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INTRODUCTION
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The business world is becoming complex day by day and as a result, businesses are facing issues in managing the firms in an effective manner. Human resources being an important resource need to be managed in an appropriate manner and the HR department needs to solve all the different problems effectively. With the increasing complexities in the business world problem in the workplace are increasing and it had become important for businesses to make better decisions in the workplace. In this report, the researcher would focus on explaining the problems which are being faced in the healthcare sector (Adler, et. al., 2017). This report will focus on highlighting that what are the different problems faced in the workplace of healthcare service-providing organizations. The researcher would focus on explaining one of the current issues and will explain that how the organization can make an effective decision for it. This report will focus on explaining the mental health of the employees as an important issue in the workplace in health and social care organizations.
OVERVIEW OF PROBLEMS IN THE HEALTHCARE
Offering health and social care is not an easy task as one needs to have specific skills and better knowledge for providing healthcare services to their patients. When different individuals work together there are great chances of issues and conflicts among them which creates a problem for human resource management and affects the entire workplace negatively. There are different problems that are being faced in the healthcare organization such as communication problems, performance issues, low level of motivation, decreased job satisfaction, discrimination, and different interpersonal conflicts (Corfield, et. al., 2020). Businesses need to focus on creating a positive work environment as it is having an influence on the employee's motivation, mental health, attitude at the workplace, and performance.
The work environment of the healthcare sector is more complex as one needs to manage a lot of things and have to manage the patients with different health problems. The employees working in this sector face a lot of issues while working in an effective manner. The mental stability of the employees is also an important factor that can create a lot of issues in the workplace especially in the healthcare sector. It can be said that the different factors which are affecting the workplace are having a significant impact on the quality of the care offered to the patients. Hence, it is important for organisations to focus on solving all the different workplace issues which can help them in offering better healthcare services to their customers (Tovmasyan, and Minasyan, 2019).
MENTAL HEALTH OF THE EMPLOYEES AS AN IMPORTANT PROBLEM IN THE WORKPLACE
Employees of any of the organisations are considered to be one of the most important resources of the company as they are having a higher impact on the organisation. The quality of the work delivered by the employees in the organisation is having an impact on the performance of the firm. The mental health of the employees is generally ignored as the employer does not focus on this factor but it is an important factor because the mental health of the employees affects their overall performance (Khoury, 2019). Here, mental health is being referred to as the psychological well-being of the individual while working in the workplace. In general terms, the mental health of the individual is being referred to as the state of well-being of the person in which the individual can work with their best potential and abilities, can deliver high-quality work to the organisation, can manage the stress, and can make a great work-life balance.
When the employees are working in the healthcare sector then it is important for them to focus on being emotionally and mentally stable because they are offering care to their employees and they have to handle a lot of situations. It is important for businesses to focus on this factor because this factor is generally being ignored at the workplace. It can be said that the organisation should focus on all the different factors which are having an influence on the mental health of the employees at the workplace (Leach, et. al., 2017).
The environment in which the employees are working is having an higher influence on their mental health and can affect the overall productivity of the employees in the workplace. The physical and psychosocial working conditions in which the employee is working affect the level of mental health of the employees. In recent decades it is being found that the different social, environmental, and personal factors are having an impact on the mental health of the employees. If these factors are affecting the mental health of the employees in a negative manner then it would have a negative impact on the business performance and due to this reason, the businesses have started focusing on analysing, preventing, and managing all the different factors which can affect the mental health of the employees.
Scope of the problem
The mental health of the employees is reflected when they are communicating with their patients and delivering care to them (Park, et. al., 2020). Generally, when the employees are not able to manage the stress and are not able to manage their work-life and personal issues. The Healthcare sector is a complex workplace where all the healthcare professionals have to deal with different types of patients and have to provide different care as per the needs of the patients and this is not an easy task. If the healthcare service provider is having any mental issue such as stress, depression, or any other problem then it is well reflected in the way they communicate with the employees, patients, and their attendees. The ability of the individual to manage their work-life balance is also an important factor that is having an impact on their mental health at the workplace.
IMPACT OF THE PROBLEM ON ALL THE STAKEHOLDERS
Employees are the most important resource for the organisations and they are having a higher impact on all the stakeholders. The mental health of the employees at the workplace is a major issue for businesses as it affects all the stakeholders in one or another way. The stakeholders for the healthcare organisations include the service users, health care professionals, regulators, and the organisation itself (Chatziioannidis, et. al., 2018).
