Factors Affecting Mental Health

Mental health is affected by a number of factors, including stress, diet, sleep, and exercise. While stress in small doses can actually improve workplace performance, severe or prolonged stress can have significant negative effects. A paper by Park [2] states that significant workplace stress affects mental and physical health and also leads to workers being unhealthy, unmotivated, less productive, and less safe at work. From a mental health standpoint, severe stress can negatively impact personal relationships and leads to irritability, sleep disruptions, and concentration difficulties. In some circumstances, high-stress levels are even linked to an individual developing a diagnosable mental illness [3].
It should be noted that there is a whole body of literature showing that healthy behaviors (e.g., exercise, meditation, a healthy diet, and better sleep quality) positively affect mental health. While I agree that healthy behaviors should be promoted, employers are often too quick to push a yoga class on their employees rather than address the systemic issues causing poor mental health in the workplace. Admittedly, there is no quick fix that can solve a toxic work environment. In this article, I will focus on the workplace policies and culture that negatively impact mental health (e.g., that are sources of workplace stress) and offer suggestions on how these issues can be overcome.