Here’s How Tech is Playing an Important Role in Safeguarding Employee Mental Health

Posted on 17 May 2019

To commemorate Mental Health Awareness Week, Joe Stevenson – our Head of Marketing and Communications – talks about how technology is safeguarding employee wellbeing.

As more and more people have come to realise over the last few years, looking after our minds is just as important as looking after our bodies. This realisation has led to many movements pushing to disperse the stigma around mental health – including May’s Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK, and World Mental Health Day on 10th October.

That’s a great start, but there’s still a long way to go to support people’s mental wellbeing, and to encourage others to talk about their vulnerabilities. Thankfully, we’re moving in the right direction.

One area where change is definitely taking root is the workplace. Employers are recognising not only the opportunities to do some good for their employees (making for a desirable workplace as a result), but the overall benefits of supporting mental health. A happy team is a successful team, after all.

In this arena, technology is certainly playing its part; employees are more supported than ever before thanks to the technological resources on offer. The following are just a few ways that tech is safeguarding mental health in the workplace – do you have others in place? Tweet me!

Support Remote Working

Our lives are more switched-on than ever before – and arguably, far more complicated. We are, however, extremely fortunate to live at a time where remote working is possible.

In fact, it’s not just possible anymore: it’s actively encouraged. For businesses, there’s new talent to tap into. For employees, there are more opportunities on offer.

Working remotely can, however, feel a little lonely. I know this feeling all too well. Choosing and implementing the right technology to support remote working, then, is absolutely crucial.

Tools such as Microsoft Teams keep a line of communication open between employees no matter where they’re stationed. Meanwhile, AIP and security solutions ensure that an organisation can provide remote working as a standard, without putting sensitive information at risk.

The result? People can work around their lives and find jobs further afield, relieving stress and putting minds at ease. And as we’ve spoken about before, businesses definitely benefit too.

Take Extra Pressure Off with Automation

We spend a large portion of our time at the office. Whether you love your job or wish you were somewhere else, that’s an awfully large amount of time to be in one place. What’s more, when the work day is bogged down by small, nuisance tasks, time can drag all the more slowly.

Elsewhere, human errors appear in the most tedious of processes, upping our stress levels and making the job seem all that more difficult. Thankfully, automation exists – and it’s a lot more sophisticated than the simple factory lines of old.

Now, we can apply solutions to automate processes at every level of the organisation. Take the joiner/mover/leaver process, for example. Previously, changing credentials for new and old employees alike was time-consuming and left precious data exposed.

Now, Microsoft solutions allow our customers to automate the process, eradicating human error and protecting the organisation’s interests. Employees have one less weight on their shoulder as a result.

A Way to Talk

Finally – and not particularly high-tech – is the provisioning of employee helplines. Having a line open for individuals to talk to somebody trained in listening can be a literal lifesaver.

Need a business case for offering something like this? Implementing an employee assistance programme pays for itself quickly. The Independent Review of Mental Health and Employers reports that the annual cost of mental health for employers is £42billion– a staggering amount.

And of course, there’s the fact that your employees will feel looked after and supported; their mental health matters, and their employer knows that.

Here’s a handy resource that’s designed to help employees suffering with addiction and other mental health issues, as a result of the difficult times presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. For general mental health resources, check out Rehab4Addiction’s Mental Health section.

This year, we’re raising money for mental health charity Mind. You can find out more about what we’re getting up to here, and if you’d like to get in touch about any of the technologies mentioned in this blog, drop us a line. Have a great day!

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