The Value of Good Mental Health & Sense of Belonging

As we come into the colder months of the year, mental health can be impacted for many individuals. We’re sure you hear it all the time but mental health is so incredibly important. Having good mental health can change your life and your work for the better.

Why is mental health so important? Why is belonging so important?

Mental health has one of the biggest influences for our overall quality of life. It can determine how we rationalize things, deal with emotions, and contributes to our everyday behaviors. Additionally, physical health is not entirely separate from mental health. When you have poor mental health, there are usually physical health conditions that arise from them as well.

Having a sense of belonging also plays a huge role in mental health. In 1995, Professor Roy Baumeister and Professor Mark Leary wrote a paper called “The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation.” This paper focused heavily on belonging and even labeled it as a fundamental human need. Belonging also factors into our ability to form relationships, which is just as vital to our human needs. If we don’t feel we fit in, we aren’t likely to reach out and form meaningful relationships, which in turn, effects our mental health negatively. Moreover, belonging can affect self-esteem. In some cases, this low self-esteem, again, affects the ability to make social connections. Overall, mental health and the essential need for belonging, can drastically improve or impair your day to day life.

What benefits does belonging & good mental health for employees bring to business?

Since mental health is everywhere in life, it is evident that it influences work as well. In a 2020 study done by Qualtrics, only 20% who feel they don’t belong are engaged whereas 91% of employees are engaged when they feel they do belong. This is a monumental difference in terms of engagement and employee engagement leads to better work overall. For one, it creates higher productivity and boosts employee retention. “Workplace belonging leads to a 56% increase in job performance, a 50% reduction in turnover risk, and a 75% decrease in employee sick days,” according to a 2021 study from BetterUp. In the same study, those who feel they belong the most, are more intent on staying in the business by 34%. Another way employee engagement benefits business is from customer experiences, sales, and profits. There is a 10% difference in (positive) customer ratings according to research done by Gallup. From this same research, there is 18% difference in (increased) sales which lead to a 23% increase in profits.

When employees suffer from poor mental health, they are more likely to suffer from physical ailments which also contributes to employee absenteeism. Furthermore, poor mental health results in worse decision making, bad concentration, and can increase stress from any pressure at work. Although pressure can sometimes be a motivator, when pressure is too high or has gone on too long, this creates stress and burnout instead. Not having a balanced work-home life can cause stress to manifest with outward discontent to coworkers, discouragement from work, and overall dissatisfaction with the company. Although it may not be the company’s fault, this can still reflect poorly on you as a business.

Some ways to aid in employee mental health for the better

One of the optimal ways to promote good mental health in the workplace is through workplace culture. One way to do this is by giving the space for everyone’s personality to shine. When an individual has the opportunity to share personal life details (whether that’s things they love, their background, challenges and victories, or just general life stories), they gain a deeper feeling of belonging and closeness to the company or others within it. Another way to create a positive workplace culture is having a proficient leader. They are an invaluable asset to the team when they give space for employees to approach them with problems unbiasedly and truly hear them out. When employees can give feedback and receive acknowledgement in a positive manner, it gives a sense of value and belonging. On top of this, having a great leader gives way for coworkers to have better relationships with one another. nn We all know that first impressions are paramount and onboarding new employees is no different. As a test (before being widely introduced into their company), Microsoft buddied up 600 new employees when hired. This trial found that having a buddy helped employees to become more productive quicker, were happier with the onboarding process, and automatically felt more supported by their manager and team. The buddy system could also be beneficial for younger employees (or those with little/no work experience) because they are not alone and have assistance in understanding the expectations of them.

Mental health is significant

Mental health plays a role in every part of life. It has benefits for your everyday happiness and for business as well. Remember to always be kind to everyone and have empathy for those who may be going through something. You don’t always see everything and it is important to treat others how you would want to be treated. (If you or someone you know is struggling, here is a list of mental health hotlines. You are strong, you are loved, so please take care of yourself.)

Collectivism & Individualism in Business

Workplace culture is the beliefs and attitudes of the environment when working in your business. Different companies may have different cultures and within these cultures lies individualist and collectivism, or even a hybrid of these two cultures.

What are Collectivism and Individualist cultures in the workplace?

