Is your workplace “psychologically healthy?”

Have you ever thought about how aspects of your work environment might be affecting your psychological health? Perhaps there were times that you felt that your job was draining you of energy or making you “crazy.” On the other hand, if you are fortunate, you may have felt that your work situation was invigorating, making a substantial contribution to the quality of your life, to your ultimate fulfillment.

There is now a large body of research indicating how policies and practices in the workplace can have a dramatic impact upon the psychological health, performance and productivity of employees. As a result, some organizations have made it a priority to provide innovative programs designed to have a favorable impact upon their employees’ mental and emotional health.

Experts in the field have identified five categories of psychologically healthy workplace practices: employee involvement; health and safety; employee growth and development; work-life balance; and employee recognition. Workplaces that institute practices that positively impact upon these areas have been shown to provide positive benefits to both the employer and employee.

Employees who are consulted by management and involved in decision making processes usually feel more empowered in their work. Toward this end, some organizations have instituted self-managed work teams, or engaged in participative decision making with employees. Providing structured opportunities for suggestions and input from employees is another way of increasing employee involvement.

Obviously, employees have lives and responsibilities apart from their work. Employers can promote the psychological health of their workers by helping them balance the competing demands of their lives. For example, some organizations allow flexible work arrangements, such as flextime and telecommuting. Some offer childcare and eldercare for employees’ family members. Programs like these can make a big difference for employees trying to balance the demands of work and their private lives.

Another way of encouraging psychological health in the workplace is to provide regular opportunities for employees to upgrade their job related knowledge and skills. Employers can promote this by offering regular workplace in-services, tuition reimbursement, leadership development, career development and counseling programs. By offering opportunities for educational advancement, organizations can better attract and retain high quality employees.

Companies can also provide programs to promote the physical health and safety of their workers. For example, a mental health organization for which I once worked used to provide CPR training, workplace safety, accident prevention, and fire-fighting instructions to all of its employees on a regular basis. Some organizations offer their employees programs to help them quit smoking, increase cardiovascular fitness, or reduce weight. Health and safety programs can result in greater productivity and reductions in healthcare costs, absenteeism and accident/injury rates.

Management recognition of employees for outstanding contributions to the organization can also go a long way toward promoting a psychologically healthy workplace. Employee contributions can be recognized through monetary forms, such as fair monetary compensation, attractive benefits packages, performance-based bonuses and pay increases. Non-monetary forms of recognition, such as employee awards and recognition ceremonies can also be useful.

Communication obviously plays a vital role in any organization. Ideally, communication should flow freely from the bottom of the organization up to the top management, as well as from the top to the bottom. Some organizations provide regular on-going opportunities for employees to provide feedback to management through surveys, town hall meetings, focus groups, and an organizational culture that supports open communication.

Organizational policies and programs that promote a psychologically healthy workplace pay dividends to the organization, as well as the individual. Individuals within organizations that provide for employees’ psychological health typically report greater job satisfaction, higher morale, and a stronger commitment to the organization. Corporate attention to employees psychological health have also demonstrated increased productivity, reduced absenteeism, and reduced employee turnover. In fact, research has demonstrated that, all things being equal, an organization that makes the psychological health of its workers a priority is more likely have a healthy bottom line than one that doesn’t.