Mental health in the workplace is by no means a new area of discussion for many workplaces. However, it is still an area of stigma with many people struggling afraid to speak out for fear of being labelled as ‘sensitive’. Considering the number of hours people spend at work, it’s important to maintain a healthy state of mind for your overall health. Ultimately this could be down to larger issues outside of your work environment, but you can help combat certain aspects of this with practising mindfulness exercises while at work.


Mindfulness relates to a series of exercises that have been tried and tested in helping reduce depression, anxiety and stress. These can be anything from breathing exercises, meditation, enjoying a quick coffee break or anything that you bring you a sense of chill and help lift your mood. The overall end goal is to help you combat work-related stress so that you can get back to the job at hand but in a manner that works for you – but don’t put additional pressure on yourself if you haven’t found out what works for you.


When feeling stressed at work, the first thing that people often do is skip lunch and time away from their desk so they can focus on the job at hand. However, this for many will only add to their sense of anxiety and stress. A simple, quick five-minute walk around the block will give you a brief break and will clear your head allowing you to come back to the task with a clear head, and you may find that you’re able to complete the task more efficiently. It goes without saying that skipping a meal is not the best idea and if nothing else, an empty stomach will add to the problem – feed your brain!


If you run your own business or in a position of seniority that you inform and spire positive change then, you don’t have to look too far for ideas on how to do so. With so many eyeballs on mental states in the workplace, it’s no surprise that many health insurance firms are making wellbeing strategy recommendations. Many offer a range of services to help instil a sense of wellbeing in the workplace with coaching, partnerships with local gyms to encourage a fit and healthy state of mind. Look to introduce a discounted gym offering to encourage people to take this up and actively listen and encourage employees to openly discuss workplace concerns with yourself and other members of staff, so it becomes more of a team effort and less one person’s isolation.


You can find many examples of template stress policies online to give you a steer of how you can identify triggers and signs of workplace stress and how you can work you identify workplace stressors. It’s good to practise to run a stress risk assessment, so you proactively work towards helping your employees. With absences from work due to stress-related illnesses now is the time to give your staff the support they need.

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