The conversation around mental health and work has never been more topical as many professionals are adjusting to evolving job situations, and a blurred line between work and home with the uptick in remote positions. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, full-time employed Americans worked an average of 8.72 hours per day in 2021. With career-centric pursuits consuming so much of our waking hours, it’s imperative to consider how best to support our mental well-being at work and re-emphasize balance in modern work culture, both from the perspective of the employed and the employer. 

As a small business owner, corporate-style benefits packages through major carriers may be out of reach—but it doesn’t mean you can’t offer your employees meaningful care. With a little help from Dr. Kimberley Spair, a board-certified holistic health practitioner with a P.h.D in Holistic Health and Nutrition, we break down a few key ways to tailor a benefits package and create a culture that focuses on mental health, hinging on her expertise as both a health practitioner and business owner.

1. Focus on preventative medicine

While traditional models may rely heavily on symptomatic diagnosis, an alternative, holistic approach to dealing with stress, burnout, and the like is focusing on ways to mitigate it before it spirals out of control.

A package of this nature “...would educate employees on the benefits of meditation, mind-body tools, nutrition, sleep hygiene, and getting out in nature,” Spair shares. This approach continues to garner more mainstream appeal, emphasizing key daily practices that turn into habits for an enduring commitment to balance. Exposing the breadth of modalities available also empowers employees to explore (and hopefully commit to) whichever key practices resonate with them and their lifestyle, rather than prescribing a one-size-fits-all approach.

2. Encourage thoughtful breaks

Many of us have experienced the eerie sensation of sitting down at our desks in the wee morning hours, addressing a deluge of tasks and engaging in endless Zoom meetings, only to finally look up at the clock and realize we worked straight through lunch. Spair's recommendations? "Take small breaks throughout the day to ground in nature and dedicated 5-minutes to group meditation time. Try stepping away from the screen and focusing on healing foods for snacks and lunch."

It’s a fairly simple concept and not one that fits squarely within an official benefits package, but it cannot be overstated how far fostering a culture where these types of breaks are normalized can go. Even starting your meetings at 5 minutes past the hour can give everyone a much-needed breather.

Bottom line: It starts from the top to lead by example, and permits employees to reclaim small windows of time to check in with themselves.

3. Check-in frequently

All employees and businesses are different, and while it might be difficult to appease people 100% of the time, making sure your cohort has the opportunity to be heard is essential.

"Create a survey asking employees about their stress level—weekly,” Spair advises. A regular feedback loop ensures you have a pulse on what’s going on, and allows you to make informed decisions on if and how things should change. Taking time to poll employees on how best to support their mental well-being will also provide personalized data to inform your company’s benefits package. This type of alignment will ensure valuable resources and funds are being allocated correctly, in areas that employees value.

4. Rethink PTO

A standard interpretation of "Paid Time Off" (PTO) equates to vacation days. Updated thinking acknowledges that there’s a whole host of reasons why someone might need to take time away from work, mental health pursuits being a big one. Spair says you should be offering PTO for mental health days specifically, as well as allocating hours for wellness modalities such as meditation, EFT meridian tapping (for anxiety relief), nutrition counseling, and more.

More food for thought? If unlimited PTO is off the table, consider creating one consolidated bank of time off, rather than dictating what falls under “PTO” vs. "sick time." This broadens the lens and language around how employees think about and contextualize time off.

5. Offer ongoing educational resources

As we’ve come to know, there’s unfortunately not one quick fix when it comes to calibrating our mental health—it’s an enduring journey that requires commitment and can become tricky in our fast-paced world. Knowledge is power and equipping employees with ongoing resources allows them to fine-tune their practice and address evolving needs as their circumstances may change.

Spair encourages a focus “...on the dis-ease process and how so much of it is uniquely intertwined with a nervous system under pressure.“ The more we understand how external inputs affect our internal world, the more we can reorient our understanding of our experience. Education can take on the form of online subscriptions, guest speakers, training sessions, and beyond, pulsed at recurring increments to keep mental health top of mind and remind employees what they have access to.

For small business owners and employees alike, the internet can be an incredible resource. If these tips resonate with you, check out drkimberlyspair.com for more information on the intersection of nutrition, lifestyle, and emotional health.