The search for emotional balance has gradually increased in recent months , due to social isolation and the pandemic, especially in the corporate environment: there has never been so much talk about the mental health of employees. Emotional health definition
The reason: 47.3% of workers had symptoms of anxiety and depression during this pandemic and according to the World Health Organization (WHO), 11.5 million people already suffer from depression.
The numbers are worrying and reflect how prevention is the ideal path. Then see what are the advantages of encouraging employees’ mental health care .
What is emotional health?
The increase in cases of anxiety disorder, burnout syndrome (also known as emotional exhaustion ) and depression, to name a few, were responsible for drawing attention to people’s mental health — and its relationship to work. A few years ago, taking care of one’s health was no longer limited to eating well and practicing physical activity: the importance of caring for emotional well-being was realized, especially when seeing the impact it has on the physical.
However, emotional and mental health are not synonymous. The first is closely related to the handling of emotions, the way the individual deals with what happens to him and how he reacts. Negative feelings, such as anger and hurt, should not be repressed, but re-signified so that, in the long run, they cannot harm either the person feeling or the person who aroused that feeling. Emotional health definition
What is the difference between emotional health and mental health?
Emotional health, as proposed above, is about controlling emotions, recognizing that they are part of life and that eventually they will not be positive. Faced with this situation, it is up to the person to identify this feeling and know how to handle it, maintaining a balance. This self-knowledge is essential to become someone resilient, that is, someone capable of recovering and learning from adversity.
Mental health, on the other hand, using the definition of the World Health Organization, is “a state of well-being in which the individual perceives his own abilities, can deal with the normal stress of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to their community”. In other words, the second expression is also associated with controlling emotions, but it deals more closely with the symptoms and physiological reactions they can trigger.
If one side or the other is deficient, the signals the body will give are pretty much the same. In personal life, you can notice a growing disinterest in activities that once gave you pleasure, as well as constant irritation and insomnia. In professional life, the lack of motivation to work and the lack of concentration to carry out your routine can present themselves. In both cases, companies need to be prepared to deal in the best way, demonstrating an active and respectful attitude towards the health and quality of life of their employees. Emotional health definition
Why is emotional health important in companies?
A survey by the University of California , in the United States, found that a happy employee is 31% more productive, has a 37% superior performance and is three times more creative. These statistics prove that management’s concern with employee well-being must be present in the organizational climate and go beyond corporate benefits.
How leaders and teams handle and express their emotions in the workplace can become a standout—both for good and bad. It has been proven in several studies that a boss with an aggressive temperament, who demonstrates impatience with the team or does not give it due attention, is fatal for good management, as well as for keeping good talents in the company.
For this reason, improving emotional intelligence can start “at the top.” Management support in corporate initiatives contributes to the engagement of teams, but this also depends on a good relationship between those involved. It is worth noting that a good relationship, in this context, is conceptualized through a partnership of trust and respect, not camaraderie.
The emotional health of an organization’s employees is essential to maintaining good results and strengthening the employer brand. Its image in society is reaping the rewards of this type of investment, which has long since ceased to represent something more to be a point for which people expect and demand. Emotional health definition
How to help employees take care of emotional health?
Analyze internal and external factors
How is the atmosphere at the company? Are satisfaction surveys carried out periodically? Do employees feel free to give suggestions and feedback ? Questions like these must be evaluated in order to identify any problems in teams and in the organizational climate as a whole.
The company’s benefits in taking care of employees’ emotional health
Discover 4 benefits of taking care of the emotional health of employees in your company.
Improvement in internal corporate relationship
The corporate environment is, for many, the second home. After all, people tend to spend more time with their co-workers than with their own family.
In this way, taking care of everyone’s mental health would enable the result in a process of internal and external maturation, improving the corporate relationship among its employees.
As a result, conflict management tends to be less necessary. Satisfied people end up having a friendlier relationship. Emotional health definition
Increased productivity
When taking care of mental health, reducing intense levels of anxiety and stress and increasing concentration and motivation, the tendency is to increase productivity in the corporation as a whole.
Thus, the capacity of employees to carry out their activities in a more engaged manner is enhanced, generating good results for the company.
Decrease in medical leave (INSS)
The number of medical leaves of absence due to illnesses such as depression and anxiety has increased a lot in several sectors, and this can harm the company’s health, when employees are removed from their service.
Therefore, prevention must be seen as an investment: the employee wins, the entrepreneur wins.
Decrease in turnover
The company that cares about emotional health, taking care of the employee as a whole, can gain his trust, his motivation, and this can make him remain and grow within the company, thus reducing the turnover rate and the expenses generated .
After all, the most expensive selection process is always the one to replace an employee who could have stayed.
