The Value of a Psychologically Healthy Workplace

The Value of a Psychologically Healthy Workplace Stress Management Job Stress Print The Value of a Psychologically Healthy Workplace By Allison Abrams, LCSW-R facebook twitter linkedin Allison Abrams, LCSW-R, is a licensed psychotherapist, mental health advocate, and author covering relationships, mindfulness, and self-care. Learn about our editorial policy Allison Abrams, LCSW-R Updated on July 27, 2019 More in Stress Management Job Stress Workplace Bullying Effects on Health Management Techniques Situational Stress Household Stress Relationship Stress In This Article Table of Contents Expand Mental Health Issues The Vitamin Model The Healthy Workplace Accommodations at Work View All Back To Top We  all know that work, in any form, has a significant effect on  our  emotional and psychological well-being for better or for worseâ€"in  particular, the quality and psychological health of the workplace environment. As  research  is increasingly showing, a  negative work environment  can lead to a number of physical and mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. A toxic work environment has also been linked to insufficient sleep, which increases the risk of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, and over time has been associated with a  shortened lifespan.?? Not to mention the economic impact that  the poor mental health of its employees has  on companies and organizations. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), five of the 10 leading causes of disability worldwide  are mental health-related and the  estimated cost to the global economy is approximately  US $1 trillion per year  in lost productivity: Workplaces that promote mental health and support people with mental disorders are more likely to increase productivity and reduce absenteeism, thus benefiting from the associated economic gains. Employees’ mental health problems and their impact on an enterprise’s productivity and disability/medical costs are critical human resource issues.  Employers’ organizations, trade unions and government policy-makers are realizing that the social and economic costs of mental health problems in the workplace  cannot be ignored. Mental Health Issues Mental health issues can manifest in a variety of ways in the workplace, including:?? Calling in sick oftenWithdrawal/isolationPersonality changes  Difficulty focusing and remembering detailsDifficulty organizing thoughts and tasksOther cognitive challenges The Vitamin Model A framework for looking at how our environment affects our well-being is the Vitamin Model of Mental Health.  As its name suggests, the  Vitamin Model  is based on an analogy of the relationship between vitamins and physical health.?? According to researchers Maria Jahoda and Peter  Warr, the presence of certain psychological features of the environmentâ€"or environmental vitamins so to speakâ€"though important for psychological well-being,  will have varying effects as their level increases.   For example, vitamins such as A and D, though essential for health, can be harmful when consumed in large quantities. However, other vitamins such as C and E, which are also essential to health, can be consumed in large quantities with no adverse effects. The Vitamin Model was originated primarily to provide a  more general perspective on how the  psychological features  of any environment affect mental health  and well-being. It has since been applied to happiness or unhappiness in settings including the work environment.?? The model posits that  the well-being of employees and that of the  organization correlates with the following  12 characteristics  of a healthy workplace environment:?? Opportunity for personal control, covering variables conventionally labeled as discretion, decision latitude, participationOpportunity for skill use and acquisitionExternally generated goals ranging  across job demands, underload and overload, task identity, role conflict, required emotional labor, and work-home conflictVariety in job content and locationEnvironmental clarity,  role clarity,  task feedback, and low future ambiguitySocial support, quality, and quantity of social interactionsAvailability of money  and resourcesPhysical securityâ€"working conditions, degree of hazard, and similar themesValued social position in terms of the significance of a task or roleSupportive supervisionCareer outlook, either  as job security, as an opportunity for advancement, or for a shift to other rolesEquity as justice both  within one’s organization and in that organization’s relations with society The Healthy Workplace The  American Psychological Association’s (APA) Center for Organizational Excellence  is committed to  enhancing the functioning of individuals, groups, organizations, and communities through the application of psychology to a broad range of workplace issues.   