The world is an unpredictable place these days. We all need a refuge where we can get away from the realities that keep us awake at night. The workplace can be one of those places. Your staff should be able to walk through those doors and do their jobs without much drama or pressure from managers and coworkers. The unfortunate fact is that isn&rsquo;t always the case. A 2021 survey found that <a href="https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/work-well-being/compounding-pressure-2021" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">three in five employees have experienced work-related stress</a> and a recent survey proved that a startling <a href="https://www.zippia.com/advice/burnout-statistics/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">77% of employees have experienced burnout</a> over the past year.
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If your company isn&rsquo;t where it needs to be, we&rsquo;re here to help. We&rsquo;ve got advice on how important mental health in the workplace can be, how to provide a positive environment, and how managers can provide the necessary support.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
<h2>Why Mental Health in the Workplace Is Important </h2>
The staff's mental health needs to be the top priority. That&rsquo;s mostly because your employees should feel secure when they go to work and know that they can complete their tasks without unnecessary stress. If you care about your employees and their well-being, you should naturally want to help them feel appreciated and unburdened. 
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If that wasn&rsquo;t enough of a reason, consider that employees who feel better at their desks will also perform to higher standards because they know the company has their backs. This is especially important in customer-facing roles. Because of the recent pandemic and the stress of interacting with unhappy patrons, the mental health of customer-facing employees is more important than ever. If your workers are overburdened or they feel stressed at work, then they may buckle under the pressure or provide poor customer service, and that doesn&rsquo;t help anyone. 
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Ensuring that everyone feels comfortable at work means that employees are more likely to stay at your company. Employee retention has many benefits, including strengthened company culture, increased productivity, and improved employee morale. One way to encourage your current staff to stay with you for years to come is to make sure that your employees feel appreciated and that your company culture allows them to thrive. Part of a healthy company culture means having a diverse workforce, which includes people of color and LGBTQIA+ employees, where everyone is treated with respect. It isn&rsquo;t enough to just hire a diverse set of candidates; you should also ensure that your company culture is supportive. 
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Your culture can also improve overall employee morale when there&rsquo;s an awareness of intersectionality and how it matters to individual experience in the workplace. <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/blog/post/intersectionality-what-it-is-and-why-it-matters" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Intersectionality</a> is the idea that people are complex and have multiple, intersecting identities and social characterizations that influence who they are and the challenges they may face. Companies that understand the intricacies of intersectionality can create workplace cultures that are more welcome to all, which is especially important when addressing mental health concerns in the workplace. 
<h2>How To Support Employees&rsquo; Mental Health </h2>
You can put numerous programs in place to support employees who may feel stressed or overburdened from time to time. A simple idea is for managers to begin a program of regular mental health check-ins, where employees are given a time when they can speak freely about their concerns and know that their discussions are kept confidential and that they will get the help they deserve. Business owners could also implement an employee assistance program that includes counseling sessions and access to therapists as part of company-offered health insurance 
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Many employees also become stressed when they have a lot going on at home and their work shifts don&rsquo;t allow them time to take care of personal issues. To prevent issues there, consider implementing <a href="https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/work-well-being/2022-mental-health-support" rel="noopener" target="_blank">flexible schedules</a>, where an employee may be able to start later in the day or leave early and make up the time later on. In addition to this flexibility, consider providing mental health days, which would be paid time off where the worker can stay home, take care of things, get some rest, and return to work feeling mentally refreshed.
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A key component necessary for improving the customer experience and supporting good employee morale is for management to provide the tools the employees need to complete their jobs as easily and efficiently as possible. Individuals who believe their workplace has prepared them adequately for their job responsibilities are more likely to go above and beyond when assisting customers. This means that your patrons will be happier overall, and this positive cycle will benefit your business. If you&rsquo;re not sure what tools your employees require, then bring them in and ask them. 
<h2>What To Do If Your Employees Do Show Mental Health Concerns </h2>
Many management teams tend to focus on how to prevent mental health issues from occurring in the first place, and that&rsquo;s important. However, so is understanding how to help your employees when they&rsquo;re already showing signs of declining mental health. These signs may include increased absenteeism, decreased productivity, low levels of engagement, withdrawal from social situations, or even a combination of several of these issues.
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When you notice a difference in an employee's behavior, stop and talk to them. Ask what they need and then help to provide a solution. If the workload is the culprit, lighten their load for now or ask what changes will help them feel less stressed throughout the day. Ensure that they&rsquo;re taking their breaks throughout the day and encourage them to get outside and take in some fresh air so they can return to a better mental place. 
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It&rsquo;s just as important to know what you <a href="https://www.zocdoc.com/blog/dos-and-donts-of-supporting-someone-with-mental-illness/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">should not do around someone who is struggling with mental health</a>. Don&rsquo;t engage in toxic positivity by insisting that they should be happy with what they have. Give the employee space to talk about their needs and be patient. Remember too that not all employees may feel comfortable discussing their mental health needs with you, and respecting boundaries is crucial.
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In conclusion, supporting your employees&rsquo; mental health by providing a positive and supportive work environment is essential for a successful business. Show your staff that you care, and their appreciation and satisfaction will shine through in their work. 
<div style="text-align: center;">The CareerCircle platform is designed to&nbsp;connect you with the best and brightest candidates who bring unique perspectives and experiences to your team. Inclusion is not just a buzzword, it's a competitive advantage in today's rapidly evolving business landscape. Companies that prioritize equity and inclusion enjoy increased innovation, creativity, and employee satisfaction. Contact us at gettinghired@careercircle.com and take the first step toward building a more inclusive and successful workplace! <a href="https://www.gettinghired.com/employer/registration" rel="noopener" target="_blank"></a> </div>