Collectivism is focused on seeing everyone as a team. Its focus is on accomplishments and needs as a group over that of an individual. Everyone on the team is rewarded for the success they have, or on the opposite end, equally at fault for any mistakes.

On the other end of collectivism is individualist culture. It is also known as organizational individualism. This type of culture emphasizes each individual person – meaning that the individual who succeeded/failed will be praised/punished.

In what ways are these beneficial? Which one should I choose?

Each culture has its upsides and downsides. Looking at collectivism first, one benefit is that employees are more likely to form deeper relationships with their co-workers as they are always working together. Additionally, employees in this environment may be more selfless because their actions directly impact others (for better or worse). This culture tends to have stronger qualities like: honesty, empathy, cooperation, and communication. A drawback of collectivism is that there may be less initiative and expression from employees since their individual work is not typically celebrated, and there’s more priority on compliance & agreement.

Moving to organizational individualism, the biggest plus is creativity. When each employee is able to come up with their own ideas, this can improve innovation and thus impacts performance, for the better, within the company. Organizational individualism can also make employees feel better about themselves and their work. By having a personal influence in their projects, it gives more freedom and makes them more comfortable. As well as comfortability and better performance, when an individual is rewarded personally, it makes them feel good about all the hard-work they’ve put in and may push them to strive for even more. Some disadvantages of this culture could be: slow or hard to make changes, added stress, or more tension with others at times.

There is no solid answer for what is better for every business. Depending on the type of business you run, it may be more beneficial to fall on one side or the other. For example, if you work in the technology industry and you’re trying to create the next best thing, or simply trying to find a way to better streamline things, it would probably be in your best interest to have a more individualist culture because this culture typically breeds more creativity and self-motivation per each individual. Keep in mind that there are other factors that may naturally influence these two cultures in your business. These could include: leadership style, employee diversity (meaning background and previous experience), performance measurement, and company goals & structure. Overall, the way you build your business impacts the workplace culture. (Check out Building Your Business for Success for more tips on building up your business!)

Both Workplace Cultures are Good

Although these two workplace cultures fall on opposite ends, many businesses have a hybrid of these two. By understanding these two workplace cultures, you can help your business have a better work culture and improve on what’s important as a team and individuals!

Building Your Business for Success

A study by Guidant shows that a little less than ⅓ of business owners said that their biggest motivation for starting a business is that they are ready to be their own boss. If you’ve decided that you want to open your own business, there are numerous ways to create a successful business, but the first place to start is defining success for you.

What does success mean to you? How do you create a successful starting ground for your business?

When first thinking of creating a business, many of us have different motivating reasons why but, of course, we all want to be successful. Success for many of us means profit but success could also mean you want to help people (solve problems) or you’re extremely passionate about sharing your hobby with others. Defining success for you is the first step in creating value in your business. This is a critical step because knowing what success means to you allows you to focus your time and energy on what matters most (to you). Even with our different definitions of success, there are quite a few things that help make a business successful.

For starters, have a strong business idea. You will want to pick a good, niche thing in your industry of choice. This means picking something that isn’t too specific nor too broad. Digging deep and learning more about your niche may help you to decide what exactly you are putting into the market to help everyone and allows you to become more knowledgeable in your future business overall. Furthermore, bear in mind the current market demand for your product/service. (Does your target audience want/need this? Is the market already over-saturated with this?) When you have a general concept of what your business idea is, consider talking to your friends and family. They may give you valuable feedback that is more suitable and aid in looking at the possible faults of your idea. After you’ve solidified what your business idea is, be sure not to over-sell your product/service. Over-selling could mean falsely advertising things your product doesn’t actually do or setting a bar too high and going over your area of (current) expertise. Also, set clear policies for everyone. By doing this from the beginning, it can reduce confusion for everyone and protect you from potential conflict down the road.

Defining success & having a solid, concrete idea is just the beginning of owning a business. Even though there are many factors in the success of a business, there are plenty of ways to make your business shine!

