Understanding the Safety Impacts of Mental Health and Wellness in Facility Services
May is Mental Health Awareness Month—a critical subject that also lends itself to our upcoming efforts to raise awareness for National Safety Month in June. At a time when the prevalence and impacts of mental health challenges are increasingly apparent, it is wise to consider mental health hand in hand with safety planning and preparedness.
It’s been well documented that focus is critical for avoiding potential safety incidents and accidents, such the increases in vehicle crashes and trips and falls that coincide with increasing smartphone use. But the intersection of mental wellness and safety is about much more than simply staying focused.
Here are some important facts about the intersection of mental health and safety when it comes to facility services:
- Stress impacts performance. Stress has a huge impact on decision making, and poor mental health can impact almost everything from employee job performance and productivity, engagement with one’s work to communication with coworkers, functioning, and capability.
- Investing in mental health pays off. OSHA encourages using the workplace to deliver mental health resources and activities, and the data shows that for every $1 spent on ordinary mental health concerns, employers see a $4 return in productivity gains.
- Building awareness is key. The World Health Organization advises employers to protect and promote mental health at work, including by building awareness among managers and supervisors as well as among employees themselves.
Strategies for Supporting Wellness in the Workplace
Since our founding, UG2 has worked to support our employees’ wellbeing through activities and awareness campaigns focused on mental health and wellness. Best practices urge employers to connect employees with a range of options and outside resources. UG2 goes above and beyond by striving for a culture that deepens our teams’ understanding of mental wellbeing, and offers employees a range of practical, effective tools and strategies.
Our efforts include incorporating mental health awareness, safety training, and encouraging practices like mindfulness, yoga, and gratitude practices; promoting a team environment that emphasizes mutual care and respect and is sensitive to the diverse backgrounds and needs of individuals; incorporating formal and informal check-ins and offering opportunities for feedback; encouraging and allowing for true work/life balance; and honoring the value of interpersonal relationships.
Just like physical health, mental wellbeing can impact employees’ focus, decision-making, engagement—and, ultimately, their physical safety. This reality informs UG2’s longstanding focus on our employees’ wellbeing and leaves us doubly committed to integrating an understanding of mental health and wellness into our program and policy development.