May is a month of blooming flowers and vibrant growth, and it also holds great significance as Mental Health Month. It is an opportune time for businesses and organizations to cultivate open conversations and implement practices that prioritize the mental well-being of their employees.
In this blog, we will explore the importance of recognizing and addressing mental health in the workplace, as well as practical steps that businesses can take to create a supportive environment for their employees.
We’ll also showcase some of the initiatives we’re taking to open the conversation in our own organization and provide our team with access to resources and support.
At Managed Solution we work to promote a fun, healthy culture that enables our employees to succeed because they feel safe, happy, and supported.
That is why this month we dedicated an entire week of activities to promote team bonding, highlight the importance of mental health, share available resources, promote self-care, and open a conversation we hope to keep a special focus on beyond the month of May. Check out some of the activities we initiated below!
We kicked off Mental Health Week with a deep breath and a mindful pause. Encouraging our team to explore the following options to boost their mindfulness and mitigate stress.
We took a note from Parks and Rec royalty, Donna and Tom, for Treat Yo Self Tuesday! Where our team entered a spa-day gift card raffle by listing the things they do for self-care, or to simply “treat” themselves.
On Wednesday we fostered team bonding and connection through a virtual luncheon hosted on Microsoft Teams. Our team had a blast gathering to share stories, meet new members, and catch up on each other’s daily lives.
Thursday was our ‘Mental Health Day of Action’, where we focused on spreading the idea that mental health IS health. We took more time to address the conversation on the importance of mental health and the tangible steps that we can all take to care for ourselves both mentally and physically. We further backed this by sharing more mental health resources offered to our employees and guiding them to places or personnel they could reach to access them.
We finished big with a virtual dance party on Friday. It may sound silly but sometimes letting your team know that they’re safe to let loose and be themselves can be a great way to promote mental health.
Professionalism is of course important, but people are people at the end of the day, and knowing you’re free to bust out the sprinkler amongst your team can serve as a fun mood booster. At least, it sure did for us!
Mental health is an integral part of overall well-being, and businesses have a vital role to play in acknowledging and addressing this reality. By recognizing that mental health impacts employees' productivity, job satisfaction, and overall quality of life, organizations can foster an environment where individuals feel valued and supported.
Encouraging open conversations about mental health is a cornerstone of creating a supportive workplace. Businesses can take proactive steps to destigmatize mental health by:
Use internal communications, newsletters, or workshops to educate employees about mental health issues, symptoms, and available resources. Share personal stories and testimonials to foster empathy and understanding.
Provide managers and employees with training on mental health awareness, recognizing signs of distress, and supporting colleagues in need. This knowledge empowers individuals to offer appropriate support and creates a culture of empathy and compassion.
Encourage the formation of employee resource groups or support networks focused on mental health. These safe spaces allow individuals to share experiences, seek guidance, and build a community of understanding.
In addition to creating open conversations, organizations can implement practical measures that prioritize the mental well-being of their employees. Check out some of the examples we have listed below:
Offer flexible working hours, remote work options, or compressed work weeks to promote work-life balance and reduce stress. Flexibility empowers employees to manage their mental health effectively while fulfilling their professional responsibilities.
Collaborate with mental health professionals to establish EAPs that provide confidential counseling, therapy, and resources for employees seeking support. These programs ensure that employees have access to professional help when needed.
Introduce wellness initiatives such as yoga or meditation classes, mindfulness workshops, or access to wellness apps. Encouraging physical activity and stress reduction techniques can significantly contribute to employees' mental well-being.
Emphasize the importance of taking regular vacations, mental health days, and sick leave without guilt or stigma. Encourage employees to prioritize self-care and model this behavior from leadership positions.
There’s no perfect way to talk about mental health. The important thing is to talk about it in a way that’s authentic to your organization. Mental Health Month presents an invaluable opportunity for businesses and organizations to foster an environment that prioritizes the mental well-being of their employees.
By creating open conversations, implementing supportive practices, and recognizing the importance of mental health, businesses can nurture a workplace where individuals feel valued, supported, and empowered to thrive both professionally and personally. Together, let us embrace the journey toward a mentally healthy and resilient workforce.
