The ManicaPost
Simbarashe Musara
Post Correspondent
THE organisations around the world are made up and function because of human capital.
The human beings that make up the human capital base rely heavily on their brains to execute tasks.
It is worth noting that this brain is also affected by many factors and once it is affected, there will be disruption in normal cognitive functions, which in turn will affect the workplace.
It is of great importance to raise many voices, engage and discuss on the mental health of employees.
Mental health is the emotional, psychological and social wellbeing of a person.
Our choices, how we handle stressors of life, how we think, how we feel, how we act and how we relate to others is determined by our mental wellbeing.
With this, it is clear that a person’s performance on the job is hugely dependant on their mental state.
Studies have shown that a mental problem like depression affects a person’s ability to do physical tasks 20 percent of the time and also affects cognitive performance 35 percent of the time.
The cause of mental problems can come from within the organisations or from the outside world.
Externally, factors like drugs and alcohol, trauma, disturbing life experiences, history of abuse, experiences relating to a disease someone is suffering from, biological factors, social factors like family and marriage issues and economic hardships can cause someone to have mental problems.
Then internally within the workplace, the lack of a health and safety policy which targets to protect the employees, customers, employers and visitors can also affect their mental wellbeing.
The lack of commitment to a safe working environment can affect the mental health of a person as the workplace maybe poorly lit, ventilated and unsanitary.
Also, poor communication and management styles which can strain employer and employee relations can contribute to mental health issues.
Other internal factors include low levels of support for employees, performance pressure, harassment and bullying, inflexible working hours and lastly, job insecurity.
Job insecurity was experienced during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic which fueled much uncertainty as many people were being retrenched and companies were closing down.
This evidently put much pressure and stress on many people.
Regardless of the source of the problem, it is the duty of the employer to make sure that their employees are in a good mental state so that they can perfectly execute their tasks.
It is widely known that if you are mentally okay, you tend to approach your job with a positive attitude and avoid work related risks that are associated with mental health problems.
These risks include poor decision making and making continuous mistakes while executing tasks.
A person with mental health problems has poor communication and tends to misinterpret the actions of others, which can trigger an overreaction.
They can even react negatively to customers.
All of this has a ripple effect as this mental health problem can cause low engagement as the concerned person will be demotivated and unfocused.
Worth noting is that high productivity is due to high mental strength and if a person is mentally affected, this also leads to low productivity.
Low productivity will also lead to low profits.
This can affect one person in a group of people but if left unchecked, their behaviour will affect others.
It is of great importance to note that dealing with such issues will help employees have basic cognitive and social skills, increased self-esteem, a clearer way of thinking, reduced anxiety, inner peace and improved moods.
They will be able to manage stress and will adopt skills to cope with challenges and setbacks in their lives.
They will also be able to recognise, express and regulate their emotions and will also empathise with others, such that everyone will flourish in their roles.
To achieve all this, an employee should be able to share experiences with others to reduce stigma, be open minded about experiences and feelings of colleagues, and be able to respond with empathy.
Team members should offer peer support and encourage others to seek help, adopt activities that promote stress management and also practice self-care.
The employer, on the other hand, is responsible for implementing employee assistance policies and programs that should strategically cover prevention, early identification, support and rehabilitation of employees across all levels.
The employer should also offer support to those suffering from mental health problems, just like what Liverpool Football Club did when it launched a mental health toolkit that supported fans and players who were assaulted before the Champions League Final in May.
As seen, mental health problems affect the workplace and employers need to take this phenomenon seriously in order to have a focused and productive workforce.
