The employees of an organization form the most important part of its success. For employees to be successful in their duties and consequently the organization, they need to be in the right state of mind. Mental health can be defined as a person’s emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing. As people engage in various activities and interact with others in their daily routines, they face mental health problems, which affect their work, relationships, and overall life experiences. Mental health awareness and other interventions are necessary for ensuring a healthy workforce and results. Mental health issues arise from people’s various activities or happenings that are beyond their control. Nevertheless, understanding the importance of mental health awareness and applying different intervention methods is an important way of making an organization successful. This consultancy report explores the mental health situation of Samson & Singh Company employees, recommends interventions, project plan for implementation of the recommendations, how to encourage employee and owner participation, techniques for implementation, and suggestions for evaluation.
Outline of relevant literature and evidence
Work-related stress prevalence
Various scholars have come up with research aimed at a clear understanding of the mental health concept and how it affects employees in the workplace. Professional bodies and organizations have also penned their reports concerning the issue to raise awareness and ensure the right mental health among employees. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, mental health disorders are among the most burdensome health concerns in the United States that require immediate intervention. 44.7 million people in the United States aged above 18 years are affected by mental health illnesses. The ratio translates to 1 in 5 people aged more than 18 years are affected by stress, anxiety, and feelings of headache (Mental health in the workplace, 2019). With the stated statistics, it is clear that mental health disorders need adequate attention and care for all people to ensure that they are in the right state of mind to work in organizations. The knowledge about the dangers of mental health illnesses creates the need for various interventions that occupational health psychologists use to create awareness among employees in various organizations.
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Cox, Griffiths & Rial-Gonzalez (2000) explore the evolution of mental health problems in the workplace. Work-related stress has evolved through different theories that include the demand-control theory, Effort-Reward Imbalance, and the development of the current holistic model of work-related stress. Harvey et al. (2017) explore situations in the workplace that can lead to stress, their exposures, and pathways to harm. Identification of the right theories is important in dealing with the challenges associated with the improvement of mental health among employees in organizations. The theoretical perspective of work-related stress provides evidence-based solutions that have been tried and tested in organizations. Given that most people in different countries spend a considerable amount of their time working, it is important to ensure that they have a great time in their respective areas of work rather than spending it stressed or overthinking. Devising possible means of ensuring that employees enjoy their work is an effective way of avoiding stress.
LaMontagne et al. (2014) state that mental health is prevalent among working populations. Averagely, 5% of the working population faces severe mental health disorders while 15% have moderate mental health disorders (LaMontagne et al., 2014). Depression, anxiety, and stress are the most prevalent mental disorders at 32.4%, 41.2%, and 41.2% respectively (Maharaj, Lees & Lal, 2019) disorder. Additionally, 21% of the working population have reported depressive symptoms within the past year and are under treatment. 52% of the working population have recovered from mental health disorders and are not in treatment after recovering from the symptoms.
De Neve, Krekel & Ward (2018) state that work plays an important role in ensuring people’s happiness. However, a significant number of people do not perceive work as an enjoyable activity, much as it is important. People work so that they can achieve their personal development goals, whether their jobs are enjoyable or not. Consequently, it is common for most people to feel pressured to do their work, which leads to stress most of the time. Employment is generally important, but employees do not do it out of enjoyment as Weinberg & Doyle (2017) acknowledge that work is not a universally positive experience. In some instances, work can be a source of stress due to poor designing of jobs, poor work organization, dangerous working environments, poor training of managers, and negative behavior from workmates. All the stated factors contribute to the development of negative feelings and exhaustion about their work. Performance is compromised because of poor motivation and a lack of the right working environment for success.
Mental health interventions
Randall & Nielsen (2010) highlight some of the interventions for mental health illnesses for occupational therapists that aim to improve the mental health conditions of employees in diverse organizations. The highlighted interventions follow evidence-based practices for maximum results. The interventions aim to improve the well-being of employees, overall health, satisfaction, and work performance. Interventions are in different levels that include primary, secondary, and tertiary level interventions. The levels help in identifying the factors that are linked to employee health before making suggestions on how to manage the factors. Employee cognition is an important aspect linking work and employee well-being.
The primary-level intervention focuses on the problem at the source. In an organizational setting, the primary intervention methods include aspects of work design, organization, and management, which are perceived to be problems significantly affecting a large number of people within the organization Memish et al. (2017). Organizations and governments are under intense pressure to address mental health issues in their organizations from their respective sources. Consequently, primary-level interventions are significant in the fight against mental health issues when the right intervention strategy is chosen for successful implementation.
