You deserve better than this, and it doesn’t have to be this way. The global pandemic put a lot of things into perspective, and the importance of a healthy work-life balance was one of them. Now more than ever, employees aren’t settling for stressed-out careers with employers that don’t support them. And the best part? Most employers actually want to do better!

These 5 tips will help you achieve the balance between work life and mental wellness that everyone needs in order to live happy, healthy lives.

1. Accept Your Emotions

Let’s start with the hardest part: feel okay with not feeling okay. It’s important to allow yourself space and time to acknowledge your mental health. You might feel burnt out, frustrated, angry, sad or hopeless, but those feelings won’t go away if you ignore them. By facing and accepting these feelings, you can start to work through them and find the mental health balance that works for you. Allow yourself this mental health time and pay attention to what you need. It will come into play in the next step.

2. Have Mental Wellness-Focused Conversations With Your Employer

Whether you’re currently employed or job searching for a future position, it’s important that you have conversations with employers about mental wellness in the workplace. Of course, mental health services are beneficial to mental well-being, but employers also realize that mental health is interconnected with other aspects of workplace success. Mental wellness leads to better mental health, which can lead to increased productivity and overall job satisfaction. If you’re feeling burnt out, tell someone. Advocate for yourself, or you may never get what you want.

3. Create a Support System at Work

Everyone needs a strong support system in order to stay happy and healthy. This can include creating a mental stimulation calendar at work where employees plan mental well-being activities for themselves and their co-workers or mental health break groups where everyone gets together to meditate or take part in other mental stimulation exercises. Make daily connections with your co-workers. Remember that they are people too with exciting lives outside of the office. Talk with them. These mental health breaks will help everyone recharge and be ready for the next challenge.

4. Identify Mental Triggers at Work

Sometimes mental wellness can be difficult to achieve if you are surrounded by negative people, triggering events or stressful work environments that cause mental distress, mental illness or mental fatigue. It’s important to understand mental triggers at work and how each of these factors can influence mental wellness in the workplace. In some cases, it may be necessary to remove yourself from a triggering environment if you find that any one issue is causing mental distress over time –especially if mental health services are not offered at your workplace or mental breaks are not implemented.

5. Take Mental Health Days as Needed

Your mental health should never be compromised because of a job. However, mental wellness days aren’t commonplace. That’s okay. There are other ways to find time for yourself to relax and rejuvenate. Plan a couple of PTO days each year that are designated as your personal mental health breaks. Even if you just engage in a staycation, you will go back to the office feeling so much better. However, if your mental health is severely damaged from a toxic work culture, take a mental health day to look for other jobs. Chances are, your mental wellness will improve elsewhere.

Contact Mile High Psychiatry

Remember, mental wellness is about more than the absence of mental illness – it’s about achieving a balanced state where your mental health can thrive. If you suffer from mental illness, the providers at Mile High Psychiatry may be able to help. To learn more about our process or to request an appointment, contact us today.