How To Help With The Mental Well Being of Your Factory Workers

December 22 2021 - No matter what environment you work in, as a manager, it is important that you check on the mental well-being of your employees. Mental health problems can be caused by anything, whether that be an office or a factory.

Seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression that is suffered due to the change of seasons. As you may have noticed yourself, you are usually much happier in summer compared to winter. This can have an impact on those that work long hours in offices or on a factory floor. The sad reality is that the mental well-being of factory workers is rarely talked about.

There are ways to combat the mental health issues that a factory worker could face. Here are some tips for improving the mental health of factory workers and what you can do about it.

Understand the Employees Situation

What we mean here is that you need to understand their day to day role in the factory. If you are the manager, you have probably been there before. You have already done all of the dirty work to make your way to the top. Nonetheless, the role could’ve changed slightly. If you notice that a certain department has the same feelings about their role, you know something is wrong with the job.

Put yourself in their shoes for a week to find out what it is like. Then ask a few questions about the role. Are there regular breaks? Is it a little too repetitive? Is the role proactive? These are all the things you have to ask yourself as you do it for a week. A week might not be long enough but it will give you an understanding of the role. As you establish the issues of that role, you will notice what is wrong with it and what you can do to change it.

It might not necessarily be the role of the job either. It might be the supervisor who puts too much pressure on them. Is the supervisor too bossy or loud? The supervisor will act differently if you are working in the role for a week. So what you need to do is rely on the feedback of your other workers.

Current Environment

As mentioned before, the way the supervisor is with workers can have a massive effect on their mood. Does the supervisor act aggressively with workers when they have done something wrong? Do they yell or be rude to any of the workers? Do they exploit their role? All of these can affect the mental health of your workers. They need to be confident in going to their supervisor for anything.

Progression

The progression of an employee is essential for their mental well-being. When they are improving, they will want rewards. It is natural for any human to be rewarded for their hard work. It doesn’t need to be a pay rise for their annual or weekly salary. It can just be a bonus or an extra day's holiday.

There are many ways that you can reward an employee. Progression is the simple way to go about it. As long as they see rewards for the hard work that they put in, the less likely they will worry about their progression.

Health and Nutrition of Your Employees

The physical health of your employees affects their mental health. Illness can affect somebody’s mental health, so you must check on your employee’s health. Have you noticed that they are a little under the weather? Is it affecting their work?

Someone being ill can have a massive effect on the working environment so, pull them to one side and tell them. You will want to do it in the most constructive way possible. Don’t knock their confidence, just make them understand it is for the best for not only the factory but also for them. Your working environment should offer sick pay if they are unfit to work.

Nutrition is also important for a worker's mental health. If they eat unhealthily throughout the week during their lunches, that can also affect them. If you are lucky enough to have a canteen at your factory, make sure there are healthy options available. The more vitamins and minerals they get from their food, the more energy they have throughout the day.

You need to make sure they are educated on the positives and negatives of different foods. As soon as they understand the nutritional values of their food, they will have a better understanding of the foods they are consuming. Fatty foods can make you feel lethargic and a lot of people do not know this. The more nutrients that their meals have, the more energy they will have. Giving them a much longer mood boost.

Summary

There are many ways to make sure that the mental well-being of your employees is healthy. One of the issues that many managers have with their workers is that they do not check on them. When reviewing your employees, you need to check on them, making sure that they are enjoying their job. As well as whether or not they want anything to change for them to improve.

During the winter months, the likelihood of your employees starting work and leaving work when it is dark is very likely. This means that they are going to have a low amount of vitamin D. Again, this is another key nutrient that everybody needs for their health. If someone is deficient in vitamin D, they should consider vitamin D3 supplements. This can also have a positive impact on someone's mood.

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