While physical safety is an absolute must for employees, mental safety is one that, unfortunately, many employers seem to miss out on. While it’s true that since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increasing awareness of employee physical safety, it shouldn’t stop there. It’s also important to let employees know that safety comes in more ways than just one. So here are some helpful tips to ensure the well-being of your employees.
Let them know that they’re physically safe
Sometimes, just getting out of your shell can be anxiety-inducing and COVID-19 has really brought that to the surface. Ask your employees how you can make them feel more physically safe in the workplace. For example, this could include introducing intrinsically safe scales in the chance your department handles hazardous materials, doing more safety training, and hearing suggestions about the safety protocol.
Let your employees know that you’re listening and you’ll do what you can to make them feel safe. If they know that they’re physically safe then this can help them feel mentally safe as well.
Let your teammates know it’s okay to make mistakes
If your employees are always afraid that a mistake will cost them their jobs, then there needs to be a reevaluation of the work environment and the company culture itself. Your employees have to feel safe, they need to know not every mistake that is made is going to cost them their job. It may sound odd, but why not embrace mistakes?
Allowing mistakes, and even embracing them can give that nice push to think outside the box. When your employees make a mistake, let them grow. Allow them a chance to learn from it. The biggest key to any successful business is going to be a positive work environment.
Allow positive feedback
A lot of work environments are filled with toxicity. There is only negative feedback or no feedback at all. This isn’t healthy and is something that will eventually make your employees jump ship. It’s so important to have positive feedback. Work-related stress is the biggest stressor that people have, this can extend out to causing insecurity and low self-worth.
The lack of positive feedback is only going to add to this low feeling of worth. So why not begin praising people? Encourage positive behavior in the workplace! This is going to be the best way to boost productivity and foster a positive workplace culture.
Just let your employees be themselves
Why try to make everyone be the same? That’s just boring! Instead, let everyone be themselves at work. Celebrating individualism is beautiful, and it reminds your employees that they don’t have to fake a personality or interests.
Being yourself allows for emotional and physical safety and promotes good mental health. Employers should never expect their employees to be clones. That just makes the work environment completely bleak.
