Among the greatest priorities for HR in 2021 is supporting employee wellness, including providing more tools for nurturing mental health. One critical component of that effort is self-care for all the employees. Within that piece of the wellness pie, the people to keep an eye on are your company caregivers. This can be the manager who always helps out, or the coworker who’s a great shoulder to lean on. These informal caregivers may appear to have things under control, but ensuring they are practicing self-care will help make sure they don’t crash and burn down the road.
The role that caregiver employees play is different for each company. But the common denominator is that they’re the people under the radar who you want to seek out. Does anyone come to mind? Now think about the consequences if that person were to hit their limit. Would some part of your culture crumble? Caregivers, leaders — the whole workforce — need equipment to help them strengthen their self-care muscle. HR can help by leading by example, providing a digital resource for self-care tools, and supporting platform utilization.
The reasons self-care is so important are endless (and sadly, not typically reinforced by ROI audits). Palena NealeOpens a new window , a contributing author with Harvard Business Review, says that reframing self-care as an investment can increase a leader’s overall productivity and effectiveness. Leaders who practice self-care are promoting the message that taking care of yourself is important, while you are also becoming more productive. You’re also leading by example. You can help eradicate the guilt that caregiver employees feel over taking care of themselves at the cost of helping others. For instance, take a walk during the workday, or shut down your computer if you’re working from home, and set your work and everyone else aside for a little while.
Beyond Leading by Example: Technology
You and your company’s informal caregivers may also be prone to feeling guilty when you use software and apps to help you destress and nourish your own mental wellbeing during the workday. Having a digital wellness platform that your company invests in and promotes for their employees and their families will help combat that feeling of guilt. A digital platform that includes tools for mental health will also give all of your employees the resources they need to foster their own self-care journey. One key point here is that the right platform needs a range of tools. From offering ways to meditate to ways to connect with a mental health professional, it’s critical to understand that mental well-being and self-care are not one-size-fits-all. Finding the right online platform for your company’s workforce will be crucial to gaining high user adoption.
How do you find the right technology? You want to make sure it has a framework that supports the three spheres of the human condition: psychological, social, and physical. There should be tools and resources that fit each sphere. There are also seven fundamental aspects of daily life that should be promoted by the right mental wellness technology. These will impact the three spheres and overall mental well-being:
- Happiness
- Sleep
- Coping
- Calmness
- Health
- Connection
- Fulfilment
Next Step: Changing the Paradigm
OK, you have the platform to help improve mental health. How do you actually implement changes into your workforce? Start by encouraging employees to reflect on their self-care. This will help them understand how the digital platform can work best for their unique self-care journey.
Even better, start with yourself. What does self-care look like for you? How do you decompress? Do you go outside? Read a book? Understanding how you nourish — or would like to nourish — your own mental health and knowing when and why you need to practice self-care will help you map out your self-care schedule. Empower yourself to schedule a self-care routine and put it into practice. Schedule time into your planner. Create a “Do Not Book†hold on your shared calendar to keep your self-care time sacred (and to lead by example). Let your needs be heard, but also take action. Then, you can communicate that process for other caregivers in your company — and everyone in your organization — to begin strengthening their self-care muscles.
Unfortunately, when individuals are stressed, they project that feeling onto others. But by leading by example and creating and encouraging a self-care company culture, you’ll reap benefits not only for yourself but for your company’s informal caregivers — and your entire workforce. You can listen to experts and learn what they have to say about this, but don’t just take their word for it. Try it. Pick the right mental well-being platform for your organization — and put it to use in your life. After all, the caregivers also need help supporting their mental health.