Joey Armstrong Discusses How Managers Can Support the Mental Health of Employees
Prioritizing mental health in business settings has been a growing trend across industries for years, and the ongoing pandemic has only served to push these topics further into the forefront. Pandemic aside, many members of the workforce are dealing with their own challenges that do not tend to cease simply because work duties need to be completed. Joey Armstrong and other experts welcome the zeitgeist shift to prioritizing mental health more, as it gives administration the opportunity to show employees that they are committed to helping them in whatever ways they can. Here, Joey Armstrong shares a few ways that managers can continue to support the mental health of their employees and have a positive impact on their workplaces’ wellness culture.
Keep Communication Lines Open
In Joey Armstrong’s time in the business sector, he has seen many different types of leadership. Some keep a very tight ship and, on the opposite end of the spectrum, are managers that take a more hands off approach to employee development. With the emphasis that has been placed on mental health in the workplace over the past year, Armstrong maintains that somewhere in the middle is a sweet spot for managers wishing to support their employees’ mental wellness. We want to ensure that they have space to work in ways that best suit them, especially if they have no issues completing tasks that they are assigned. At the same time, a work culture that sees the importance of occasional check-ins help ensure that employees feel supported when they need to. Managers will often need to be the ones that make outreach attempts if they feel as though a team member may need a helping hand, and they should not be afraid to do so.
Help Employees Set Goals (and Accomplish Them)
The past year has been a mixed bag for many members of the workforce in terms of job satisfaction. Some of us have needed to pack up shop and move industries during the pandemic, some have lost their jobs entirely, and those that have found themselves at stable places of employment have likely stayed. Joey Armstrong speaks to how managers should ensure that employees that have stuck around since the pandemic do not simply feel as though they are spinning their wheels when it comes to satisfaction and mental wellness. To do so, Armstrong recommends engaging in high level conversation about employees’ goals and the ways that administration can help with accomplishing them. Helping employees lay out their goals with the company by communicating about the topic will show that they are important and have value. As managers, we should know that supporting career stability and growth are crucial for helping employees maintain mental wellness and overall satisfaction in the workplace.
Be a Model for Healthy Behaviors
Managers have always been looked to as a blueprint for how employees should act at the workplace. To this point, Armstrong notes that several resources have already spoken to the role that managers play in shaping the wellbeing of employees. With our growing understanding of just how important it is that employees feel supported in terms of mental wellness, more experts are speaking to exactly how managers can serve as an example for their teams. Perhaps the most simple and effective way to do so is to show how to display a commitment to mental health both candidly and professionally. For example, setting your team up for success but being otherwise unavailable on days off is a great way to show the importance of keeping your boundaries.
Not shying away from dialogues about mental health is also an excellent way to show that you are committed to the mental wellness of your individual team members. It is important to realize that, even if we do not candidly speak on topics such as mental health days, battling burnout, or feeling unsupported in our tasks, these issues do not just go away. Any manager worth their salt will remain active in prioritizing a commitment to mental health.