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Content Contributor:
Ainsley Lawrence is a freelance writer from the Pacific Northwest. She is interested in better living through technology and education. She loves traveling to beautiful places and is frequently lost in a good book. <img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/o3NE4fHYSgyIerkMBycI" width="236" height="236">

Prioritize mental wellness and elevate your team's potential with our transformative blog. Empower your team today.

Supporting Your Employees' Mental Health in the Workplace | Getting Hired

Supporting Your Employees' Mental Health in the Workplace

Part 1: Understanding Disability
Many employers do not know where to begin when it comes to creating disability-inclusive workplaces. In order to implement the most inclusive hiring practices, the best place to start, is fully understanding what a disability is, what the landscape is like, and some facts that might not be known.
Disability 101: Back to Basics
What is a disability? According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),&nbsp;<a href="https://adata.org/faq/what-definition-disability-under-ada" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">an individual with a disability is</a>&nbsp;defined &ldquo;as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment.&rdquo; The ADA qualifies disability as a legal term, not a medical one, helping secure equal opportunities and civil rights for persons with disabilities.
You may not even realize that certain disabilities, limitations, or illnesses &nbsp;are actually disabilities that may need employer accommodation.
To help further this understanding, we&rsquo;ve provided some examples below &ndash; (this is NOT a full list, however, a full list can be found on the Job Accommodation Network&nbsp;<a href="https://askjan.org/a-to-z.cfm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a><a href="https://askjan.org/a-to-z.cfm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">.</a>)
AIDS/HIV
Allergies
Alzheimer&rsquo;s Disease
Amputation
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)/Lou Gehrig&rsquo;s Disease
Anxiety Disorders
Arthritis
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Auditory Processing Disorder
Autism Spectrum Disorders
Bipolar Disorder
Bladder Impairments
Brain Injuries
Cancer
Cerebral Palsy
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Chronic Pain
Cognitive Impairment (Intellectual)
Color Vision Deficiency (Color Blind)
Deafness or Hard of Hearing
Depression
Developmental Disabilities
Diabetes
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
Epilepsy
Fibromyalgia
Gastrointestinal Disorders
Glaucoma
Heart Conditions
Hearing Loss
Hepatitis
Herpes Zoster (Shingles)
Huntington&rsquo;s Disease
Kidney Diseases
Learning Disabilities
Lyme Disease
Liver Disease
Lupus
Mental Health Impairments
Migraine Headaches
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
Muscular Dystrophy
Parkinson&rsquo;s Disease
Personality Disorders
Physical Disabilities
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Pregnancy
Psychiatric Impairments
Quadriplegia
Sickle Cell Anemia
Skin Disorders
Sleep Disorders
Speech-Language Impairments
Spina Bifida
Spinal Cord Injuries
Stroke
Stuttering
Thyroid Disorders
Wheelchair Use
As you can see from the list we&rsquo;ve provided, along with most recent statistics,&nbsp;<a href="https://archive.cdc.gov/www_cdc_gov/media/releases/2018/p0816-disability.html" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">1 in 4 Americans have a disability</a>. While many disabilities are visible, such as blindness or low vision, paralysis, or other physical disabilities,&nbsp;more than 70 percent of disabilities are non-apparent, such as cancer, autism, diabetes, PTSD, or depression.&nbsp;Additionally, more than 80 percent of disabilities are acquired throughout an individual&rsquo;s lifetime.&nbsp;Examples include long-term injuries due to an accident, diagnosis of an illness, decreased vision, hearing, or mobility.
Disability &amp; Employment
The unemployment rate for people with disabilities is almost twice that of individuals without disabilities, as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dol.gov/odep/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">7.7 percent of people with disabilities are unemployed</a>, compared to 3.7 percent of people without disabilities. This isn&rsquo;t only about education levels either &nbsp;&ndash; persons with disabilities who have attained at least a bachelor&rsquo;s degree are still three times&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bls.gov/spotlight/2018/labor-force-characteristics-of-people-with-a-disability/home.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">less likely to be employed</a>&nbsp;than those without a disability.
For an in-depth look at these topic areas,&nbsp;<a href="https://go.careercircle.com/candidate-experience-for-job-seekers-with-disabilities" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">download our eBook, &ldquo;Understanding the Candidate Experience for Job Seekers with Disabilities.&rdquo;</a>
For more resources and guidance on Understanding Disability, contact the CareerCircle team.
Contributions to this blog were made by Andra&eacute;a LaVant of Solutions Marketing Group.