The Centers  Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program (PHWP) is a public education initiative whose purpose is to engage employers, raise awareness about the value of applying psychology to the workplace, and to promote programs and policies that enhance employee well-being and  organizational performance. Core to the PHWP are the APAs  Psychologically Healthy Workplace Awards and its Organizational Excellence Awards. According to the APA, the  Psychologically Healthy Workplace Awards were designed  to recognize organizations for their efforts to foster employee health and well-being while enhancing organizational performance. In addition to the  Psychologically Healthy Workplace awards, each year a single  organization is chosen to receive the Organizational Excellence Award, highlighting  the effective application of psychology in the workplace, including practices that promote employee well-being and performance.   What past award winners have in common is that they have all implemented a comprehensive set of workplace practices that foster the centers mission and commitment to employee psychological well-being. They also share  many of the same components promoted in the Vitamin Model, including autonomy,  participation in decision-making, utilization of valued skills, availability of feedback, absence of job future ambiguity, adequate privacy,  a good relationship with others, social support, occupational prestige and meaningfulness of job. Below are some further components that have been correlated with  employee and organization well-being:?? Addressing mental health stigma: Extending employee assistance programs, informing staff that support is availableEmployee involvement: Empowering employees by involving them in decision-making and giving them more job autonomyHealthy scheduling: Offering employees flexible work scheduling and other benefits such as  flex time  that help them manage the demands they face both inside and outside of workGrowth and development:  Opportunities for continuing education, tuition reimbursement, and leadership developmentWellness programs:  Benefits that help employees optimize their physical and mental health and develop healthy lifestyles, such as stress-management, weight-loss, and smoking-cessation programsEmployee recognition:  Rewarding employees both monetarily and non-monetarily through performance-based bonuses and pay increases, profit-sharing, employee awards programs and genuine expressions of thanks Because of the stigma associated with mental disorders, employers need to ensure that individuals feel supported and are provided with the necessary  resources to do their job.   Psychologist  Dr. Jacinta Jiménez describes  psychological safety as a climate in which people are comfortable expressing and being themselves and one that  allows employees to feel respected and included. This is especially true for teams. If team members frequently do not feel they are in a group that is safe for interpersonal risk-taking, motivation, morale, creativity, and even innovation can drop.” Further, says Jiménez, Employees who work in strength-based organizations stay with their company longer, feel more engaged, learn their roles more quickly, and produce higher quality work. Julie Zadow,  chief marketing officer of TalentFirst, has spent two decades in the human capital management space working with companies to create productive, supportive working environments to enable the best performances from their employees.  Throughout her career, she has invested in a mission to galvanize organizations and leaders worldwide to create a more human workplace.  According to Zadow: With Gallup estimating that over half of the workforce is not  engaged,most organizations will fall far short of their goal to reach their true ‘people potential.’  So the question becomes, how do organizations move the meter on employee engagement?”It’s really quite simple. When people feel valued for their work, when leaders work hard to ‘catch people doing something right’ and share praise and feedback widely and often, employees feel better. They feel more committed, they are happier at work, and they are more engaged. And when workplace happiness goes up, guess what? Productivity rises right alongside it. The best perk is the one that costs the least: a flexible attitude. Accommodations at Work The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), an equal opportunity law for people with disabilities, protects those with a physical and mental disability, which it defines  as  a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. This includes  a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment. Some examples of  reasonable accommodations  that employees  can request include altered breaks and work schedules (scheduling work around medical appointments and allowing time off for treatment), changes in supervisory methods, eliminating a non-essential job function that someone cannot perform because of a disability, a quiet office space or devices that create a quiet work environment, and permission to work from home. Help Finding a New Job If an employee has been working successfully in a job but can no longer do so because of a new disability, the ADA also may require reassignment to a vacant position that the employee can perform. A Word From Verywell The quality of our work environment, in any industry, has a significant impact on our emotional, psychological, and physical well-being. As  is the case with any harmful condition, the best intervention is prevention. For organizational leaders, paying attention to creating psychologically healthy work environments is not only crucial to the health of the company but,  more importantly, to its people.