What level of seriousness should Startups attach to mental health? The first few years of running a startup business are always crucial. The demands, risks, and challenges that come along with it often bring pressure and take a toll on the mental health of your employees, resulting in workplace burnout. In fact, 87% of startup employees said that working at a startup business had negatively impacted their mental health at some point, according to a Sifted survey. The survey also finds that the primary reason why their mental health suffered is because of the lack of work-life balance and burnout.

In light of this, prioritizing the well-being of your staff is a must. No matter how big or small your company is, your success will depend on your employees, who serve as the backbone of any business. Thus, creating a pleasant workplace for them to thrive will help you achieve your corporate goals. We’ve listed some tips on how your startup business can approach mental health for your employees. Let’s get started!

Improve the Workplace Setting

The environment we’re in influences how we feel. Therefore, getting our employees a setting where they can work peacefully is best. Although improving the workplace setting seems expensive, it doesn’t always have to be the case. Adding air conditioning, ventilation, or even some greenery to your office to enhance air quality can help. 

Also, increasing exposure to natural sunlight is a good idea. It is said to help people improve their productivity. So, if you’re picking a location to start your company, consider getting one with good natural lighting. But if the one you already have is different from that, there are other ways you can do it. Whenever you hold meetings, you can either do it next to windows or outside. After all, sitting for long periods is bad for our health. So relocating meetings from where they sit all day is a great strategy to break prolonged sitting.

Moreover, having a pleasant interior for your workplace can help. Color plays a vital role in improving mental health, so choosing those that create a nice ambiance in the room is best—for instance, a combination of off-white and pastel colors.

Build an Environment That Fosters Open-Communication

More than the physical workplace setting, creating an environment that fosters communication can help with your goals of approaching the mental health of your employees. You must understand that discussing mental health at work is normal for a healthy work environment. By asking how they feel, they will feel understood and supported.

But they won’t have the courage to speak up if no one encourages them. So, the best way to help them is by doing it yourself as a startup leader. Taking the first step will help reduce the stigma surrounding mental health and give a more human approach to leadership. Showing vulnerability will help you create an inclusive community inside the company, which can get your employees excited to come to work.

Offer Flexibility For A Healthy Work-Life Balance 

As mentioned, lack of flexibility is one of the reasons for employee burnout. So, if you’re running an e-commerce business where most tasks can be done online, doing the work-from-home or hybrid setup is best. Also, make some corporate events digital, so everybody can attend even in the comfort of their homes. It would give them more time to spend with the family instead of sparing it on their commute to and from work. Keep in mind that when you have a healthy work-life balance, you’ll be able to do things more efficiently.

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Provide Supportive Resources 

Besides offering the remote setting, you can also strive to mitigate burnout by providing your employees the privilege to take a few days off if their mental health’s unwell. As you know, there will always be times when we can’t function well. Therefore, supporting the idea of mental sick days can help. 

In addition to that is creating mental health events for your employees. Look for mental health professionals to make these conferences successful. Also, hold these events during work hours. Most workers probably feel they hardly have time for their personal lives already. That said, expect them not to choose a digital conference on a night when they can finally unwind and relax with their partner or kids.

Finally, plan fun activities for your team. Sitting at computers all day can lose people and interest, and motivation. Thus, a change of environment is essential. Consider having a play day or planning a company trip (if your employees feel comfortable). These activities can give them time to recharge.

Give Your Employees Recognition

Sometimes, even the simplest things, such as recognizing your employees, matter. That said, whenever they achieve any breakthrough, give them some rewards to motivate them. You can also opt to create employee spotlights to build better relationships with them. Because, like we said, our environment affects how we feel. Thus, creating a community where they feel valued and supported is good for their mental health.

Final Words

Startups tend to focus on making guerilla marketing tactics to succeed in the industry. However, by neglecting the well-being of every person part of the team, you also risk your chances to thrive. The well-being of your employees affects how they work, so it would be best to make it an integral part of your company’s culture. With our blog, you’ll be able to approach this issue in your startup business. Make mental health in your firm a priority now.