It’s a concerning fact that work-related stress is still one of the most common contributors to poor mental health in the UK.
In recent years, many on-it organisations have begun to realise how vital positive mental health is for their employees and their business. MHFA (Mental Health First Aid) England states that, since the pandemic, over 80% of businesses now place an emphasis on employee mental health.
Many employees struggled to re-access the workplace since coming off furlough, some preferring remote working to the office environment, and some simply feel better for not having a stressful daily commute.
But even though more importance is now placed on mental health, 50% of employees still admit to experiencing poor mental health caused by their work situation, with 46% of employees also admitting that they still go to work even though they feel unable to fulfill their role due to poor mental health.
What are the Symptoms?
As an employer, it is vital to facilitate regular opportunities for employees to discuss any work or personal concerns they may have, that could impact how they carry out their work, and how they feel about themselves.
Symptoms of poor mental health can include the following: anxiety, depression, feelings of guilt, a lack of energy or interest in life, and total or partial social withdrawal.
With one in six working-age people in the UK currently experiencing symptoms of poor mental health, what can employers do to be proactive, preventative, and productive when it comes to boosting employee mental health in the workplace?
Support Comes with COPE
One simple gesture could be COPE (corporate-owned, personally enabled) devices. COPE is a business model whereby an organisation provides its employees with mobile devices to use both personally and professionally.
COPE can help to support and empower employees to cope with the aspects of life that can affect their mental health in a negative way.
The Benefits of COPE
Financial Benefits
No one will deny that money worries are often right up there in the top three of things we regularly worry about. By providing your employees with COPE devices, you can reduce this worry by saving them money on both upfront and monthly mobile contract costs, whilst at the same time reducing business corporation tax and claiming back the VAT. Often a business acquiring devices in bulk for their workforce, will receive a substantial discount from a competitive supplier.
Encourage a Work/Life Balance
Many of us ‘bring our work home with us’ – or rather we ‘carry it home with us’ on our personal devices, meaning the line between work and home can become blurred. A COPE device can give an employee the chance to truly switch off from work-related calls or emails, by literally switching off their COPE devices when not at work, but still keeping their personal lines of communication open.
Save Time
Employees who use their personal mobile devices for work are usually required to submit monthly expenses claims to their employer, in order to be reimbursed for the cost of business calls, etc. Provide your employees with COPE devices and save them unnecessary time and admin pressures by taking away their need to pick through their personal bills and make monthly expense claims.
Promote Job Satisfaction
By adopting the COPE business model, you can ensure that all your employees have the most up-to-date devices and software to carry out their roles from day one. Job satisfaction can come with always having the right tools for the job, and from the knowledge that your employer is always going to provide them.
Provide consistency and compatibility across your business by installing all COPE devices with a selection of default company apps. Installing vital apps such as word processing, voice recording, PDF scanners, etc, plus work-specific apps, can make everyone’s job more rewarding, save valuable time, and reduce stress. When it comes to COPE devices, business apps will always take storage priority, resulting in devices that are more efficient and reliable.
Reduce Personal Responsibility
Take on the responsibility of mobile device data security and give your employees peace of mind to store and transfer data securely. With data security being so business-vital, the COPE device model will ensure that your IT department has jurisdiction over security and virus software on all COPE devices – peace of mind for everyone.
Furthermore, if an employee should leave your business, or accidentally lose a device, IT will have the ability to clean that device of sensitive data.
Boost Mental Health
We are all aware of the strong link between physical health and mental health. With COPE, businesses can use corporate devices to encourage their employees to follow a healthier lifestyle, by installing lifestyle apps, such as fitness and nutrition apps. With all team members having the same lifestyle apps on their COPE devices, health data can be shared and compared, and a collective drive to improve health and fitness can be achieved across the business. This collective health drive can also encourage communication and positive relations between team members.
Having COPE devices across the business also removes any likelihood of resentment between colleagues, who may feel technologically neglected compared to other team members.
How does COPE help Employees COPE?
The COPE business model can have many mental health benefits for your business, improving employee job satisfaction, reducing sick leave, and improving productivity.
COPE devices can save your employees money and time, reduce their security responsibilities, ensure they always have the most up-to-date devices, software, and apps, and promote communication and collective positive lifestyle drives across your business – all contributing to an improvement in the mental health of your team.
The COPE business model can provide a stronger sense of job security and trust within the business. Furthermore, providing your employees with COPE devices can help to make them feel more valued by the business.
It’s true: everyone likes a perk, or two!
Support your team with COPE…
