Counselling for Employees
The impact of mental health problems in the workplace has serious consequences not only for the individual but also for the productivity of the institute. Employees’ performances, rates of illness, absenteeism, accidents and staff income are all affected by employees’ mental health status. Study the following illustration from ILO: African Newsletter on Occupational Health and Safety, December 1999, 9(3):60-65.
Costs of occupational and work-related diseases
The consequences of mental health problems in the workplace include
1. Work performance
• Fall of efficiency and output;
• Increase in error rates;
• Increased amount of accidents;
• Poor decision-making;
• Decline in planning and control of work;
2. Absenteeism
• Increase in overall sickness absence, particularly frequent short periods of absence;
• Poor health (depression, stress, burnout);
• Physical conditions (heart disease, ulcers, sleeping disorders, skin rashes, headache, and backache)
3. Staff attitude and behaviour
• Loss of motivation and commitment
• Burnout
• Staff working increasingly long hours but for diminishing returns
• Poor timekeeping
• Labour turnover (particularly expensive for companies at top levels of management).
4. Relationships at work
• Tension and conflicts between colleagues;
• Poor relationships with clients;
• Increase in disciplinary problems.
What We can Do to Help
Employee counselling can do much to prevent the negative effects of stress at an individual level and at last at an organizational level.
What’s Involved
Employee counselling gives individuals a valuable opportunity to work through problems and stresses in a strictly confidential and supportive atmosphere. Employee Counselling is mainly done in group forms or individual depending on the preference and specific issues referred from employer or otherwise.
The number and frequency of meetings required will depend upon the nature of the perceived difficulty and the nature of the intervention needed.
The focus of counselling sessions is to encourage discussion of personal and work-related difficulties. This is often followed by the adoption of an active problem-solving approach to tackle the problems at hand.
Employee counselling can be a vehicle to provide help in an effective, practical way. It is through such help that individuals are motivated to understand and realize their own career potential, thus maximizing the chances of functioning in the best interests of the organization.
Our Counsellors can help with counsel and can provide a cost-effective employee counselling service.
Should you have any questions, or would like further information, in complete confidence and without obligation, our team and would be very happy to help.
Please contact us.