Understand disability basics to create inclusive workplaces. Learn about Disability 101 and improve hiring practices.

The Candidate Experience Blog Series Part 1: Understanding Disability

<h2>Auditing Your Recruiting Process for Accessibility </h2>
 There is an ethical &mdash; and often legal &mdash; imperative for your company to be accessible in all areas. It&rsquo;s also the case that by welcoming a more diverse employee base, your company stands to benefit from a richer and more innovative culture. As such, you may have made changes to create a hiring process supporting greater diversity in recent years. However, this doesn&rsquo;t necessarily mean your practices are as accessible as they could be. Alongside adapting your hiring approach, you must ensure your recruitment process is accessible. Many business leaders use the terms interchangeably, but there are key differences between hiring and recruitment. While the former is a more passive way to fill a vacant role, recruitment is an intentional effort to seek out top talent and attract them to your company. If you&rsquo;re not effectively recruiting in an accessible way, you&rsquo;re likely missing out on a significant portion of the talent pool.
Let&rsquo;s take a look at what you should be focusing on when auditing your recruiting process for accessibility.
<h2>Reviewing Your Target Demographics</h2>
One of the key areas to audit is your target recruitment demographic. This should reflect the accessibility of your recruitment practices. Too often, the approaches companies use to look for the best and brightest in the field are hampered by looking for specific characteristics &mdash; characteristics that don&rsquo;t take into account the hurdles of those living with disabilities. As such, there&rsquo;s a tendency for unconscious bias to creep into decision-making here.
&nbsp;A way in which this often presents is by targeting professionals with specific types of experience. It may seem desirable to look for workers who have worked with top brands in key roles. However, as stringent as your recruitment accessibility standards might be, those other brands may not share your commitment to a diverse workforce. 
&nbsp;Indeed, their workplaces may not go beyond the <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/publications/ada-your-responsibilities-employer#:~:text=Under%20the%20ADA%20%2C%20workers%20with,by%20you%20for%20your%20employees." rel="noopener" target="_blank">basic accessibility required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)</a> and, therefore, key roles and experiences aren&rsquo;t filled by those with disabilities. Your focus on recruiting people with certain types of employment history may result in inadvertently overlooking talented professionals that happen to live with disabilities. 
&nbsp;There&rsquo;s a similar issue that arises when your recruitment strategy only targets a demographic from traditional education backgrounds or degrees from top universities. Too many businesses at the moment are not open to recruiting those who have taken online courses. Yet, this results in a recruitment strategy actively excluding those who utilize distance learning for accessibility reasons. Consider how you can open your recruitment to those with disabilities and target the best talent with more varied experiences.
<h2>Considering the Impact of Your Culture</h2>
Your company culture influences the holistic wellness of your business. After all, it underpins everything from how workers interact with one another to the ethical decisions they make. It also increasingly comes into consideration when auditing whether the best talent is attracted to your business. Therefore, it&rsquo;s vital to understand where there may be hurdles to accessibility within your culture.
&nbsp;This has to begin by understanding to what extent <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/blog/post/candidate-experience-blog-series-part-3-how-to-a" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">unconscious biases toward people with disabilities</a> are a feature in your company. This can be problematic not just from the actions of recruiters, but it may make a toxic working environment for a valuable professional living with a disability. It&rsquo;s important to gain perspectives from both current staff and experts in the field. Conduct surveys to ask about employees&rsquo; opinions and experiences in this regard and be open to consultants running audits in this area.
