Due to recent global events, employers are investing more than ever in mental health care and offering their employees apps specifically designed for mental wellness.
A mental health app can reduce stress and anxiety and increase productivity and overall well-being for users. These apps enable employees to effectively manage their mental health and deal with the added work pressure.
If you want to know more about the importance of mental health apps in the workplace, continue reading.
What Are Mental Health Apps?
Mental health apps are mobile applications designed to promote mental well-being in individuals, from offering relaxation exercises and mindfulness practices to tracking mood and behavioral symptoms among those suffering from anxiety or depression.
These apps may be used standalone, as an add-on therapy session, or even in place of face-to-face treatment sessions. Studies have even indicated that some apps may even be as effective as traditional forms of treatment like therapy.
Mental health apps can be an invaluable asset to employees managing their mental health needs at work. They may offer access to mindfulness meditations, biofeedback, or specific therapy skills – though it should be noted that apps don’t replace professional mental health services.
Growing Mental Health Problems At Workplace
Mental health in the workplace is an increasingly pressing concern worldwide, costing the global economy billions of dollars each year in lost productivity due to depression, anxiety disorders, and related conditions. Yet many companies still fail to invest in employees’ mental well-being needs and care.
Today’s economic climate of rapid reorganization, takeovers, mergers, and rightsizing places ever greater strains on organizations. These pressures can have detrimental consequences for employees, including poor mental health, which has an impactful influence on productivity and employee turnover rates.
Stressful employees negatively impact workplace performance, leading to decreased productivity, absenteeism, and higher insurance costs for business owners. Addressing mental health is essential in employee engagement efforts as well as in creating a healthy, happy working environment.
Companies should develop a mental health policy that sets out exactly how they expect their employees to feel and what their expectations from them should be. This can give people comfort that addressing problems can happen safely within an environment of mutual support.
Importance Of Mental Health Apps For Workplaces
With the prevalence of mental health issues among employees rising rapidly, employers must find new and effective methods of supporting employees. Mental health apps offer one option that can reduce employee stress while increasing productivity. Here are reasons why businesses must invest in mental health apps for the workplace.
Easy Accessibility
As an employee with mental health concerns, it’s imperative that you have easy access to treatment. An app that offers guidance from trained professionals may provide this essential support. More and more employees find themselves in extremely stressful situations due to work which negatively impacts their mental health. An app can offer them easy access to deal with stress at the workplace. These apps are simple and easy to use, with a wide range of features.
Increased Health Benefits
With increasing amounts of stress, depression, and anxiety among employees in today’s society, it is critical that workplaces provide effective mental health programs. A mental health app for employees can offer increased health benefits by helping employees to cope with stress levels. Many employees suffer from hypertension and other disorders due to work-related stress. However, mental health apps can help them stay healthy and avoid these problems with better stress management.
Lower Costs
Mental health apps offer an efficient, cost-effective solution to support employees’ mental well-being. Many apps also feature virtual therapy, mindfulness meditation, and other tools designed to alleviate symptoms associated with anxiety or depression. Compared to traditional therapy sessions, apps are more affordable and accessible to use. However, if the mental health condition is severe, professional therapy is essential.
Employee Well-being
Mental health apps in workplaces have become an increasingly popular way of providing support and helping employees cope with stress, depression, and other forms of mental illness. Furthermore, they’re an invaluable asset for employers looking to foster employee well-being while creating an open culture of open communication and empathy in the organization.
Improves Productivity
Mental health conditions can have a devastating impact on workplace productivity. Stress, anxiety, and depression all play a part in diminishing employee output. Employers are increasingly turning to apps as a solution, including guided meditations, breathing exercises, and coping mechanisms for employees. Employees with access to mental health services tend to be more productive and dedicated in their jobs, which can also help mitigate lost productivity and boost profitability.
Helps to Remove Mental Health Stigma
Mental health stigma is one of the greatest barriers preventing employees from seeking treatment and support, hindering their ability to cope with symptoms and increasing the risk of relapse. However, mental health apps can help to significantly reduce stigma by educating the audience as well as offering a platform to discuss the issues. Also, these apps help to maintain anonymity, thereby encouraging employees to deal with internalized stigma.
Top Mental Health Apps For The Workplace
Mental health apps offer employees easy, on-demand access to mental healthcare. Some apps also provide therapy sessions via video calls, digital exercises for breathing and mindfulness practice, or messaging platforms to chat directly with mental health providers.
The best mental health apps for workplace use are designed to help users feel calm, reduce stress and build coping strategies. Moreover, each app offers various tools and resources designed to help understand moods, recognize negative thoughts, and alter how users respond to emotions.
Here are the top mental health apps for the workplace:
- Sensa Health App
- Headspace for Work
- Calm for Business
- Flourish DX
- Insight Timer
- Fabulous for Work
- The Five Minute Journal
While mental health apps are a necessity for employees, they should not be seen as replacements for therapy or medication. They can also serve to complement either approach in different ways – helping reduce stress levels, relieve anxiety, and provide coping skills for depression.
Conclusion
Mental health apps for the workplace offer numerous advantages. It includes easy accessibility, increased health benefits at lower costs, employee well-being, and productivity increases. Today’s digital health environment makes it common practice for companies to provide their employees with apps as part of their mental health care package. Users benefit from greater productivity, while employers experience improved bottom-line benefits from an increase in employee well-being.
