Fostering a supportive and mentally healthy workplace is more crucial than ever in today’s demanding world of work. To create this type of environment, organizations must prioritize mental health, prevent mental harm and build resilience.
Resilience, a cornerstone of mental health programs, is a trainable skill that empowers employees to face workplace challenges and deal with adversity effectively. Employees who cultivate resilience through mental fitness practices are more likely to make decisions that positively impact their mental health and the well-being of colleagues.
One effective strategy for boosting resilience and mental health is leveraging the Five Es when designing or evaluating resilience training programs.
Introducing the Five Es
Resilience programs often focus on the individual, overlooking the broader context of their experiences and actions. A solid program will recognize all of the factors influencing employees’ mental outlook.
The Five Es take these factors into account. They are evidence-based pillars that influence an individual’s ability to cope with stress and adversity.
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Energy: This pillar focuses on micro-skills such as exercise, diet, sleep, hydration, and physical health, which directly influence energy levels. Educating employees about these factors can help them understand and manage energy effectively. With this knowledge as the foundation, employees can make better decisions and build healthy lifestyle habits.
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Emotions: This pillar focuses on the role and value of developing emotional literacy to maintain well-being. When employees understand how to regulate emotions under pressure, they are less likely to rely on at-risk coping mechanisms, such as overeating, gambling and excessive drinking.
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Experiences: By focusing on experiences, employees can become more self-aware and build their understanding of how life experiences and daily interactions influence well-being, self-esteem and decision-making. Understanding the impact of critical incidents and trauma promotes help-seeking behaviours in times of need.
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Expectations: This pillar provides insight into how the human body and brain typically respond to fear and stress and how conscious and unconscious thoughts can create faulty beliefs and lead to ineffective life decisions. The aim is to teach employees how to form healthy cognitive skills to approach challenging life goals and manage expectations, Addressing financial health when framing expectations for well-being under this pillar is prudent.
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Environment: This pillar ensures employees understand how community, home and work environments can support or drain an individual’s mental health. It reinforces the importance of making healthy, meaningful and authentic connections and choices in one’s personal and professional lives.
The workplace environment plays a role in predicting employees’ mental charges and drains. By comprehensively addressing all pillars, you can empower employees. As they develop knowledge, skills, habits, and understanding of each pillar’s importance they will become more resilient and set up to flourish.
Commit to continuous improvement
When developing mental health resiliency programs, it’s essential to foster learning and behavioural change. The Plan-Do-Check-Act framework, promoted by the CSA Z1003 Psychological Health and Safety Standard, supports this by incorporating ongoing evaluation and measurement of employees’ experiences and behaviours.
Regular program assessments will reveal whether a program is working for all groups. By enhancing and tweaking programs to meet the needs of all employees, and regularly providing opportunities for learning and skill building, you will equip individuals in your workplace with the tools to replace old, undesirable habits with new healthy alternatives.
Set your team up to thrive in our complex world of work
The world is not going to become less complex. Supporting employees with training based on the Five Es will enhance well-being, retention, and engagement. You can help them feel better equipped to deal with the complexities of modern worklife while sustaining a productive and effective work environment.
Get to know the authors – Dr. Bill Howatt
Anne Cesak : July 16, 2024
Dr. Bill Howatt