By Claudette Groenewald

Let’s talk about mental health. This is a sensitive subject for most people in today’s life as almost every individual suffers with some sort of ‘mental health disorder’.

Mental health is a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his / her own capabilities. Whether or not he / she can cope with the normal mental strain and pressure of the day-to-day work environment, is able to be productive and contribute to his / her place of work.

Mental health includes our emotional, mental, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we act, feel, work, and think. It also helps us determine how we handle stress, make choices, and relate to others.

Mental health may include an individual’s capability to create balance between “home” life and “work” life as people often intertwine their personal and professional life. This often leads to a reduced level of productivity in the workplace, which may affect the individuals ultimate work output.

Symptoms don’t always just include feeling sad or down, excessive fears or overthinking, or extreme feelings of guilt. People also suffer with extreme mood changes and sudden outbursts, significant tiredness, low energy, or problems sleeping. Detachment from reality, paranoia, or hallucinations. The inability to cope with daily work problems and stress. Troubles understanding and relating to situations and to people. Problems with alcohol or drug abuse which may lead to the employee possibly having a criminal record. Some people even find that they suffer with major changes in eating habits and they suffer with outbursts of excessive anger, hostility, or violence. Sometimes, people feel confused or experience a reduced ability to concentrate. People can also suffer with physical problems, such as stomach pain, back pain, headaches, or other unexplained aches and pains.

So now that we have covered a little bit about mental health, let’s talk about how it affects the working environment. Individuals who suffer or relate to the above, would at times find it difficult to complete even the simplest of tasks, such as following a routine or schedule, being on time for work, disinterest in what needs to be done, they may even find themselves confused at times and this in turn makes them seem unproductive. An employer may find that employees that are always making excuses as to why they do not want to be at work and claim that they are feeling sick or fluish is because a mental health disorder sometimes causes over excessive stress, and this weakens the immune system.

It is imperative for an employer to be on the lookout for these signs in order for them to either be of assistance or to deal with matter before it gets out of hand, which may result in the individual either being subject to disciplinary action or even worse, be the cause of you, the employer, losing the much-needed business.

It would be in the best interest of the employer to do regular check-ups or even face to face meetings to assess the employee’s state of mind as well as address any issues that may arise.

Don’t be too hard on yourself or those around you and learn the signs.

Yours sincerely,

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