Business building tips for success

As is life, there are many factors outside of our control that can influence the success of our business. By being proactive to these outside influences, you can enhance your business for success. To begin, your leadership and the team behind you are vital. As a business owner, be sure to practice intentional kindness. A good leader is kind as well as honest, transparent, and genuine. Kindness plays into how customers perceive your business as well as employee morale. (Refer to Kindness & Its Value In Your Business as we covered more about kindness & the value it brings to your business!) When you are a great leader, your team benefits, too. As we covered in Well Put-Together Teams & Their Significance, having a high quality team boosts profit, productivity, and helps all business relationships flourish!

The next essential part of your business are the customers. When handling customers, remember that you are the leading expert in your business, so be sure to look at your products/services from their point of view. Understanding where a customer is coming from can mitigate any challenges that may come up. Although you should try your best to solve any issues before they reach the customer, it is inevitable that problems will arise from time to time. Spending time to make sure employees are especially equipped to deal with customers can create a better experience for everyone involved. Additionally, if an employee brings feedback about the customer service back to you, truly hear them out and take action to resolve the issue so it doesn’t happen again. Another way to enhance the customer experience is connecting with them via gifts (like nice baskets from your business or a simple hand-written thank you) because this creates a personal connection and makes the customer feel even more significant to your business. Finally, who doesn’t love a great deal? Hosting deals like BOGO (Buy one get one free), having a free trial period, and creating loyalty or referral programs incentivizes customers to spread the word about your business and be rewarded for it.

Moving to our next point, make sure your business reflects you as a person. Your morals should clearly be reflected in the company and your personality should radiate through! An impactful way to show who you are through your business is in your advertising and marketing. By being authentic in your social media posts, those who resonate with your morales will be more drawn to your business – attracting them and possibly others to your business. In addition to original content, try to include more than just ads or promotions. Having segments where you give something, like a guide to a monthly calendar if you’re in the fitness industry or a weekly column where you write up advice in your industry, can make your social media more appealing. Additionally, in our digital world, traditional marketing is often getting left behind. In a 2017 study by MarketingSherpa, consumers were asked what ads they trust the most. The top scoring categories include: print ads (82%), TV ads (80%), mailer ads (76%), radio ads (71%), and ads in public places (like billboards or posters) (69%) while the lowest scoring ones include: online pop-ups (25%), podcast ads (37%), and mobile phone ads (39%). This goes to show that traditional marketing is still as beneficial as digital marketing! For more tips on how to market yourself and your business digitally, you can refer to one of our previous monthly blogs: Advertising & Marketing For You and Your Business.

Taking on a new business can be daunting and overwhelming by yourself. Although it is often appealing to independent business owners to do everything themself, (to try to save money), it is in one’s best interest to hire others to ease the load. Besides employees of course, an accountant can be a valuable asset for your business. Accountants guide you in the right direction to make your company more financially well-off. They have detailed experience and save you time by being precise and accurate when it comes to reporting, doing the finances for you (instead of you doing everything yourself), and creating a budget/ plan to put you in the best financial state. In our previous monthly blogs, we cover the differences between CPAs, accountants, and bookkeepers (Accountants vs. CPAs vs. Bookkeepers) more in depth and how to find the right accountant (Accountant Lingo & Finding the Right Accountant). Additionally, don’t shy away from receiving coaching from other successful business owners in your industry. In a study from the Small Firms Economic Development Initiative, 70% of small businesses that received mentorship from experienced business owners survive their first year in comparison to 35% those who do not receive the same type of mentorship.

When others help you in your business, it grants you more time for yourself. Frequently, as an independent business owner, free time is seen as more time to generate more sales. While this is not necessarily false, it is imperative to take time for yourself outside of work. A common quote in the self-care world is, “You can’t pour from an empty cup,” and this means that you can’t take care of everyone else (everything else) unless you take care of yourself first. Additional time for yourself doesn’t have to be staying at home watching TV/playing games all day, it could also look like discovering new hobbies outside of work which could, in turn, expand your network even further. When you are well rested and have a good work-life balance, it, naturally, makes you happier. Happiness is Essential in Work because it motivates you, makes others see you as a better leader, and has a direct effect on employee health and productivity.

Business Success has many Factors

The world is ever-changing and this includes your business as well. Take care to always adapt to new employee & customer feedback and keep up with new trends in your industry. A successful business is created from a culmination of many different factors but by being well-prepared and adaptable to the world around you, you can create a successful business!