Five Ways To Destress And Improve Mental Well-Being In The Workplace

Public Service Coach (Singapore) and Deputy Chief (Industry & Organization Transformation), SportSG.

As the war with the pandemic wears on, there is consensus within my network that high levels of fatigue have been observed among employees and the overall mental well-being within the workplace is taking a big hit. This has been exacerbated by working-from-home arrangements, which have reduced physical face-to-face interactions and curtailed the much-needed physiological engagements for overall wellness in individuals and teams. 

In considering how leaders might proactively deal with the issue of mental well-being in their employees, one must adopt a systemic approach rather than take a reactive attitude. One area to pay close attention to is how negative emotions are showing up and checking on what stressors might be causing them. These could be workload-related, pressures arising from deadlines, multi-tasking or expectations on responsiveness, to name a few. Or the stress points could be psychological, such as feeling a sense of disorientation, isolation and a lack of care and communication.

Here are five stress-busting ideas that leaders can implement within the workplace context.

1. Increase mental health awareness and provide relevant resources. Organizations that systemically communicate the need for mental fitness and the benefits of being mentally resilient help their employees feel engaged. By providing the literature and resources on mental wellness, employees are more equipped to deal with their state of mental well-being. For example, doing a lunchtime talk on brain states and emotions anchored on neuroscience can help employees appreciate the ways in which brains operate from a biological standpoint. Employees can then be introduced to tactics and coping mechanisms based on this knowledge and choose the techniques they find most helpful.

2. Encourage team members to adopt their own self-care regimen. Since everyone has different coping strategies, leaders might not want to be prescriptive here and can instead show support for their staff’s self-care choices — be it meditation, yoga, music or nature. A rule of thumb for self-care is to cultivate a ratio of at least three positive emotions for each negative emotion since the former is fleeting while the latter sticks around. Organizations can also tap internal or external coaching resources to cover topics such as sleep, nutrition, exercise and mindfulness practices. By holistically attending to multiple aspects of the employee’s health and fitness, the cumulative effect on overall well-being becomes more pronounced.

3. Set aside time for personal and team reflection and the practice of gratitude. Team leaders should be encouraged to conduct regular time-out breaks to allow team members to reflect on their work realities and allow for expressions of grateful words and deeds. From work observations and interactions with other leaders, I have noticed that creating a safe and positive environment can boost the positive energy levels in teams substantively. When individuals practice self-compassion, they render their fiendish inner critic impotent and become kind to themselves, stemming the negative and depletive self-talk going on in their minds. Connecting with people causes the brain to “light up” when we share with others we care about. Expressing thanks for a fellow team member’s contribution and celebrating what has been positive and going well fortifies the brain against mental distress.

4. Employ coaching skills and offer new perspectives. Leader-coaches can help their team reframe and examine workplace issues using different lenses. The leader-coach might also use techniques such as visualization to examine new possibilities. When staff members feel disorientated or disheartened, leaders need to gently coach them and align back to purpose and vision based on the organization’s core values. Increasing the staff’s sense of self-esteem and confidence often helps them get unstuck and motivated to try new things. What the leader is doing here is to help the fatigued team member focus on what they want to achieve in a generative orientation and convert distress to eustress — a term used to describe a positive form of stress with beneficial effects on health, motivation, performance and emotional well-being. An example of eustress is the adrenalin rush and excitement on the first day at a new job. Being able to turn the mundane and what we do not want into focusing on that which we truly care about and do want is one way to move from distress to eustress.

5. Organize sporting or physical activities, or a leisurely team bonding session. Given the very limited physical interaction opportunities, leaders might be tempted to optimize every minute of face time into the agenda. Yet, the shared experience of doing some fitness exercises together or laughing over a board game or teaming up in a video game might be the engagement triggers that would shift the needle for the overall well-being of the team. With technology, some of these activities can even be done in a hybrid or digital manner. Beyond team bonding sessions, in the event that a leader assesses that a team member needs a longer period of time to disconnect and rejuvenate, allowing that member to prioritize mental wellness by taking time off is also an act of care — which has to be in line with the organization’s stated care-for-people core value.

In conclusion, workplace well-being requires a corporate response exemplified by its leaders. Best practices include setting boundaries, as time is a non-renewable asset. Leaders need to look out for signs of mood swings or behavioral shifts, which may be manifested in a lack of motivation and a sense of anxiety and tiredness. An effective leader can exemplify and share their personal self-care regimens and facilitate authentic two-way communication. Finally, showing empathy and care builds trust and positive experiences for the team, and this can go a long way in promoting mental well-being in the workplace.

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