Basseterre, St. Kitts, October 11, 2023 (ZIZ Newsroom): The effects of mental health go beyond the personal parameters of one’s life as it can also affect productivity in the workplace.
ZIZ NEWS spoke with CEO Of Bryce- Roberts Business Consulting Services Euphemia Bryce-Roberts who said it important to recognize the need for holistic wellness to be able to function effectively.
She said more attention must be paid to mental health in the workplace.
“We are mind, body, spirit and just as we think it is important for our physical health for us to carry out whatever our function is, so too it’s important for our mental health for us to perform effectively. And so from that standpoint, it is important for organizations to pay more attention there. I think there’s a tendency for organization to behave as if it is the individual’s business. But what I think it’s important for everybody to realize that health is everybody’s business it’s in terms of recognizing the employers themselves, it’s important that they have good mental health and so just as it is important for them, as individuals to have good mental health for them to perform, then it’s important for them to realize that the workers also need that. Related to that is realizing that the environment, whether it’s warm, loving or otherwise could affect the health.”
She said creating a supportive environment while outlining clear boundaries will assist in fostering a positive work place.
It’s important for employers to create a happy atmosphere to help organizations, to help their employees to feel good. Now, recently, I was doing a program on well, it was a motivational session, “Bloom Where You Are Planted” and the feedback, actually, in speaking with one of the senior persons attending was, hey, if you create a happy atmosphere, wouldn’t that be taking it too far, in effect that boundaries are not observed? So what I indicated, the key thing is that while we are looking at having a happy atmosphere, we still need to be mindful of the importance of boundaries, the roles of each party.
Mrs. Bryce-Roberts said the way someone feels often translates to how productive they will be, which in turn benefits the workplace.
“To the extent I am feeling happy in the workplace again, there is this book, The Happiness Advantage by Sean Achor, which speaks to the idea that productivity increases to the extent there is a happy environment. So if I am feeling happy, it’s likely that my productivity would increase and that redounds to the benefit of the organization.”
She said as persons deal with issues daily at home and elsewhere, an empathetic approach by heads of organizations can help employees significantly.
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