In this video, Jessica talks about the cloud and how it might be the answer to support your remote workforce.
While the cloud seems like it's intangible, there's actually warehouses around the world that are full of servers that are dedicated to certain companies, applications and business needs. The existing infrastructure lives in a physical warehouse but the service itself is what makes it intangible.
Here are the 5 use cases Jessica discusses for utilizing the cloud in your business:
In this video interview, you'll hear from Managed Solution CEO Sean Ferrel as he discusses how and why he got started with IT, his passion for people and how he's created a great culture, and what technology and other facets of business leaders should be focused on, especially with the current remote workforce.
This week has been historical. Bars and gyms shutting down. Restaurants only offering takeout. Social distancing. Our regular routines have come to a halt.
How do we adapt to these never-before-seen circumstances?
People are starting 'virtual happy hours' and hanging out on FaceTime or Zoom with their friends. Musicians have taken up Facebook live to 'perform shows.' Gyms are offering virtual workouts on social media and other outlets.
And businesses across the country are trying to figure out how to put their best foot forward to enable a remote workforce that is both productive and secure. This article is going to lessen the fear and equip you with questions and ideas for what to do next as well as give you the knowledge of the tools that can address your needs. Ultimately, we're here to empower you to enable a productive remote workforce.
In order for your employees to work remotely and out of their homes, there are a few things to consider that your business will need to do so successfully:
Currently, many hardware companies are on backorder and are having 2-3 week turnaround times. Fortunately, as a partner of these hardware companies, we tend to get it a bit faster. If we can help provide the devices for you, please contact us.
Most remote access is achieved through a remote tool such as a VPN, Remote Desktop, Windows Virtual Device or Direct Access. Any of these are viable options, it just depends on your infrastructure and what you're looking for. We're happy to chat about this in more detail with you.
Lastly, when remote, we likely won't have a desk phone. In fact, many offices don't have them anymore either. They have what you call a softphone (or desk-less phone). A softphone allows you to make and receive calls right from your device such as your laptop.
Make sure once you have the devices, that they're equipped with tools that allow for video conferencing, word processing, emailing, file sharing, and other various applications.
It's critical that you have some sort of hub (such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, etc) for file sharing and team communication. This type of hub allows for realtime communication via video conferencing and instant messaging, allowing your team to always be connected.
With this sort of foundation in place, especially for larger organizations, you are enabling your users to access resources and share files across the web, mobile and desktop storing everything in the cloud. This means you can access your email, files, and more from anywhere. Additionally, users can create and share new files with who they need to.
Lastly, it's critical that your organization continues to communicate. With everyone siloed in their homes, video meetings and instant messaging are more crucial now in staying connected.
This simply means having the ability to push and pull data and information to different devices so your users can be productive. This includes pushing to applications on-premise or in the cloud. Additionally, it also includes security policies and remote access and support. Your users are going to need all sorts of different data while remote, so it needs to be accessible to them.
With many new portable devices, this is a seamless and secure way to allow users to access company resources. Once their appropriate policies are set, they can then access things like their VPN. Additionally, it allows for ensuring devices are adhering to the policy by checking in on the device's health status.
Identity Management is what we call the 'source of truth' which tells us which employees have access to which files, what applications they can access and which groups, departments, etc that they can communicate with. By setting up each employee's identity, they are able to get what they need when they need it without delay.
This is also an added layer of security. You're able to control who can access what and allow your employees to collaborate securely.
There's an increased workload and usage with so many people working remotely, that it's important that you're monitoring the health of your systems. Make sure you have someone on staff (or outsource) that is able to remotely monitor application and network performance. This is critical in preventing breaches, which many companies are extra vulnerable to at this time.
Any change in an environment can cause unforeseen challenges or issues. Here are a few questions you should be asking as you prepare for or get started with a remote workforce:
As a Gold Certified Microsoft Partner, we can provide all the above, and quickly. Here's how we can help:
Chat with an expert about your business’s technology needs.
