From Burnout to Bliss: How Workplace Counseling Can Transform Work Life?

The typical environment of any workplace often remains chaotic. Employees deal with a multitude of challenges at work:

• tight deadlines
• conflicts with peers
• fulfilling the management's expectations

Amidst all this, they may end up with chronic stress and anxiety, leaving them burnt out. Almost, 1 in 6 people (14.7%) experience mental health problems in the workplace.

As a result, their work performance dwindles. To combat this, workplace counseling is something every employer should offer their employees. Infact about 88 percent of businesses in the United Kingdom avail counselling services.

So, are you considering workplace counseling to boost employee morale and wellness? This blog covers all that you need to know about workplace counseling.

Let's begin with the key takeaways.

What is workplace counseling?

Counseling is a talking therapy in which distressed individuals share their thoughts with a professional. The process helps individuals sort out the thoughts bothering them. They seek ways to process them in a healthy manner.

Counseling sessions are confidential and unjudged. However, there is a certain taboo related to it. Because expressing one's mental health is often seen as a weakness.

This is where counselors play a significant role. They can help stop the stigma around mental health counseling. Also, when promoting mental wellness in the workplace, encourage everyone to share about their mental health.

What are the different types of workplace counseling services?

Workplace counseling services are generally available in three forms:

Employee assistance program: Employee assistance programs are outsourced. These offer confidential and short-term counseling services to distressed employees. EAPs include crisis intervention services like:

• cognitive behavioral techniques
• active listening
• psychological first aid

In-house counseling: This type of counseling service is convenient for employees who require urgent therapy sessions. In-house counseling service means the organization hires a counselor who will be available during work hours as and when needed. The downside is that it may not be cost-effective for small companies.

Specialist solutions: This type of service involves the introduction of an online therapy platform, providing mental health resources and even access to certain wellness apps like Vantage Fit that offer mindfulness features like meditation sessions, yoga sessions, etc.

Suggested reading: Top 50 Employee Mental Health Survey Questions for 2024

How does workplace counseling work?

The entire point of offering workplace counseling is that employees get a safe space to seek support and help in times of need. To make the counseling successful, the management must assure employees of its necessity and effectiveness. Well, this is more of a continuous effort for management to make.

Let's look into how employee counseling usually works.

• Distressed employees seek support.

Employee(s) needing counseling will first connect with the counselor. It may be through a website, helpline number, or online session.

Note that distressed employees may not always proactively seek help due to the stigma. Such individuals may require a push to receive the help they need. Colleagues who work closely with them or managers can refer them to counseling sessions.

• The employee undergoes an assessment

After connecting with the counseling service, the employee undergoes an assessment. The assessment helps the counselor to understand the employee's turmoil.

Accordingly, they can design counseling sessions for the individual.

• The counselling sessions begin

Typically, employee counseling focuses on stress management, communication skills, coping mechanisms, conflict resolution, and mental health concerns. After the assessment, the counselor sets the number of sessions necessary for the distressed individual.

What are the benefits of workplace counseling?

Workplace counseling, if done right, is seen to have wondrous benefits for both employees and employers. Here are some benefits worth mentioning:

Employee Benefits:

1. Better Mental Health: Counseling offers a secure setting for discussing issues that arise in both personal and professional life. The process helps lower stress and anxiety levels and enhances general well-being.

2. Enhanced Work Performance: Employees who receive mental health treatment report feeling more focused, productive, and capable of making better decisions.

3. Better Relationships: Counseling improves the communication skills that are essential to handle interpersonal disputes. Employees can also strengthen their ability to forge closer bonds with coworkers.

4. Decreased Absenteeism: Employees are less likely to miss work from illnesses related to stress when underlying concerns are addressed.

Employer benefits:

1. Improved Staff Retention: It helps foster a supportive and healthy work environment. Also, employees always value organizations that value their well-being. This allows employers to draw and retain top talent in the organization.

2. Improved Employee Morale: With the successful introduction of counseling in the workplace, employees will feel supported. This, in turn, will increase work engagement and satisfaction.

3. Decreased Healthcare Costs: Proactively addressing mental health concerns through counseling can help reduce the expenses linked to stress induced illness and absenteeism.

