Job resources
Mental health is often approached by focusing on risks and problems. You should pay at least as much attention to the resources that protect, promote and maintain mental health. This includes both job and employee resources.
Build job resources
Organisational structures make it possible to develop job resources. Pay attention to work features that help achieve goals and promote the employees’ professional growth. You can increase these resources bnyy developing work and working conditions.
Job resources that promote and support mental health include
- good workflow
- flexible work
- opportunities to influence work
- perceived justice
- development opportunities
- good and high-quality leadership
- successful interaction based on trust
- a supportive work community.
You can also increase job satisfaction with different benefits and recreational activities. Their influence is, however, not as significant as that of resources directly related to work.
Develop and support employees’ resources
Employees’ resources, in addition to their health, consist of professional competence, working life competences and skills related to general life management. Support the employees’ opportunities to develop in all three areas.
Make room for learning and create an atmosphere that encourages it. Show that taking time for learning is both permitted and desirable. How much time do you wish your employees would dedicate to learning each week?
Professional competence allows experiences of of success and supports self-efficacy. It consists of
- work-related competence
- industry-related competence
- the opportunity to develop, maintain and share competence.
Working life competences are resources that help employees to function in different situations.
Working life competences include
- interpersonal skills
- time management
- self-leadership
- focus.
Create practices that support the development and application of working life competences in your company. Establish rules for handling conflict situations. Interpersonal skills help employees communicat about their work, receive feedback and give others feedback. The ability to face, handle and resolve conflicts is an important part of interpersonal skills.
Self-leadership, time management and managing your own work have for a long time been considered key to working life competence. I strongly believe that conflict-resolution and handling difficult issues are what is needed next.
Life management skills have an impact on work. Support your employees’ life management through flexible work and, in general, through work arrangements that add to their resources.
Areas of life management that have an impact on work include
- maintenance of good energy levels
- good social networks and close relationships that protect mental health.
An employee’s mood and energy levels affect their efficiency and even occupational safety. Help your employees to develop skills to maintain good energy levels. Ensure that they have the opportunity for sufficient rest and recovery both at work and outside it. Encourage your employees to maintain social relationships. Arrange shared time and spaces for maintaining interpersonal relationships at work, so that no-one is left outside the work community.