In recent years, mental health has become a topic of paramount importance that needs greater focus and intervention in the workplace. A study conducted by the Portuguese Laboratory for Healthy Work Environments revealed that 50.6% of workers in Portugal are at high risk of burnout.
In the month that marks World Mental Health Day, October, it is important to highlight some work actions that can help enhance the mental health of employees, in an effort to achieve a balance between work and personal life and thus combat the increase in cases of the disease. Quit smoking and calm exhaustion.
The global pandemic has been a catalyst for a new approach to organizations and business models, especially in countries like ours. The concept of work-life balance has been widely discussed, and the changes observed in recent times, including a new awakening by organizations in promoting the mental health and well-being of their workers, lead us to realize the importance of this balance. In European countries with more flexible work models and reduced working hours, the relationship between productivity and worker well-being is more than established, without the need for overtime or salary revisions due to lack of income.
Business model flexibility
Leading technology and digital companies were already announcing it before the pandemic: remote, hybrid working, more flexible work arrangements, and work-life balance are essential to the mental well-being of teams. What started as an imposition due to quarantine quickly became a reality in many organizations. The model has benefited both employees and company productivity. According to the same survey (conducted by the Portuguese Laboratory for Healthy Work Environments), the hybrid work system is associated with a better work environment, which better protects the mental health of professionals, and reduces cases of burnout and collapse.
Fight quit smoking calmly
Quiet quitting is a silent phenomenon in which unmotivated workers do the bare minimum in response to frustration, lack of appreciation, and toxic relationships with managers. This is where work-life balance comes into play, providing a balanced and healthy response to outdated standards that only encourage frustration and lack of productivity.
For me, in my work leading people, it has always been clear that the team is the real reason for a project’s success. This was, in fact, the first goal I embraced when I took over as CEO of Portal da Queixa: to cherish the company’s most valuable asset: its employees.
Enhancing well-being at work, motivation, flexibility and space to readapt or reinvent employees were the right bets.
From this perspective of a healthy environment, we seek to enhance the work-life balance of employees based on a fully flexible and remote working model. In 2021, we’ve implemented a free Friday afternoon, a simple action, but one we believe is valuable to everyone’s mental health!
