Whether its 9-5 or shift work, balancing a job with a personal life is a common daily challenge for many of us. While the importance of your physical health cannot be understated, mental health is just as critical in the workplace.

Ireland suffers from one of the highest rates of mental illness in Europe, costing the economy a staggering €8.2 billion per year.

What are you doing to support your staff’s mental health?

Mental Health Challenges in 2019
In 2019, mental health remains rightly on top of the agenda. Last year, 1 in 8 Irish people reported suffering from chronic depression at one point in their lives. While mental illness covers a range of issues, the most common workplace issues include stress, depression, anxiety and mood disorders.

Depression and anxiety are increasingly plaguing the Irish workplace. With Irish teenagers reporting most commonly anxiety, these issues aren’t going away.

Mood disorders, including bipolar disorder, are also challenging Irish workplaces, with 45,000 Irish people suffering from BD in 2018.
 
Importance of Mental Fitness in the Workplace
Just like poor physical health, poor mental health can impact on business performance.

Staff who feel unsupported while suffering mentally are more likely to take time off, risking talent loss as a result.

Most of all, a business with a positive and fun working environment can thrive, and so too can its staff. By ensuring mental fitness is taken as seriously as physical fitness, you can foster great productivity and a healthy place to work for your staff.
 
How Your Business Can Help

• Foster an Open Culture

A company’s culture can be crucial for an employee’s mental health journey. Fostering a culture of openness amongst staff or keeping an ‘open door’ policy for colleagues will break down the stigma of mental illness.

Building approachability into the corners of your business, from senior management downwards, will go a long way in creating a healthy work environment for all.
 

• Mental Health Policy

In the age of workplace bullying and social media policies, consider putting a mental health policy in place.

Providing staff time to attend counselling sessions, hosting awareness training or having procedures in place to support staff suffering mentally will build a healthy work environment.

By putting a policy in place and taking mental fitness seriously, your staff’s work-life balance will improve, and so too will your reputation.

• Working Smart

In the past, hard work was often associated with long hours and stress. That should no longer be the case. Your business can support mental health by encouraging staff to work smarter, not harder.

Motivate staff to be productive during the day, ensure workloads are manageable and keep a check on staff who may be struggling mentally.

• Exercise and Relaxation

Show support for mental illness by hosting work exercise or relaxation classes.

Physical activity can benefit a person’s physical and mental fitness. Providing time for staff to have fun with these activities will improve your reputation and productivity. But most of all, a healthy work environment will benefit all. 
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The traditional 9-5 routine is waning. The rise of the freelance gig economy continues. But keeping physically active while balancing a job remains a challenge.

Your business can make a positive impact on your staff’s health, by encouraging them to look after themselves physically.
 
Challenges to Physical Fitness at Work
Different jobs and sectors can hinder a person’s ability to keep physically fit in different ways. While manual labour may provide staff more opportunities to be active, these roles can result in injuries and muscle strains.

Meanwhile office jobs restrict a person’s ability to move and be active during their working day, and coupled with posture issues, these roles can lead to further deterioration in physical health.
 
Importance of Physical Fitness at Work
Workplace health can impact your company’s performance and reputation as an employer.

When employees suffer from poor physical health, their attendance and performance can also suffer. Meanwhile, your talent retention may deteriorate, as staff members are forced to leave work due to poor health.

A business who does not look after their employees’ health can suffer from reputational damage, affecting its ability to attract further talent and possibly customers.
 
How Your Business Can Help
Ultimate responsibility may lie with the employee, but you can motivate your staff to keep physically active in a number of ways:

• Weekly Running and Walking Clubs

Hosting lunchtime or after-work running and walking clubs can keep staff active. Demonstrating interest in their health while providing the opportunity to get out of the office will encourage staff to prioritise their physical health.

Charity efforts could also be paired with these activities, encouraging staff to complete a set distance for sponsorship. Physical activity paired with the opportunity to fundraise can raise job satisfaction and benefit your business in the long-term.

• Fresh Fruit Freebies

Free coffee or tea is great. But providing free fresh fruit to staff can encourage them to make healthier food choices, and improve their physical fitness.

Fruit boosts brain power, resulting in increased productivity. By swapping sugary snacks for healthier fruit options, your business can motivate staff to stay healthy.

• Gym Membership Discounts

Keeping active and eating healthy can be costly, with the expense prohibiting many from taking out a gym membership or attending exercise classes.

While hosting walking or running clubs can be cost-effective option, providing gym membership discounts is another way to encourage your staff to keep physically active.

• Desk Makeovers

An ergonomic makeover of staff stations or desks can boost physical health.

Standing desks can improve staff posture, preventing RSI, back pain and other injuries. Desk bikes, under-desk stair steppers or arm exercisers are just some of the ergonomic desk tools that are on offer to combat staff fatigue and poor physical health.

• Charity Campaigns

Hosting physical activities or challenges in the name of charity can motivate staff to look after their physical fitness.

Whether it’s a sponsored walk or something more extreme, charity campaigns demonstrate your investment in your employees’ health and your desire to give back to the community.