The mental health of the individual is considered to be an essential component of the well-being of the individual as it created and balance between the environment in which they are living. When the employees are not having a work-life balance then generally the employees face stress and depression while delivering the care. In the healthcare sector, the employees are in direct contact with their patients and if the healthcare service provider is facing any of the issue related to the mental health then he would not be able to deliver care to the patient and this would affect the health of the patient and would also affect the recovery rate of the patients (Janssen, et. al., 2018). The mental issues of the healthcare service provider would also affect the way they communicate with their patients and if the employee is not able to manage their stress, anger, and other mental health factors then there are chances that they might have miscommunication and conflicts with the patients and their attendees. It can be said that the mental health of the healthcare service providers is an important factor that affects the patients' safety and well-being.
The health care service providers need to communicate a lot with one another as they have to share all the information related to their patients and the mental health of the individual affects all the communication even with the colleagues also. If any of the healthcare service providers are facing issues related to his mental health then he would not be able to communicate, cooperate and collaborate with the entire team and this would have a negative impact on the quality of the teamwork. In other words, it can be said that the mental health of the employees can affect the entire workplace and can have a negative influence on the performance of the entire team.
For the healthcare service-providing organisation this factor is also considered as an important factor because the mental health of the employee might have a negative impact on the overall health of the employees which might lead to the increase in absenteeism, turnover, accidents, and illness (Stratton, et. al., 2017). Along with this it also affects the attitude of the employee towards their work, employee motivation, and their commitment towards work which would affect the overall performance of the organisation. Also if the mental health of the employees is not so well then it would affect the patients' experience. The health and social care regulators are also important stakeholders in the problems related to the healthcare organisations and the regulators need to make different rules and guidelines for solving the issues related to it.
ANALYSE THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS
Businesses operating in the healthcare sector needs to make a lot of decision related to the management of the workplace and safety and protection of the employees at the workplace (Power, et. al., 2019). The government had made different legislations which are required to be followed by the healthcare service providing organisations. The employers in the UK needs to focus on the Health and Safety etc Act 1974 which is an important law made by the government for protecting the rights and health and safety of the employees at the workplace. According to this law the employers needs to focus on developing the welfare provision for the staff at the workplace and for ensuring their well being at the workplace. Along with this the employers needs to focus on investing better capital in the offering better training to the employees which can help them in developing the required skills and enhancing their skills for working in an appropriate manner and offering better services to their patients (Hale, and Booth, 2019). Also the businesses are required to develop an effective and safe working environment which offers better support to the employees to work in an appropriate manner and help them in delivering high quality work to the businesses.
As per this law the healthcare sectors organisations are also required to make effective strategies and policies in their workplace which can help them in following the legislations in an effective manner and ensuring better functioning of the firm. Along with this the organisations are also required to follow the different legislations related to the pay and benefits which are required to be offered to the employees of the firm by the employers. It can be said that the businesses operating in the healthcare sector needs to focus on all the different legislatures while making the decision related to solving the issues which occurs at the workplace.
RANGE OF ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEM
The healthcare organisations needs to manage this problem in an effective manner as it is having an significant impact on all the different stakeholders. Whenever the individual looks for solving any of the issue then there are different alternative for solving the issues similar in this case also the healthcare sectors are having different alternatives for solving the issues related to the mental health of the employees at the workplace (Bufquin, et. al., 2021). The different solutions which can be used by the businesses for addressing this problem are mentioned below such as:
- The organisations can focus on conducting the seminars or the workshops related to the stress management skills and for developing the knowledge related to development an work life balance which can also help the employees in managing their emotions in an effective manner in the workplace.
- The firms should focus on having an effective leadership in the organisation and should focus on developing better communication between the leaders and the employees of the company which would also help them in solving the issues related to the mental issue in an effective manner (Elraz, 2018).
- The company can also introduce the weekly programs for the practices such as meditation, breathing exercises and mindfulness which would help them in reducing the level of stress and anxiety among the employees.
- Enhancing the level of motivation of the employees is also an effective option which can help the businesses in managing the behaviour of the employees within the organisation. The organisations should focus on different factors such as pay, recognition and benefits for keeping the employees motivated and make them satisfied with their jobs as this would improve their mental health (Milligan-Saville, et. al., 2017).
- The organisations should focus on developing an mentally healthy workplace for the employees which is having an higher impact on the mental health of the employees. It is important for the company to focus on developing the positive organisational culture and an healthy work environment. An better workplace will help the employees in feeling more energetic and this will increase the employee engagement, productivity and the will improve the mental health of the employees.
DECISION MAKING TECHNIQUES FOR EVALUATING THE SOLUTIONS
When the different alternatives are available then it is important for the businesses to make an effective decision while selecting the best solution for solving the issue effectively. Different decision-making tools and techniques are available which can be used by the businesses for making better decision for solving the different issues or the problems in the workplace. Rational decision-making process is an effective model which can be used for analysing the different alternatives and making better decisions for the company (Power, et. al., 2019). This model focuses on selecting the best option by following the different steps in a systematic manner. According to this model, the different steps which need to be involved in the process of decision making includes the identifying the problem, establishing the decision criteria, weigh decision criteria, generating alternatives, evaluating the alternatives and selecting the best alternative. In this report the researcher had analysed all the different alternatives which can help the organisation in solving the problem in an effective manner.
If we evaluate the different available alternatives to the solution then it can be said that all the alternatives are feasible and the healthcare organisation can adopt any of the solutions to the problem. Among the different alternatives two of the alternatives which are widely being used by the businesses and are having the higher potential to help the healthcare sector businesses to solve the issues of mental health of the employees are the organising the workshops and focusing on developing a mentally healthy workplace (Han, and Hyun, 2019). These two alternatives seems to be more effective for the businesses as these solutions would help firms in managing the mental health of the employees in an effective manner.
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SOLUTION
Implementation of the solution needs to be effective, and it is important for the businesses to develop effective strategies and plans which can help them in implementing the solution in an appropriate manner. Businesses operating in the healthcare sector needs to ensure that all the legislations related to the safety and well-being of the employees should be followed in an appropriate manner (Gayed, et. al., 2018). When the healthcare organisation is focusing on developing an effective and mentally healthy workplace for improving the mental health of the employees then it is important for them to focus on making the different policies for ensuring that all the employees should be treated equally and no discrimination should be practiced in the workplace. Along with this the company should also focus on having effective leaders with better leadership skills so that the leader can create an positive organisational culture in the firm which is important for developing an mentally healthy workplace (Haddon, 2018). Also the organisation should focus on creating better communication and cooperation among all the employees of the company as this would also have an positive impact on the workplace environment and promote positive behaviour of the employees towards the work.
For organising the workshops for managing the issues related to the mental health of the employees in the workplace the organisation need to develop an proper plan and should plan to organise the workshops on regular basis. The organisation should help the sessions with motivational speakers or the psychiatrist who can guide the employees in managing the different emotions in the workplace and developing an work life balance which can help them in managing and reducing the mental issues and will help them in keeping their mental health well (Kazmi, et. al., 2020).
MONITORING AND REVIEW TECHNIQUES FOR ENSURING SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SOLUTION
When the company is implementing the solution to any of the organisational problem then it is important for the firm to monitor the effectiveness of the solution for analysing and reviewing that how effectively the implemented solution is solving the organisational issue. The healthcare sector organisation should focus on collecting the feedbacks from the employees regarding the workshops and the sessions that how effective these sessions are for reducing their stress and helping them in managing the different emotions in an appropriate manner while working in the workplace. The organisation should provide an questionnaire for the employees which can help them in collecting proper reviews regarding the effectiveness of the workshops in solving the issues related to the mental health of the employees at the workplace.
The organisations should also conduct regular meeting of the top-level management employees for analysing that the work environment is motivating and managing the mental health of the employees or not. Along with this for ensuring the successful implementation of the solution the company should also focus on analysing the different parameters such as productivity of the firm, customer experience and the number of issues and conflicts occurring in the workplace among the employees (Dempsey, and Assi, 2018). All these factors are affected by the mental health of the employees and if the company observe any positive change in these parameters then it will reflect better implementation of the solutions for solving the issue of mental health of the employees in the workplace.
CONCLUSION
The above-mentioned report had explained the different factors which are being faced in the workplace of the healthcare service providing businesses. Health and Social care sector offer a dynamic and complex workplace environment to the employees and due to this several problems are being faced by the employees while working in such an environment. In this report the researcher had mentioned that mental health of the employees in the workplace is an important issue which is being faced by the healthcare sectors. There are different solutions for solving the issues but it is important for the businesses to focus on using an effective decision making tool for analyse all the different solutions and selecting the best option for solving the issues. The report had highlighted two effective solutions which can help the healthcare organisation in solving the issue of mental health. It can be concluded from the report that the businesses should focus on selecting the best solution and implementing them in an effective manner.
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