&nbsp;Another vital part of your workplace culture is the company&rsquo;s attitude and commitment toward mental wellness. A recruitment strategy that seeks to be fully inclusive isn&rsquo;t going to succeed if your workplace doesn&rsquo;t take mental health seriously on a cultural level.&nbsp;
If <a href="https://thepapergown.zocdoc.com/how-your-job-can-impact-your-mental-health/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">employees experiencing mental health challenges</a> don&rsquo;t have the support or resources they need, this can affect their health, productivity, and potential to resign. It&rsquo;s important for everyone involved that your company offers access to tools like mental health screening and subsidized therapy. Take the time to assess these elements. Then, make adjustments to ensure you&rsquo;re creating a supportive culture for those facing various challenges.
<h2>Evaluating Safety and Security</h2>
Safety and security are not obvious considerations for a recruitment strategy. You may only include these components for dangerous or sensitive roles. Yet, these elements play a vital role in making your process more accessible.
Firstly, this is relevant from the perspective of ensuring your company is a safe space for those with disabilities. It&rsquo;s important to frequently evaluate not just whether your workspace is accessible for both candidates with physical and mental disabilities but also how this is communicated during the recruitment process. Look at whether your recruitment processes offer invitations for candidates to make requests about the environment they&rsquo;re interviewed in or for assistance to be provided.&nbsp;
In addition, make certain the information regarding candidates' individual needs is protected from potential leaks and security breaches. This is sensitive data that must be treated respectfully. It&rsquo;s vital, therefore, to ensure your recruitment process&rsquo; cybersecurity protocols are tight. Understand the various information technology <a href="https://businessdegrees.uab.edu/blog/it-security-and-why-businesses-need-to-know-the-risks/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">(IT) risks your business could be subjected to</a>, from malware attacks to phishing attempts. Make sure you have tools like intrusion detection software in place. Your staff &mdash; particularly recruiters &mdash; should also be trained in cyber-secure behavior.
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
While your hiring practices may be geared toward accessibility, it&rsquo;s important to also make sure your recruitment processes have the same commitment. Take the time to audit aspects such as your choice of target demographic for potential hurdles to accessibility. Review how supportive your culture is to people with a range of accessibility challenges. Explore how your safety and security practices might impact your ability to recruit talented staff living with disabilities. Your attention here isn&rsquo;t just an ethical imperative. With additional effort and scrutiny, you can ensure both employees and your business benefit from greater accessibility and inclusivity.&nbsp;&nbsp; Learn more about CareerCircle, our mission, and how to ensure that you are creating an inclusive recruiting process and workplace. Content Contributor:
Ainsley Lawrence is a freelance writer from the Pacific Northwest. She is interested in better living through technology and education. She loves traveling to beautiful places and is frequently lost in a good book.
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Ensure your recruitment process is accessible to all. Audit for inclusivity and attract diverse talent.

Recruiting and Accessibility | Getting HiredAuditing Your Recruiting Process for Accessibility

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Supporting Your Employees' Mental Health in the Workplace

The Candidate Experience Blog Series Part 1: Understanding Disability

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