4. Enhanced Employer Brand: Providing counseling services paints a positive picture of the employer's dedication to employee well-being. This further helps attract and retain top talent in the industry.

Disadvantages of workplace counseling

1. Confidentiality Concerns: Although counseling sessions are confidential, some employees will always show reluctance to seek support. The reason is societal stigma.

2. Program Utilization: There is a fixed notion linked to mental health support systems being unreliable and inconsistent. This is a challenge since employees will be unwilling to utilize the program.

3. Cost Considerations: The cost of the programs may not align with the financial budget of small-sized organizations.

What are the various workplace counseling techniques?

There are numerous techniques that counselors can enforce depending on the employees' requirements. Let's look into the most used employee counseling techniques:

1. Solution-focused technique:

Usually, while handling cases in the workplace, experts use a solution-based technique. This is because solution-based counseling techniques allow for instant and short-term intervention.

2. Cognitive Restructuring:

Cognitive restructuring is popularly known as cognitive behavioral technique. Here, the counselor helps the patient identify and rewire unhealthy thought patterns into healthier ones.

3. Critical incident stress management (CISM):

Critical incident stress management is an intervention wherein the counselor pacifies an employee in an escalated situation. In CISM, employee(s) receive support based on the event's severity that led to their distress. Psychotherapy is one commonly used technique as part of CISM.

4. Psychodynamic:

This technique allows the distressed person to understand their past and how it affects their current behavior and mood. The fact is that past events in our lives affect how we view the world at present.

So, the occurrence of any strong, negative events in one’s past can indirectly affect their emotional state moving ahead. This may cause such people to act out.

Psychodynamic technique is one way how therapists can help understand such past events and its effects on emotions

5. Relaxation Techniques:

Relaxation techniques help employees manage stress and anxiety in their hands. Some techniques worth mentioning are:

• mindful meditation
• deep breathing exercises
• progressive muscle relaxation
• guided imagery

How do you introduce office counseling into your team?

1. Create a transparent communication tactic: Use internal communication channels and organize training sessions to educate members about the counseling services and their benefits.

2. Encourage a Well-Being Culture: Nurture your employees' mindset to embrace a healthier lifestyle. Encourage them to seek help in times of distress at work. Keep a space dedicated to whoever must take some moments alone while at work.

3. Ensure employees about its confidentiality: Emphasize the privacy policy of counseling. And ensure it is safe for them to share without hesitation.

Now, let's see what counseling an employee in the workplace involves and looks like.

How to counsel an employee in the workplace?

The average employee spends at least 8 to 9 hours at the office daily. Being human, it is natural for employees to feel blue or worse mentally sometimes while at work. Here are some tips for coworkers and managers if they must counsel someone urgently:

1. Be a Listening Ear (and Heart):

It might sound simple, but simply listening to an individual is the key to comforting them. Give the employee your undivided attention. Let them know you are all ears without judgment.

2. Empathy is the best medicine

As you listen to their story, try to put yourself in their shoes. Try to understand their side of the story and what they are going through emotionally and mentally. You can use phrases like "That sounds difficult" to comfort them momentarily.

3. Ask Open-Ended Questions:

As you listen to your colleague's woes, don't jump to conclusions or offer unsolicited advice. Instead, you can ask questions, allowing them to share more about their troubles.

4. Offer Resources, Not Just Sympathy:

Inform your distressed peer about available resources, including counseling. You can also offer suggestions for stress management techniques or relevant internal support groups.

How effective is workplace counseling?

According to studies, over half of individuals who receive counseling can have a healthier mental health functioning. Research suggests workplace counseling programs can lower employee sick leave rates by 25–50%.

Statistics cite the efficacy of workplace counseling. However, it is also crucial to understand that despite learning the benefits of counseling, not all employees will seek support.

This is where the creativity and supportive behavior of the management and even coworkers come in. Everyone should practice highlighting how counseling is beneficial in the workplace.

After all, the willingness to help, support, and even own up to one's emotional joyride at work can do wonders.

Final Words

If you are thinking about stepping up in the workplace wellness game, you are on the right track.

Prioritizing mental well-being in the workplace is how employers create a healthy work environment. And workplace counseling offers a win-win situation for both employees and employers.

Just imagine the ripple effect! A workplace where employees feel supported can lead to a more positive and collaborative environment.