While one in five people will experience mental illness over the course of their lifetimes, everyone will face challenges that can and will affect their mental health. Observed every year on October 10, World Mental Health Day seeks to raise awareness of mental health issues and highlights efforts to support mental health.
Acknowledging the state of one’s mental health issues is important, and so is being able to seek help when you’re struggling. ACA has provided sharable graphics and resources to support counselors around the world who play a crucial role for those struggling with their mental health.
Contrary to popular belief, stress is a perfectly normal bodily response to change. Our bodies are even engineered to not just experience stress, but to also react to it in ways that, in small doses, are productive. Stress signals your brain to start producing cortisol, which raises your heart rate and blood pressure, forcing your body and mind to stay alert and awake for longer and perform harder tasks. When survival depended on staying awake and agile for fear of predators, stress was a literal lifesaver. Now that times have changed, stress (when stressors persist for a long period of time without periods of relaxation) is now known to be the slow and silent killer.
Today, given that the majority of us spend a substantial amount of our time at work, it is no surprise that work-related stress is listed as one of the most significant causes for stress in our daily lives. Countless studies and research tell the same story: job requirements, short-staffed workplaces and job insecurity causes workers to feel stress. As a result, this takes a toll on their sleep, health, relationships, productivity and sense of well-being. According to recent surveys by the American Psychological Association, 8 in 10 workers say they are stressed by at least one thing at work. About 1 in 2 workers in low-paying jobs say their job has a negative effect on their stress levels, while about 4 in 10 in medium- and high-paying jobs say the same.
Considering preexisting workplace stressors such as performance evaluations, customer relationships, job standards, and coworkers, employers are left with a demand to assuage and aide employee’s needs for reduced stress in the workplace. The benefits of a stress-free workplace come as a surprise to none, but it should be noted that a reduction in stress in workplace environments boosts productivity, morale and has shown to increase employee loyalty and decrease turnover. Knowing that a healthier workplace that caters to the mental health of its employees is beneficial to all, how do employers go about implementing change?
Below are five simple ways employees can help employees manage and reduce stress: