By Connor Smith, Accountant at Hive Business

In support of Mental Health Awareness Week – I’ve been considering what it is that makes a happy workplace and healthy work culture. Often, there can be a disconnect between the culture a business owner believes is in a practice, and the culture the associates, hygienists and reception staff recognise. And if you think your practice needs a culture shift, how do you go about this?

We’ve spoken recently about being honest with yourself and how compromising your own health and happiness for financial gain can often have a long-term impact on life outside of work. The importance of recognising your strengths and weaknesses; your interests and dislikes cannot be understated. Focus on what you’re good at and what you enjoy, and you’re likely to be a more inspiring leader who innately fosters a work culture that encourages others to strive for excellence in what makes them happy.

Yet, particularly in business, there’s still a stigma attached to the discussion of mental health. We feel we should suffer alone, that if we admit our workload is stressful or the work we’re doing is making us miserable, we show weakness. We’re letting down our colleagues, employers and workplace. I know I am personally guilty of soaking up my own and other people’s problems and keeping them all to myself, scared of talking about it with anyone else for fear of appearing like a failure for not handling my commitments. This stigma needs to be addressed. Sharing my pressures with my line manager often results in constructive advice in prioritising my deadlines and help in areas of work I’m struggling with. Never do I feel like a failure after talking about this, I feel relieved and reinvigorated.

So as a business owner, consider, are you thinking about your staff?

Maybe there’s a clinician who’s consistently underperforming and the relationship between the two of you has deteriorated. It’s likely this tension is spilling out into the rest of the workplace and is becoming toxic to the overall culture. Start considering reasons why the associate is underperforming. Are there personal problems affecting their performance, which compassionate leave could help resolve? Ask what areas of work they enjoy and which areas they struggle with.

Improving workplace culture and employee happiness is more than just putting a TV in the staffroom or installing a fancy new espresso machine. Understanding and connecting with your clinical and administrative staff on a human level is critical to developing a healthy workplace culture that encourages openness and acceptance. According to the mental health charity Time to Change, 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem this year. Your attitude to mental health in practice could not only improve someone’s average daily yield, but also change their life.

If you need help addressing the cultural and team dynamics in your practice, please get in touch on01872 300232 or email us at hello@hivebusiness.co.uk.