On the other hand, secondary level interventions involve making employees aware of the impact of their working roles on their health. With that awareness, it becomes possible to provide training opportunities for effective managing of the conditions. Stress management training is one of the most used secondary interventions for employees whose working conditions are stressful. The technique breaks the link between work and poor employee outcomes. Likewise, cognitive-behavioral interventions play a critical role in helping employees to think differently from normal operations and come up with different reasoning about stressful situations. Such methods are referred to as active interventions.
Passive interventions refer to the secondary techniques aimed at minimizing the adverse effects of stress (Hallgren, Dunstan & Owen, 2020). Relaxation-based stress management intervention aims to train the mind to recognize when the body is under stress so that the employee can avoid further stress in an organization. Various activities are important in creating the progressive relaxation process. They include gaining deep diaphragm breathing, deep muscle relaxation, and focusing the mind on breathing. Sianoja et al. (2018) also suggest taking lunchtime park walks and relaxation exercises to enhance employee well-being at the workplace. Focusing on inner stress is important in ensuring that the employees know when their bodies are at a breaking point and need rest. It also helps participants to effectively monitor their thoughts for any signs of negativity that could affect their performance or relationships with others.
Employees can realize moments when they feel worked up through their actions like shouting at others and losing their temper over trivial issues. Another essential technique is called biofeedback, which is essential in making people aware of their physiological responses through measurement devices. The techniques are important in knowing whether the relaxation techniques are responding positively. Job-related skills training is equally important in helping employees to avoid stressful situations and perform their duties as expected. Skills like time management and assertiveness are essential in carrying out duties effectively. Lack of appropriate skills can be quite stressful, and employees need to be cushioned from such stress through job-related skills training. Employees are more effective and successful when they perform functions in which they are well-equipped (Hidayat & Budiatma, 2018). The last secondary-level intervention technique is multimodal stress management training. Bell et al. (2018) suggest that mental health first aid training programs are essential in training the public on how to improve the health of adults with mental health problems.
According to LaMontagne et al. (2014), an integrated intervention approach to stress is effective in dealing with mental health issues in the workplace. The intervention includes borrowing from the disciplines of medicine, public health, and psychology. Each of the areas contributes significantly to the formation of lasting solutions to mental health illnesses and stress. The interventions include reducing work-related stress, promoting mental health, and addressing the affected members regardless of the causes. A combination of the three disciplines makes it easier and effective in addressing the different areas of mental health illnesses.
Recommendations for interventions in Samson & Singh
The use of tertiary interventions is more effective than the primary and secondary intervention methods described above. Their objectives are wider, increasing the scope they can cover in addressing mental health disorders (Holman, Johnson, & O’Connor, 2018). Samson & Singh can use an effective approach known as the Employee Assistance Program, which provides the employees with support in both work-related and non-work-related stressors. Employees that have received training on how to identify mental health issues need to refer themselves for mental health help. However, the line managers have a role to play in identifying employees that need mental health care intervention (Kowalski & Loretto). Some of the key activities involved include providing individual consultations, counseling skills training, health promotion advice, and providing access to healthcare (Bhugra et al., 2018).
The activities should support a more proactive approach in that it does not wait for employees to have advanced mental health issues without addressing them appropriately, including a pilot of proposed alternative working practices, whilst recognizing the need to maintain a positive and inclusive external image for Samson & Singh. The approach for the organization should focus on prevention and detection at an early stage to avoid dealing with advanced cases of mental health. Early detection will enable easy management of the mental health problems that may occur in the workplace (Memish et al., 2017). Training employees on best practices and having appropriate guidelines on how to deal with mental health in the workplace will be an essential part of the implementation plan that would ensure proactive measures in dealing with workplace stress. The preventive approach is evidence-based and entirely effective for organizations whose employees are experiencing mental health problems. However, appropriate assessment is necessary to ensure that they are of the right quality to deal with the situation in the workplace ( Ruiz-Casares, 2014 ). The guidelines should be in line with the list of international mental health guidelines that the policymakers should be aware of and learn to implement. Lack of focus on prevention and detection are the leading causes of failure in most organizations suffering from poor mental health (Arango et al., 2018). Samson & Singh Company needs to avoid some of the common mistakes that would lead to the failure of the organization. Likewise, it would be appropriate to have a clear action plan aimed at the prevention and detection of mental health problems.
