Did you know that the average American spends over 90,000 hours of their life at work? That’s a huge chunk of time, enough to shape our well-being for better or worse. Yet a sobering reality is that on average 80% of employed people have reported workplace stress that has impacted their mental health in a negative way. While work can boost confidence and purpose, it can also fuel stress, anxiety, or depression, affecting not just the individual but their co-workers and the business as a whole. That’s why understanding mental health in the workplace is more critical than ever. This article explores how to spot mental health struggles at work, offers practical tips for seeking help, and highlights outpatient treatment as a powerful, accessible solution.
The Connection Between Mental Health and the Workplace
Why Mental Health Matters at Work:
Mental health is a serious issue, one that should be addressed as quickly as possible to avoid increasing problems that pose serious and life-threatening risks if left unchecked. While the workplace may cause a person to struggle due to factors like heavy workloads, toxic environments, or tight deadlines, a person who already struggles with mental health may notice an increase in symptoms due to workplace situations.
When struggling with mental health, job productivity will suffer as a person’s focus, energy, and creativity are lost.
The ripple effects felt by the entire staff can impact team morale and affect collaboration efforts. The impacts on the workplace and employees will be based on each individual and the job they perform, but in the end, mental health can impact the bottom line of the company.
Creating a workplace environment that promotes mental well-being and a supportive culture can help boost productivity, reduce missed days, increase employee retention rates, and encourage creativity and collaboration.
Common Workplace Stressors:
There are many factors that can contribute to mental health stressors in the workplace. The following is a list of potential factors contributing to the mental decline of employees:
- Excessively heavy workloads, perhaps from being understaffed.
- Strict and tight deadlines creating intense pressure.
- Toxic environments, co-workers, or administrators.
- Job insecurity, wild and inconsistent scheduling.
- Poor work-life balance.
Each of these stressors can pile on the pressure and send someone into mental health struggles. Feeling overwhelmed and exhausted can lead to anxiety and burnout while tight deadlines create an intense feeling of panic that wears a person down over time. Together, all these stressors are like the perfect storm, pushing the brain and body past their limits until something gives.
The Stigma Barrier
Many employees may fear discussing their mental health challenges because they are worried they could lose their job or be judged by their superiors and peers.
A culture shift in the workplace is needed to dismantle the stigma, encourage employees to seek help without fear of judgment, and prevent burnout and boost overall well-being. When leaders prioritize this shift, it produces a supportive environment that lifts morale, cuts turnover, and drives productivity.
Recognizing the Signs of Mental Health Struggles
Signs to Recognize in Yourself:
- Changes in your emotions like persistent sadness, irritability, or anxiety.
- Difficulty concentrating at work, excessive worry.
- Changes in eating or sleeping habits, persistent fatigue, and unexpected aches and pains.
- Withdrawal from social interactions.
- Feelings of hopelessness.
Signs to recognize in Co-Workers:
- Increased absences or being late.
- Less interaction at work, missed deadlines, and poor work quality.
- Looking disheveled, tired, and stressed.
- Changes in behavior, mood swings, sadness, and irritability.
Why Early Recognition Matters:
Early intervention for mental health issues is vital to stop problems like burnout, depression, or anxiety disorders from snowballing into a full-blown crisis. Addressing problems early means simpler, more effective solutions instead of letting the issue fester into a chronic problem that wrecks a person’s work, relationships, and health.
Poor mental health can lead to much more serious problems like deep depression and substance abuse problems.
Receiving support and help in a timely manner results in better outcomes for the person and the business, it’s like putting out a small fire before the whole forest burns down.
Seeking Help – For Yourself and Others
Steps to Help Yourself:
Reflecting on the signs that point towards a potential mental health crisis, assess your symptoms and the impacts they are having on your workplace environment and even on your home life. Do not brush it off, addressing the problems while they are small helps to avoid a snowball effect of problems.
Reach out to a trusted supervisor, manager, or Human Resource director. Find the right time and the right place to talk about your troubles. Find out if your employer offers Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) that are designed to support the mental health and well-being of employees by providing access to counseling, therapy, and support services.
Seek professional help from a therapist or counselor, this will provide professional support and guidance, and valuable coping mechanisms to use in moments of increased stress and pressure.
Self-care like exercise, sleep, and proper nutrition play large roles in mental health too.
How to Support Others:
If a co-worker is showing signs of mental distress, someone needs to talk to them. If you are comfortable approaching them, find the right time and place and do it with empathy in a non-judgmental way. If you are not the right person, find one. It could be a manager, supervisor, or someone from HR, the important thing is that the person receives the help they need.
If you know of resources in the area like EAP programs, hotlines, or outpatient treatment centers in Ogden, share them.
Be a friend and an ally, offering help and being careful not to overstep professional boundaries.
Don’t forget to follow up with your colleague and make sure they are headed on a path of healing and well-being.
Overcoming Barriers:
Worries about being seen as weak or the risk of losing a job can make a person hesitate to open up about their problems at work, and these feelings are natural. It is important to approach the subject anyway, finding a professional way to do so, and framing it as a practical need that benefits you and the company.
Knowing what is confidential can ease concerns about keeping personal matters private. Look in your company handbook or ask HR to find out how your employer handles these matters. Therapy sessions are a safe space where there are strict confidentiality rules so you can unload without worrying it will get back to the office.
Outpatient Treatment: A Practical Solution
What is Outpatient Treatment?
Outpatient treatment is a flexible treatment option that still offers professional counseling, therapies, and a holistic approach to healing while allowing an individual to live in their own home and maintain their personal schedules. This is the perfect option for someone with a mild issue that wants to maintain employment while receiving help with their mental health challenges.
Outpatient treatment centers offer a variety of services like individual counseling, group therapy, and holistic therapies like nutrition or yoga and meditation.
The Benefits for Working Individuals:
Flexibility: Outpatient therapy allows you to schedule and attend sessions around work schedules.
Consistency: This treatment option allows a person to maintain their job and personal routines while receiving care.
Cost-Effectiveness: Outpatient treatment options are often covered by health insurance policies or part of an EAP. Even paying out of pocket, the cost is much less than letting mental health progress to the point that inpatient therapy is required.
How It Supports Workplace Mental Health:
Outpatient treatment provides the opportunity to learn coping skills for stress and anxiety.
Treatment helps reduce the symptoms caused by mental health issues that interfere with productivity.
The coping skills, tools, and self-care strategies learned in outpatient therapy encourage long-term resilience.
As we have seen, mental health in the workplace is not just an individual concern, it’s a workplace priority that shapes lives, teams, and bottom lines, with over 90,000 hours of our lives on the line. By recognizing the signs of struggle in ourselves and others, building a supportive work environment, and seeking help when needed, we can create healthier, more productive workspaces. Outpatient treatment offers a flexible and effective way to address mental health challenges while maintaining job stability, making it an ideal solution for those needing support. Breaking the stigma around mental health starts with awareness and action. That might mean reaching out for help, encouraging a co-worker, or advocating for workplace mental health initiatives like EAPs. Prioritizing mental well-being isn’t just good for employees, it’s essential for a thriving, successful workplace.
