SA employees need wellness programmes before depression sets in

© Ann Dudko – 123RF.com

"Waiting for a problem to exist and then offering a bad solution to that problem leads to an unengaged, listless workforce that has the Monday blues all week long," says Liane McGowan, founder of Happy Monday, a company that offers employee wellness campaigns aimed at employee happiness.

"If we want a staff complement that buys into the company, we need to buy into them, doing what is necessary to ensure their health and happiness in a pre-emptive manner."

Seven principles

For an engaged, happy workforce, management must recognise the need for the implementation of seven principles for a mental wellness campaign.

1. Developing creativity;
   
2. teaching staff coping mechanisms for effective stress management;
   
3. instilling a culture of giving back by recognising the achievements of others in the organisation;
   
4. creating an awareness of self and others in the workplace, ensuring that values are set and respect is given;
   
5. facilitating laughter and movement at work;
   
6. promoting positive teamwork through teaching effective communication and change management skills; and
   
7. fostering an ethos of learning.
   

Establish needs

"Recently some 'happiness detecting' devices have been developed to measure whether or not employees are happy. These devices are the definition of reactivity. If employee happiness is managed properly, these sorts of devices will be null and void - don't wait for a machine to tell you your staff are dissatisfied."

Start talking to employers and human resources teams in order to develop a full understanding of the employees' needs. Gaps can then be identified, rectified and proactive plans made to prevent repeat occurrences. "Once the needs have been established, a unique wellness campaign should be developed to address issues and empower the company to drive wellness proactively in the future."

An essential element of a mental wellness campaign is that it must be flexible. "In physical health campaigns we are dealing with measurements such as BMI; although the percentages may fluctuate, the method of measurement always remains the same. In mental wellness, however, we are dealing with the emotional state, which constantly fluctuates." As a result, constant contact is required with the workforce.

"The greatest obstacle to effective employee engagement is a lack of communication. This leads to the poor implementation of changes from management level, leaving employees feeling as though they have no value and are not respected. Top management cannot expect employees to support decisions, projects or changes, if it has not effectively communicated the purpose, logistics and value of these workplace elements to the employees," concludes McGowan.