Ways To Give Your Employees Emotional Support

Stress has varied effects on different people, and we’re all at distinct levels of coping with difficulties emotionally. How can we support each other, our employees, and our corporate culture during trying and testing times?

A regular employee spends at least eight hours at work five days a week. As a consequence, for many people, work is more than a location where we go to make money. Workplaces may be a great source of social support, and it’s not uncommon for people to make deep, even life-long friendships there.

As a result, it makes logical that building a workplace where employees and their leaders have an emotional connection is vital for productivity. Workers are more inclined to come up with new ideas, take chances, and admit to difficulties and mistakes if they feel safe and comfortable in their environment.

What Can Leaders Do?

Offering emotional support is critical if you want an engaged workforce, even if it can be tough to get right at first. In fact, John Bowlby, an English aristocratic psychologist, claims that our emotional attachments are as important to our survival as food and water. 

Attachment, also known as emotional bonding, is built on a sense of safety and security in our relationships and surroundings, which is exactly what employees require to succeed in their jobs.

Employees want to feel like their perspective is relevant to the firm more than they want a raise or promotion, according to a Harvard Business School research. When asked, employees said they wanted their presence to be seen and valued above everything else.

The responsibility of a manager stays the same, even in the most dubious of times: to assist your team members. This includes helping them with their mental health. The best part is that many of the techniques you’ll need are the same ones that will help you become a successful manager:-

1. Be Sensitive

Almost everyone has felt some form of anguish at some point in their lives. However, the ubiquity of the situation will only result in a reduction in stigma if people, particularly those in positions of authority, share their stories. 

As a leader, being transparent about your emotional health concerns allows people to feel comfortable approaching you about their own mental health issues.

2. Model Healthy Behavior

Don’t just claim you care about mental health. Do something about it. Model it for your team members, so they feel comfortable prioritizing self-care and setting boundaries.

3. Have Regular Check-Ins

It’s more important than ever to check in with each of your subordinates on a frequent basis. Ask specific inquiries about what supports might be beneficial, rather than just a general “How are you?” 

Wait for the complete response. Listen carefully and openly to questions and concerns. Of course, avoid being overpowering, as this may indicate a lack of trust or a tendency to micromanage.

4. Offer Flexibility and Inclusivity

Inclusive flexibility entails active engagement and norm-setting to assist people in creating and maintaining the limits they require. Make no preconceptions about what your subordinates require; they will almost certainly need numerous things at different times. 

Take a unique way of dealing with tensions and obstacles. Offer flexibility ahead of time. Make an effort to be as kind and honest as possible.

5. Communicate

Ensure that your staff is updated on any organizational changes or modifications. Make any changes to work hours and norms clear. Set expectations regarding workloads, prioritize what must be completed, and acknowledge what can be delegated if required to reduce stress.

6. Invest in Training

Leaders, managers, and individual contributors should now prioritize proactive and preventive workplace mental health training more than ever. As more employees suffer from mental health issues, it’s critical to dispel common beliefs, decrease stigma, and develop the essential skills to have effective mental health dialogues at work.

7. Take a Second Look at Your Current Work Culture

In response to the epidemic and social upheaval, be as liberal and flexible as possible in modifying policies and practices to lessen stress for everyone. Examine your policies and procedures on flexible hours, paid time off, email and other forms of engagement, and paid and unpaid leave.

Conclusion

We won’t go back to the way things were, no matter how much we want to. So let’s use this opportunity to establish the emotionally healthy working practices that should have existed from the start.