This World Mental Health Day, the Rocket CRM team reflect on the importance of fostering good mental health at work and shares their advice for a happy and balanced work environment. According to the Mental Health UK charity, “1 in 4 of us will experience a mental health problem each year.”
That is a stark and only too real statistic, and as the nation faces a growing national mental health crisis, we must all do what we can to change the narrative and remove the stigma around this topic. One way to begin this change is by having an open and honest dialogue, not just in our personal circles but our professional too. After all, for the majority of us, work is a place where we spend a great deal of our lives. So, it makes sense to make it an environment that positively impacts our well-being rather than erode it.
Mental health in the workplace
At times, any one of us can feel overwhelmed by pressure, deadlines, tasks, expectations, and never-ending demands. Unchecked, this can quickly, evolve into feelings of anxiety or depression. Especially, if we are experiencing pressures in other areas of our lives. One problem, layering up on another.
Combating stress and anxiety can be as simple as ensuring our colleagues know that if they are ever struggling, they just need to be open, without the fear of judgement. For larger organisations, it could be providing professional mental health support or introducing mental health champions. Whatever the steps, simply bringing the subject to the forefront and making it an open conversation is a massive step forward.
Rocket CRM team’s views on habits and practices for good mental health
The Rocket CRM team talk candidly about the measures they take individually, to ensure good mental health at work. What they have shared suggests you don’t need to jeopardize your well-being to achieve business success. In fact, as a fast-growing SME, they are proving that you can still grow a business, have a vision and be effective business people without compromising your mental well-being.
They suggest by focusing on the smaller things, maintaining perspective and looking after oneself, you become a more balanced, productive and happier employee. Resulting in a better level of service for the clients and that after all, is the point of the business – to deliver quality services to other businesses and charities.
Let’s see what they have to say…
Sandip Purewal
“Given the massive adjustments over the last 18 months with life and work, we have all had to evolve to manage our lifestyles and with it mental health too. I started with Rocket during the lockdown and it has been everything I expected from working in a new growing small business. Whilst I love a busy, challenging environment and learning new skills, I have to keep perspective and keep a check on my mental wellbeing. I have learnt to prioritise and organise my work better and this has helped. As a result, I enjoy my time at work and also family time outside of work.” Sandip Purewal, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Consultant.
Kyle McKie
“I think it’s also important to try to keep things in perspective. Sometimes it’s the small things that can play on my mind the most and I have to remind myself that often those things aren’t important. I try to remind myself with stressful situations that in 6 months we’ll all be joking and laughing about it. It’s also important (as everyone else has said) about trying to keep a good balance and don’t let work take over everything in our lives as it affects my family as well as me.” Kyle McKie, Director and Co-founder
Iain Wicks
“I agree entirely that a good balance of challenge, stress, work, relaxation and fun is important in, not just at work, but our lives in general. For the first two and a half years of Rocket CRM, Kyle and I were running ourselves into the ground working from 8 am to 6 pm without taking breaks throughout the day. We were frequently working weekends too, writing blog posts and doing admin.
Once we decided to stop halfway through the day and take a break, our mental health improved significantly and we became more productive.
I like to go for a walk at lunchtime and listen to music. Music is very important to me and I find it a great way to unwind and lose myself.” Iain Wicks, Director and Co-founder.
Dirk Cuthbertson
“I think kindness is important, and in the context of your mental health, I mean being kind to yourself. If I find negative thoughts or doubts creeping in, I try to imagine what I would say to someone else if they raised the same concerns with me in the same context. I think most people would be far kinder to others than they would themselves in the same circumstances; it’s good to challenge these things by shifting your perspective in this way.” Dirk Cutherberston, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Consultant.
Natalie Silva
“Personally, I feel it comes down to balance and having the right mixture of work and mental challenges versus personal life. But also ensuring you have enough of the little things that bring you joy and laughter throughout the day so that when it’s time to get some serious work done, it’s delivered with ease, clarity, and focus. Making you more productive and effective.” Natalie Silva, Head of Marketing.
This candid conversation from the team shows that by cultivating a positive work culture, where balance, perspective and support is encouraged, the team as a whole works more effectively and with ease. And it’s this open and honest way of doing business that has contributed to their continuing success in the CRM market.
There will always be challenging moments at work, and how we are supported and are guided through them can make a world of difference to the way we react and step up to those challenges. Caring for ourselves and others is not only a kinder way to be but also makes for more engaged and effective employees, which has a positive impact on service delivery.
World Mental Health Day, which falls on the 10th of October each year, is an international day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy against social stigma.
ABOUT ROCKET CRM
Rocket CRM is a Microsoft Dynamics 365, and a platinum Click accredited partner, helping small to medium-sized businesses and charities harness the power of scalable CRM technology. Our mission is to make powerful CRM software simple with custom-built, user-focused solutions.
Website: rocketcrm.co.uk
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