Providing employees a chance to work in teams, and socialize during breaks actually increases productivity.
Today, we have a guest post from our colleague Deborah Kohl of Massachusetts.
Many people are surprised to learn that mental disability claims due to workplace stress are compensable by workers’ compensation. Unfortunately, claims like these are on the rise as people work longer hours and feel the pressure of an increasingly competitive working environment.
Recent studies on mental health and the workplace have led researchers to discover that, over time, conditions such as extended working hours and long periods of solitary work can lead to decreased productivity, anxiety, and even major depression.
Employers can create conditions that are more supportive of mental health by taking simple steps like allowing workers to take breaks where socializing is permitted.
While it may seem initially counter-intuitive, studies show that in the long run, policies like these can lead to a more productive workplace.
Here are a few tips workers can use to stay mentally healthy at work:
- Form friendships in the workplace. A positive relationship with even a single colleague can make a big difference in combating loneliness and depression. A friend at your office could provide an ear when you really need to release some steam or just take a mental break from an intense task.
- That said, make a distinction between work and leisure, and make time for social activities outside the workplace. Continue reading
Prior results do not guarantee outcomes.
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Today we’re featuring another guest post by our colleague Tom Domer of Wisconsin. Here Tom shares the legal tests that establish whether damages for mental injury will be awarded. For mental injuries following a physical injury, the standard is “Is the mental disability… related to the work injury?” For cases that don’t involve a physical injury, some states require that the stress that triggered the mental injury be extraordinary “beyond those stresses than the day to day emotional strain and tension which all employees must experience.” While these criteria can be difficult to meet, mental injuries are real and can be as debilitating as physical ones.