Best Mental Health Activities For Workplace

Did you know that May is Mental Health Awareness Month? Millions of people live with mental illness issues and have to deal with different problems in their personal lives or workplace.

There is a great chance that people experience or be affected by some sort of workplace mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety. 

Therefore, it is important to talk about these problems at work and organize a plan to reduce mental health illness among employees.

In this article, we gathered the top 33 mental health activities for the workplace that help both employees and employers work in a healthy environment that helps them better manage their stress and increase their productivity.

Definition of Mental Health in the Workplace

Simply put, mental health is a state of well-being in which people are able to handle daily stressful situations, reach their full potential, show up to work more energetically, etc.

Note that physical health and social well-being are essential components of overall mental health for everyone.

Having good mental health is vital for all employees because having poor mental health can directly affect their concentration, performance, and productivity, while proper mental health helps them work and perform better. To alleviate additional stress, services like AR recovery services can be beneficial.

Benefits of Participating In Workplace Mental Health Activities 

The most important benefit of having mental health activities in the workplace is that it shows how much you care about your employees’ mental health.

However, there are other advantages, including:

• These activities positively affect team members’ physical health
• They increase employee engagement and productivity 
• They are a great way to reduce work-related stress
• Employees feel more comfortable to ask for help when needed

These are some of the common advantages of participating in and organizing workplace mental health activities; always keep in mind that investing in workplace well-being has countless benefits that help you in many ways.

Top 35 Mental Health Activities For Workplace

As mentioned earlier, we have listed the best 35 mental health activities for the workplace that you can use and enjoy the benefits. Let’s see what are these activities.

1- Outdoor event day

We all know that outdoor green spaces are great for mental health because they help you to free your mind and relax.

People who spend more time outside the office face less depression, stress, and anxiety. Therefore, you can set a day, such as Friday, to host an outdoor event day with your employees.

To make it more fun and effective, you can set up different team activities, such as hula-hoops, puzzle contests, water balloon tosses, etc.

2- Fitness Challenge

Research shows that exercise helps improve your mood and reduce stress and depression; you can organize a fitness challenge and ask your team to move their bodies by following specific group physical activities.

You can create such a challenge in many ways based on your environment and space. The fitness challenge can be easy activities, such as biking, step counting, drinking enough water daily, and more.

3- Painting activities

If you want an easy and interesting activity to hype your team members, you can gather them around after work or any time outside the regular working hours to host an artistic activity.

Painting has many benefits for individuals; it helps them free their minds, reduce stress and depression, increase creativity, and more.

Note that it would be great if you could set up a painting studio where team members can go to any time of the day and start painting to release stress. 

4- Administer a yoga day

Running a yoga class is another great way to boost employee’s mental health. To do so, you can work with a yoga studio and ask them to set up an onsite yoga class for beginners so everyone can participate in this activity.

As you may know, yoga has various benefits for both mental and physical health, and doctors believe that yoga exercises can increase mental clarity while helping you build up a flexible and strong body. 

5- Gratitude challenge

Another effective yet simple mental health activity is asking your employees to participate in a gratitude challenge, which can be journaling three things they are thankful for.

Running a gratitude challenge helps to improve optimism, productivity, and creativity and also helps to stay in a positive mood for a long time.

6- Birthday off days

When we talk about mental health in the workplace, we mean to make a balance between work and personal life.

To show how much you care about your employees’ mental health, you can allow them to have paid-off days on their birthdays so they can spend more quality time with friends and family. Additionally, providing a birthday invitation template can make it easier for employees to plan and celebrate their special day. 

7- Have a mental health discussion meeting day

Having the opportunity to discuss mental health is not only for therapy offices, so you can set a specific day as the “discussion meeting day” so everyone can freely talk about their feelings and emotions.

You can start by asking questions like how are you feeling this morning? Or is everything ok? These questions will mostly open doors to mental health discussions.

8- Set up a massage appointment

One of the best things you can do to provide better mental health activities is to set up a massage appointment for your employees during the workday.

As you may know, massage can be a great way to reduce stress and anxiety, it also helps to relax your mind and body at the same time.

9- Additional breaks

Employees need breaks for a few minutes to relax, calm down, and free their minds. The best thing you can do is to allow them to have extra short breaks in addition to lunch or coffee breaks.

Let them know that these short breaks (like 10 minutes) are necessary for them to increase their productivity and that you don’t have any problem with them taking extra breaks.