 
As workplaces evolve and seek ways to improve and motivate staff, bringing pets to work is growing in popularity.
Millennials are more likely to share their lives with pets than any other generation. So for employers, finding ways to facilitate pet ownership could give them the edge when attracting talent.
From stress reduction to job satisfaction and improved employee retention, having pets around the office can significant boost employee health and engagement.
With 8% of US and UK employers now allowing dogs in the workplace, get ahead of your competitors and offer an alternative benefit to your workforce.  
 
Risks Involved
Despite the benefits, the risks involved can cause concern and should be dealt with through an effective policy.
Making employees aware of the risks and company policy can avoid mishaps and ensure that all employees can benefit from a pet-friendly workplace:

• Litigation- Manage this risk by having the appropriate liability insurance in place as well as a signed agreement, making clear the employee’s responsibility for any liability suffered by the employer by permitting dogs in the workplace.

 

• Cultural sensitivities- some religions consider dogs unclean. Other cultures are familiar with dogs only as guard dogs, and as a result find them threatening. This means that designated ‘dog-friendly’ and ‘dog-free’ areas are a must.

 

• Allergies- 15-30% of allergic people are allergic to cats and dogs and some of the allergens will linger in an area that the animal has been even after they leave. Dog-friendly and dog-free zones are vital when managing these allergens.  

 

• Health- there may be concern around zoonotic diseases such as parasites. Having guidelines surrounding regular vet check-ups and vaccinations where appropriate could address this issue. Additionally, simple, basic hand hygiene can negate almost all risks.

 

• Phobias- some staff may have a fear or dislike of dogs. Making new employees aware of the dog-friendly nature of the office, and the provisions made for those less keen on dogs (dog-free spaces) at recruitment stage can avoid any nasty surprises once new employees start.

 

• Behaviour- a badly behaved dog has the potential to be a source of conflict and frustration in the workplace. Any workplace policies must make employees aware of this risk and their responsibility for their dog.

 
 
Creating Your Own Dog-Friendly Policy
While you may wish to contact other employers in your industry who operate a dog-friendly policy, my new book provides useful examples of policies implemented by several companies.
To find out more about creating a workplace that is truly dog-friendly, rather than one that simply allows dogs, take a look at my book ‘Office Dogs: The Manual’ which will be released in March 2019 or get in touch to book a private consultation for your business.

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Steph Rousseau is an Irish dog trainer and behaviourist with an interest in facilitating dogs in the workplace. Her book on the subject, Office Dogs: The Manual, is being published internationally over the coming months, with the Norwegian version already available and the English version to follow in March 2019.
 
She offers office dog consultations for businesses considering implementing or improving a dog-friendly policy, as well as talks and workshops in organisations which allow dogs. You can contact her at steph@stephsdogtraining.ie for more information.

2019’s workplace is a melting pot of cultures, lifestyles and backgrounds.

Millennials now make up a larger share of the Irish workplace than Baby Boomers and Gen Xers put together. By 2030, people aged 60 or over will make up 30% of the global population.

By tackling growing age brackets head-on, you business can fight ageism. Age does not matter, but ageism does.
 
Ageism: What Is It?
Known as discrimination of an individual’s age, ageism can greatly affect workplace dynamics. Age shouldn’t matter, but its inclusion in your diversity strategy does.

An ageing population coupled with a gradual rise in Millennials and Gen Z’ers entering the workplace has led to growing cases of ageism. Despite this, ageism is often placed on the backburner, when compared with other forms of discrimination.
 
Age Diversity and its Benefits
From interns to long-time, loyal colleagues, having a range of ages brings a wealth of different experiences to the office.

Not only can experience enhance performance, it will also showcase your business as inclusive and progressive to your stakeholders and customers.

In fact, recent McKinsey research indicates that corporate culture and business performance will greatly improve as a result of greater diversity awareness.

Age diversity will benefit staff, allowing them to provide their own individual skills and knowledge, while acknowledging their colleagues’ talent, irrelevant of age. Adding to staff cohesiveness, workplace culture will improve as a result. all
 
How Can You Prevent Ageism?
Ageism can be avoided through a number of different methods:
 
·         Training and Awareness
Diversity training should be a first port of call for your business.

From small remarks, to larger discriminatory acts based on age, your business can demonstrate the impact ageism can make on company culture.

By training staff to be aware that age does not matter in the workplace, an inclusive environment can be fostered for all.
 
·         Networking Opportunities
Providing staff with opportunities to mix and meet each other can allow time for employees to learn common interests separate from their age.

Differences based on an age gap can be broken down, replaced with common talking points for staff to develop their work relationships.

Business performance will inevitably improve, enhancing your reputation as an inclusive and successful employer.
 
·         Policies
While the above techniques can teach and train employees to be aware of ageism in the workplace, some incidents may still occur. Treating this discrimination seriously as a business is vital.

By implementing disciplinary policies and procedures, all staff will be made aware of the consequences of ageist actions or remarks.

Your business can continue successful diversification, creating a well-respected and inclusive environment for both staff and customers alike.
 
Age Does Not Matter, But Ageism Does
In 11 years, the Irish workplace will host a much greater range of ages than in 2019.

​It’s more important than ever to ensure age does not matter and that diversity is at the top of the agenda in your workplace.