Coming up with a workplace mental health policy
Setting up a mental health policy in the workplace should follow various steps. The first step is analyzing the mental health issue in the workplace followed by policy development. The third step will entail developing strategies for implementing the policy, and the last step would be implementing and evaluating the policy (World Health Organization & Funk, 2005). Following the highlighted steps of mental health policy development, Samson & Singh can address the mental health issues facing their employees appropriately to address the challenges. In the Samson & Singh case, the workplace mental policy will follow the following steps.
Analyzing the mental health issue in the workplace .
The first activity that the policymakers in the workplace need to engage in is to identify the mental health issues in the workplace and analyze them appropriately. Analysis of mental health issues among employees can use different approaches. Finding out whether workers experience sleep difficulty can highlight the extent of disorder among employees (Freeman et al., 2017). Currently, the employees in the company face various kinds of stress that affect their performance. Lawyers are working in office administration positions that do not count on their performance. Consequently, they feel that they are overworking in tasks that they do not receive rewards for. The staff members in Samson & Singh are dealing with occupational and psychological stressors that need to be addressed. They are stressed, and early intervention is necessary to avoid extreme mental health issues (Chanen et al., 2020). The working environment and home-work disruption are some of the major causes of stress among the Samson & Singh employees.
Policy development
The second step would be to come up with a working policy that can prevent further stress among the employees. Good health, particularly mental health is essential for good business (Stevenson, 2017). The policymakers need to have that idea in mind and come up with an effective policy that would overcome the challenges of mental health. Through a coordinating body like a steering committee, the organization can come up with recommendations for effective mental health disorder prevention and detection. The committee will help in the assessment of the mental health issues identified before coming up with a lasting solution. It should entail the collection of adequate information. Conducting surveys can provide enough information for dealing with the issues in place ( Pirog & Good, 2013 ). The policy should entail a written vision statement while identifying the values and principles of the organization. COVID-19 guidelines should also be addressed through the policy (Goldman et al., 2020). The objectives of the policy should be clear and in line with Samson & Singh’s organizational values. The corporate objectives of supporting staff wellbeing and helping them to be resilient and continue generating revenue should be captured in the policy statement.
Implementing the policy
The management of Samson & Singh should also review the options for strategies that can be used to implement the policy effectively. The plan for implementing the policy will be as follows: increasing mental health awareness (Hassard et al., 2011), providing support to employees at risk, providing treatment to affected employees, and changing the organization of work among others. Improving mental health awareness is a primary intervention strategy that would ensure prompt detection of mental health and prevention before escalating further. For the employees exhibiting signs of mental health, it would be necessary to provide them with support for quick recovery (Ayanian, 2020). Particularly, members affected by the pandemic need maximum support to minimize their chances of stress.
The activities should occur concurrently among all employees except those with serious mental health issues. Treatment is inevitable for employees whose mental health issues have escalated. Various treatment options are applicable, and they include conversational agent intervention (Gaffney, Mansell & Tai, 2019) and providing oral medication to the severe cases. Medication is an important part of treating mental health illnesses, and it is crucial to exercise caution (Roughead et al., 2017). We would encourage employee ownership and participation by intensively training all people on the importance of mental health (McGorry, Ratheesh & O'Donoghue, 2018). It would be necessary to have an occupational health psychologist to help with the training. A budget towards the same will be important, which will state the time and funds required to implement the policy.
Policy evaluation
The policy’s success can be evaluated through an improvement of mental health among employees. The success of employees in performing their duties and minimization of incidences depicting stress are some of the success factors of the policy. The policy should ensure positive results in the workplace following its implementation. Common factors associated with stress at work should be minimal after the policy’s implementation.
Conclusion and next steps
Mental health is essential to an organization’s success. Adequate assessment of the mental health needs of an organization is essential in its success. It is essential to identify the mental health issues facing employees and coming up with solutions to the problems the employees and organization face. Samson & Singh Company faces a mental health crisis among its employees due to various stressors. The first step towards addressing the mental health issue is to analyze the situation and identify the factors in the workplace to deal with mental health issues. The company would then come up with a mental health policy that can address the issues identified. Some of the interventions for Samson& Singh would be an analysis of the situation, providing training to managers and employees, and offering treatment to the most severe cases.
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