10- Hold a community party

Having a party with team members keeps them in a good mood, and dancing increases their heart rate, which is a perfect way to improve overall health.

Hosting an outdoor party is more effective, so you can organize a dancing party in a local park or anywhere where employees feel free to dance, chill, and have a great time.

11- Have a “bring your pet to the office” day

One of the greatest ways to boost workplace mood and energy is to have a specific day that allows employees to bring their pets to the office.

You can determine a day, such as Tuesdays, and announce it as the “bring your pet to work day.” Doing so helps everyone be happier and work in a better mood. Make sure to have enough water and treats for the pets!

12- Perform random acts of kindness

Many individuals believe that being kind with no expectations keeps your mental health at the highest levels and helps to reduce stress and anxiety.

You can perform random acts of kindness by posting positive quotes on boards or talking about such acts in meetings.

It is better to start with yourself and try to spread a positive mood and happiness by doing simple things to your employees, such as smiling at them, offering them a coffee, etc.

13- Group lunch

Eating healthy food and chilling together is always a great activity to boost mental health, especially in the workplace.

The best thing you can do is to organize a group lunch when all team members are free and eat healthy foods.

Remember that the goal of setting up such an activity is to encourage the employees to communicate with each other so they can better perform in the coming days!

14- Set up a cozy space

Having a specific room for employees to relax and have some time alone is a great idea and works as an energy booster that helps them better manage their feelings and emotions.

You can create a cozy space with wellness items such as candles, books, a yoga mat, relaxing music, a chair, etc.

Remember to encourage remote workers to set up their own cozy space at home and let them take a short break during the workday to recharge themselves.

15- Share mental health screening tools

How can you expect your staff to ask for help if they don’t know their problem and can’t explain it properly?

That is why you need to consider sharing mental health screening tools through email, meetings, bulletin boards, etc., to help them improve their knowledge about the importance of mental health.

16- Organize an office group trip

We all know that employees prefer to get out of the office occasionally because it helps them feel more energetic, which leads to better performance.

You can organize a work-related office group trip to visit an industry event or participate in a seminar or so.

17- Group inside or outdoor garden activities

Gardening is among those funny and mind-relaxing activities that you can organize it and ask your employees to plant a new tree or make a small garden of vegetables or flowers.

This peaceful activity boosts mental wellness by spreading a positive mood and happiness.

18- Host a resilience workshop

Another effective mental health activity is hosting a resilience workshop to help employees handle stressful situations and work challenges better.

19- Have a tea or coffee event

If you want your employees to be happy and healthy, you can host a friendly breakfast and ask them to come in for a cup of tea or coffee while listening to a mental health expert.

To get the best results, you can organize a question-and-answer session about anxiety, stress, depression, etc. So they can better manage these mental health issues at work.

20- Stress management workshops

Stress management is a critical skill for every worker, which greatly helps them. Therefore, it is better to ask a mental health professional to run a stress management workshop and teach your employees how to control their emotions and manage stressful situations at work.

21- Start a book club at work

We are all aware of the benefits of reading books and how they can decrease stress; now, imagine starting a book club at work where people can read their favorite books and reduce their stress levels by up to 68%.

Set up the book club in your office today, and you will discover how it affects your employees’ performance. Don’t forget to encourage your remote employees to also participate in the club.

22- Design bulletin boards

Another effective yet simple thing that boosts your employees’ mental health is to hang a bulletin board with mindfulness sentences or ask a simple question such as “What is that one thing you are grateful for today?”

You can also add a stack of notecards with a pen for people who want to share a positive thought and tack them on the board.

23- Organize a wellness gift exchange

Another great mental health activity is to ask your employees to buy a small gift with a certain amount to promote mental health in the workplace.

The items you can include in this gift exchange are candles, yoga mats, plants, books, journals, and more.

This is among the best activities that help to increase your team members’ engagement in a wellness event.

24- Mental health giveaways contest

Giving rewards for doing something good is always a great idea! You can run a 30-day office challenge and ask employees to finish a challenge, such as eating healthy for 30 days, and then reward the winners.

It is better to reward them with mental wellness prizes such as a spa, a subscription to a meditation app, etc.

25- Volunteering activities

Studies show that volunteering in different activities decreases depression, anxiety, and stress levels while increasing your overall life satisfaction.

