that could get very regular.

But it does mean taking time every now and then to recognise when you’ve done something well. Maybe you had a particularly hard project which you finally completed last week, or you just closed a deal with a client that was months in the making.

Celebrating these victories gives you something to look forward to and a nice reward for a job well done.

And, it also helps break up all your tasks.

Rather than constantly plowing through all your work one job after the other, celebrating a job well done helps give you a nice little break.

It gives you some perspective when it comes to your work. And, most importantly, stops you from feeling so stressed without reward or appreciation.

Mental health and the workplace needs to be a symbiotic relationship. You need to be able to fulfill the requirements of your job whilst also taking care of your well-being.

And one of the most important ways to do this is by checking in with your colleagues and being there for each other.

Maybe you’ve noticed that one of your colleagues is coming in late a lot, doesn’t seem to be coping with the stresses of the job, and seems to be struggling with work.

Have you considered reaching out to them, and checking if they’re okay?

They may really appreciate your support. And, even if they decide not to confide in you this time, they know that you’re there for them.

Of course, you need to make sure that this doesn’t violate your own boundaries. If you don’t have the mental capacity to take on someone else’s problems, then don’t. Look after yourself.

But establishing with your colleagues that you’re there for support can really go a long way.

What’s more, this doesn’t even have to be done in the office environment.

If you want to check in with your colleague without explicitly asking them, invite them out for a coffee!

Having some social time outside office hours establishes the shift from colleague to a friend. They may feel more comfortable talking to you in a social context and be more willing to open up.

They may not even need someone to talk about their problems too. Maybe they just need a friend.

On the back of checking in with your colleagues, you yourself also shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help.

This can come in many different forms: asking for help from your colleagues, asking your boss, or even talking to HR.

Perhaps you have a pre-established mental health condition, which is being exacerbated by work.

Speaking to your boss, if you feel comfortable, and communicating this to them means they may be more willing to take the pressure off your workload.

Or, maybe you’ve been handed a certain project with a short deadline and you’re struggling to keep up.

Speaking to a colleague and asking for help with them means you can alleviate stress and pressure.

As well as this, if you start to notice your mental health really decline you should reach out to someone higher, possibly.

Speaking to someone in HR is a great way for them to be a mediator in mental health discussions. If you don’t feel comfortable speaking to your boss directly, they can do it for you.

This is something that is particularly pertinent to bosses and those in management.

If you’re trying to improve your mental health and workplace relationships, you should start by evaluating your workplace.

Begin by taking a look at your workplace mental health policies. Do you even have them?

What do they say about employees taking time off, or having mental health support systems in place?

Innocent, the company known for its smoothies and cute PR, takes mental health in their industry very seriously.

Not only do they offer a free gym and yoga classes in their office, but they also offer flexible working hours and a 24/7 confidential employee assistance programme.

This allows them to speak to someone at any time, day or night, about things that they may be struggling with.

What’s more, some companies even offer mental health days. This allows their staff to take time off for mental-health-related issues, separate from their normal sick days.

Not only does this give more freedom for staff to look after their mental health, but the openness about simply having mental health days as an option encourages staff to be more open and forthcoming about their mental health.

Hopefully this article will show that there are lots of ways for you to look after your mental health in the workplace.

Whether it’s taking the next step in bravery to open up about your own experiences, reaching out to a colleague, or setting important boundaries, it can be done.

You don’t have to compromise your mental health for work. And your work doesn’t have to falter in place of your mental health.