The average full-time employee puts in (at least) 40 hours a week at work, and the last thing any worker wants is to spend all that time in a toxic environment.
Unfortunately, many workplace policies are harmful to employees’ mental health. From overly strict dress codes to rigid sick leave requirements, the following policies are limiting, overbearing and detrimental to your staff’s well-being and morale.
Unhealthy work policies make it more difficult for employees to do their jobs and create stress that doesn’t end once the day is done. Here are 4 toxic workplace habits to eliminate in order to improve your employees’ mental health:
Overly strict dress codes.
It’s important for employees to look their best, especially for client-facing projects. However, that doesn’t mean every worker is in that situation. Outdated dress code policies create tension and stress because most adults know what is and isn’t appropriate work attire and don’t want to be treated like children.
Creating a fair dress code policy based on work responsibilities is a better route to take so that employees can focus on what truly matters – doing work they feel good about.
Requiring employees to bring in doctors’ notes in order to use sick leave.
There’s nothing worse than being sick – except for returning to work with a doctor’s note in order to use your sick leave. Even if you’re just experiencing a cold or flu-like symptoms, being sick requires you to rest, not push yourself to go to work and expose others to illness.
So requiring sick workers to drag themselves to the doctor’s office just to hear that they need to “rest and drink plenty of fluids” is a waste of time they could’ve spent recovering. Your employees don’t need the added stress and pressure of justifying why they needed a few days’ rest.
Insisting employees use vacation time to take a few hours off, even if they often work long hours.
This policy makes employees reluctant to schedule much-needed appointments like doctor’s visits, therapy sessions or dental appointments. Having to use precious vacation time for necessary healthcare and mental well-being is extra stressful for employees because it’s nearly impossible to schedule these appointments after work hours.
Strict arrival and departure times for salaried employees.
When on salary, there’s no reason why an employee should be held to a strict 9:00 a.m. arrival time. At many jobs, performance and results are the best measures of quality work – not whether an employee was 5 or 10 minutes late.
Sometimes despite all their best efforts, employees experience delays beyond their control. Knowing that their job isn’t dependent on arriving at 9:00 a.m. on the dot gives employees the mental freedom to creatively and productively complete their assigned tasks.
Your employees’ mental health is the greatest factor in how they do their jobs. As a manager, it’s important for you to support your employees’ mental health and well-being. Get more insight on how to do that by scheduling a consult with Dr. Ajita