Nurturing mental health for the next generation of employees

We all remember our first day in our first job, and the mix of emotions that come with it. But how can organisations provide the right support to help these employees settle in and proactively nurture their mental health at the same time? In this post, guest contributor Alex Blake, founder of P.M.A. Obviously! offers a few tips.

Think back to your first day working in a new job – or even your first full day of work after finishing education. How did you feel? You probably felt a mix of emotions: a little scared, wanting to make a good impression, and worried about not knowing anyone, or how the company operated.

We’ve all gone through it – and some of us may have felt it easier than others to cope with the emotions and changes a new job can bring. But over the past few years, the working world has changed hugely, and the generation of employees entering the workforce have different needs and expectations to the one before them.

One expectation that is rapidly rising up the agenda is mental wellbeing. And while it’s critical to support the mental health of all your people, employees new to the workforce will have different mental health needs while they’re adapting to their new working environment.

Whether it’s dealing with colleagues or clients, juggling deadlines, work pressure, or adapting to the culture, new employees may be too shy to speak up when they need a bit more support from their organisation, which may lead to anxiety or stress.

Here are five tips that I think organisations need to consider when helping new employees get settled in.

1. Communicate purposefully

Effective communication forms the backbone of how your newest employees learn, understand your company, and feel safe to share their thoughts and feelings. The key is to talk. Have regular meetings to catch up on workload and upcoming deadlines, and check in regularly on how they are feeling and coping with their new role.

Catch-ups don’t have to be work-related either, which is why it’s important to cultivate an environment where your employees feel safe sharing their thoughts and feelings without fear of judgement. A quick five-minute chat can go a long way to helping your newest recruits understand that you care about their wellbeing. 

Employees that feel safe to communicate freely – about work or their personal life – will be more confident in opening up if they need a helping hand, meaning you’ll be better placed to provide them with the support they need.

2. Encourage connections

Following on from communication being vital to showing support, regular informal social interactions with colleagues will help new joiners to feel welcome and embedded in your culture.

Peer relationships are a key element of fostering positive mental health at work. When we feel accepted and supported, we feel like we belong.

Especially when new, it can be very overwhelming if you get stuck with a client query or technical issue for example and you do not know who to go to. Having at least one, but hopefully more colleagues that can provide assistance due to the relationships being created, will alleviate some of the pressure and help to settle the employee. Long-term, this can also help with retention of employees if they enjoy working with their colleagues.

3. Inspire confidence

It has been scientifically proven that praise and recognition foster positive mental health at work. Going out of your way to show your appreciation of the work being carried out will mean a lot and reassure your employees that they are doing a good job.

Showing recognition goes deeper than gifts or a raise – instead, focus on giving specific feedback that relates to how your employee has conquered a task or risen to a new challenge. Whether in a private one-to-one context or in an email newsletter, recognising your new employee’s accomplishments will not only inspire confidence, but also increases autonomy and self-belief.

4. Model healthy behaviours

Employees new to the working world learn a lot from their working environment, including the behaviours of those they work with. This is why managers and company leaders must model positive mental health behaviours from the top.

Whether they encourage self-care through mindfulness, open up about their own struggles, or simply prioritise some time off for a holiday or a break, modelling these behaviours early and often will foster an environment where employees feel confident understanding how to proactively nurture their own mental health.

5. Be flexible

Mental health is very complex and different to every individual, and is shaped through different experiences and thought processes. Each employee will be at a different phase in their own mental health journey when they join a new organisation – and as such, will need differing levels of support.

Organisations must make sure that they can be flexible with their approach to allow for the differing mental health needs of their entire workforce. This will include making staff aware of the support available to them, and helping employees to feel confident enough in approaching management with any concerns.

Alex is the founder of P.M.A. Obviously!, and helps organisations understand and manage their mental health, as well as providing one-to-one coaching. For more information, visit his website or connect with him on social media.