How to Help Employees With Anxiety

Supporting Employees Dealing with Anxiety

Mental health days. The Sunday Scaries. Work/life balance. After decades of being largely ignored, anxiety and mental health are finally at the forefront of the conversations related to the workplace. In 2024, everything from employee benefits to corporate gifts should be more geared toward stress management and creating an empathetic company culture.

Managing employees with anxiety requires special care and effort. Employers should strive to create an environment where there are no “Sunday Scaries.” That is, where workers aren’t panicking at the idea of starting a work week.

In this article, we’ll explore strategies and ideas for how to help employees with anxiety. Plus, we’ll share our top choices for stress-relieving products to give as your custom logo-branded employee gifts.

How Many Employees Have Anxiety?

Anxiety and debilitating stress are not uncommon problems. In fact, they likely affect a huge number of people on your team. The American Institute of Stress offers these statistics:

83% of employees have work-related stress
25% say that work is the top stressor in their lives
50% of workers experience a loss of engagement and productivity due to stress

Additionally, the National Institute of Mental Health reports that “an estimated 31.1% of U.S. adults experience any anxiety disorder at some time in their lives,” with over 19% experiencing one in any given year.

Why Support Team Members With Anxiety

Of course, the top reason for supporting employees with anxiety is simple: it’s the right thing to do Your team members dedicate a large portion of their time and energy to your organization. The best bosses see it as their duty to help their workers achieve happiness and balance.

As mentioned above, a quarter of employees say that their jobs are the top cause of stress in their lives. For an employee who has an anxiety disorder, this work stress can cause physical symptoms such as a racing heartbeat, sweating, and shortness of breath.

The result of all this anxiety? Stressed-out employees are less productive, are less engaged, have higher absenteeism, and are more likely to look for a different job. All of these results are costly to your company, in both time and money.

Additionally, investment in stress management will not only help your employees in 2024, but it will also help the bottom line of your business.

How to Support Team Members with Anxiety

The causes and symptoms of workplace anxiety are complex. You may be wondering how a manager can best support their employees who are stressed out, burned out, or experiencing a mental health disorder. While there is no magic bullet, below are a few tips to start alleviating workplace stress:

Set Clear Expectations - According to the mental health website VeryWellMind, “When it’s not clear to workers how to succeed, it’s harder for them to be confident, enjoy their work, and feel they’re doing a good job.” When managing employees with anxiety, clear and consistent expectations help reduce stress levels, because team members know what to expect at work each day.
Be an Active Listener - Active listening is when you provide your full attention to what your employee is saying, without interruptions or distractions. When you regularly engage this skill with your team members, they will feel more at ease and supported. And even better? Make sure you always follow up on any concerns they express.
Respect Work Hours - Be clear with your employees that you do not expect them to check emails or be on call when they’re off the clock. Support this culture by only sending them emails during normal business hours. If you think of something you need to send late at night, schedule the email to send during the work day. Additionally, keep schedules to no more than 40 hours a week as much as possible.
Get Educated on the Signs and Symptoms - Educate yourself on how to identify employees who may need some extra support. Symptoms include higher absenteeism, a shift toward negative thoughts, increased errors, and lower productivity. If you have employees who have disclosed an anxiety disorder, you can ask them if there are symptoms they are willing to share.
Build Trust With Your Employees - Work to create an environment where your employees know they can talk to you when they’re feeling overwhelmed. Implement an open-door policy and, more importantly, actually mean it. When your office is a stigma-free zone, your employees won’t have to hide their struggles. Instead, they can work with management to overcome them.
Put New Policies in Place - Be proactive and create policies that will prevent and alleviate burnout. Jobs platform Indeed suggests providing mental health training for managers, increasing flexibility, and allowing telework. Employers should also make it clear that occasional mental health days are an appropriate use of sick leave.
Give Gifts to Show Your Care - Corporate gifting is an important part of showing your appreciation for your team members. When you choose stress-relieving custom gifts, you reinforce the message that you care about their health and wellness.

Gift Ideas for Employees with Anxiety

Merchology can add your logo to a wide variety of high-quality branded products that your employees will love. Wellness-focused gifts are one small, but important, strategy in learning how to help employees with anxiety.

Here are some of our favorite stress-relieving custom gifts:

Custom Primeline Brown Football Squish Stress Reliever

Custom SnugZ Lavender Essential Oil in 10 mL Roller Bottle

Custom SnugZ Tranquility Ultimate Spa Set in Cardboard Gift Box

Contact Us

Still wondering how you, as a manager, can use corporate gifts to support anxious team members? Contact Merchology today, and we can help with more ideas for gifts that promote relaxation and wellness.