When you decide to volunteer in activities that help other people, chemicals such as dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin will be released that trigger the reward center of your brain, which means it makes you happier, which is why we feel very good after volunteering.

26- Crafting workshops

It is interesting to know that crafting reduces anxiety and depression while increasing happiness and boosting energy.

You can consider hosting a DIY workshop to spread positivity and make the work environment more fun and healthy.

Note that crafting workshops can include anything from making bath soaps to paintings and more.

27- Group physical exercises

By now, you should know the importance of setting up group activities for your employees so you can ask an instructor to come on-site for a specific day.

Physical exercises such as karate build strength and confidence, which help the employees do their tasks more confidently, affecting the final results of what they deliver.

28- Have a “wear what you want” day

Did you know that studies showed how different colors affect your mood and behavior? One of the best things you can do to create a positive workplace is to have a “wear what you want” day, which means employees are free to wear the color and the dress they want.

As you know, most companies have specific dress codes that sometimes may be hard for employees, but having a day such as this one will increase their creativity, make them feel more comfortable, and create a positive and happy workplace.

29- Create a break (rest) room

All employers must accept that employees must take more than one short daily break, so break rooms are necessary for escaping work and spending a few minutes alone.

The important point is not to consider the kitchen break room for this purpose; it is better to set up a different kind of escape room for your staff.

To make this room more relaxing and special, you can add meditation pillows, a diffuser, a relaxing chair, etc., so they can go to the room to enjoy a few quiet moments.

Making a break room is a perfect mental health activity that can bring peace among your employees and boost their energy.

30- Host a well-being day

You can determine a day exclusively as a well-being day and plan simple mental health activities, such as discussing mental health benefits, setting up an area where individuals can go there and stretch themselves to relax, and more.

Note that it is better to keep this day as simple as possible because the main goal is to help your staff refresh their minds and bodies.

31- Hold a puzzle contest

It is interesting to know that solving a puzzle increases dopamine, which is a chemical that boosts mood, concentration, and memory.

You can buy a 1000 to 5000-piece puzzle and put it in a common place in the office, this would encourage the employees to work on the puzzle during breaks.

32- Make food and drink together

Making food and drinks is always a great way to create an atmosphere where people can spend time together, be creative, relax, and boost their mental health.

Therefore, you can host a food event and gather team members to make new food and smoothies. It can be an indoor short event during the workday.

33- Provide journaling activities

Journaling is among the best stress management techniques that help individuals create a safe personal space while releasing their emotions and getting rid of negative thoughts. 

However, starting journaling may be difficult for some people, so you can create a list of journaling examples to help your team members start with the one they feel more comfortable with.

34- Organize a meditation seminar

As you may know, meditation improves concentration and focus and greatly helps to reduce stress and anxiety.

It is also helpful for those overthinking employees and takes just a few minutes each day. You can ask a meditation or yoga expert to set up a meditation seminar for employees, talk about its benefits, and teach them how to meditate every day. 

35- Create a workplace cookbook

You probably have heard people saying, “You are what you eat.” It means the food you put into your mouth directly affects how you feel, so taking care of your diet is important.

You can ask your team members to share their favorite food recipes as a Google doc so you can create a workplace cookbook.

Doing so enables them to learn healthy new food recipes even from other cultures, and you can also plan an outdoor lunch event and ask them to make food from the workplace cookbook!

FAQs

1- How to stay mentally healthy at work?

Give yourself a few minutes from time to time to reduce your stress at work and free your mind. If you are lucky enough that your employer offers mental health days, make sure you will use this opportunity to take care of your mental health in the workplace.

2- How do I help my colleagues with mental health?

The best thing you can do is to stay positive and spread a good mood; you can also try to support and encourage them for what they can do.

3- What are the common health issues in the workplace?

It has been said that almost 60% of employees experience stress, depression, and anxiety at work, so these three are the most common mental health issues that employees are struggling with.

Conclusion

We all know the importance of having productive and energetic employees, so if you want them to be happy and healthy, you need to keep in mind that mental health is an important part of their overall well-being.

As mentioned earlier, mental health includes social, emotional, and psychological well-being, which means it directly impacts different parts of our work and personal lives.

Therefore, people need to work in healthy environments that help them better perform, act, communicate, etc. Otherwise, they won’t enjoy what they do, which is also harmful to themselves and the company.

You can administer these top mental health activities in your office and company; the results will surprise you!