How to promote Stress Awareness Month at work (with examples)
This article offers strategies to tactfully promote Stress Awareness Month and maintain inclusive communications. After reading this article, you’ll be much better placed to approach the subject of stress in your community and on social media.
How to market stress awareness month?
In an age where social media users are wised up to sensitive issues, it can be difficult to navigate areas like mental health in our marketing.
We all want to make sure we’re spreading the right message, and not harming anyone in the process – especially when rates of stress and depression are at an all-time high.
Did you know?
According to the Mental Health Foundation, 74% of UK adults have felt so stressed at some point over the last year (2021) they felt overwhelmed or unable to cope.
It’s an alarming statistic and there is definitely something to raise awareness of. In this article, we show you how to share your message with kindness and inclusivity.
What is stress awareness month?
Stress Awareness month runs throughout the month of April annually. Stress Awareness Month aims to raise concern around ‘one of the greatest health challenges of our time’ – stress.
Stress as an affliction is underrepresented in our society and many feel afraid to speak up about their mental health.
And yet, it has a profound effect on our physical health too. The month is designed to remind us to take care of ourselves, in light of all the current and past events that have shaped our lives.
What about Stress Awareness Week and National Stress Awareness Day?
Stress Awareness Week, Day and Month – Functionally, these dates serve the same purpose as Stress Awareness Month. But they’re good to have in the diary, as they also gain attention on social media.
Stress Awareness Week, which is a UK holiday– but is observed worldwide on social media – is in November.
Stress Awareness Day falls on 2nd November, sharing the same date in both the US and the UK.
Our tips and advice can apply to all three holidays, but be aware that the most widely observed is Stress Awareness Month.
How do you promote stress awareness as a brand?
The route you take to promoting stress awareness will depend on your brand, as well as your product.
For instance, as a medical or health brand, it makes more sense to leverage your message on your products and services.
See Scaps Medical’s Instagram post:
Why it works: Short and to-the-point, this post is perfect for their target audience, who are likely to be older and more concerned about their physical and mental health. The image is high quality and really conveys the brand message, and the caption is uplifting and informative.
Meanwhile, other brands have used their platform in informative ways, even if it doesn’t mesh with their product.
You can see why – in the current climate, consumers want brands to be more proactive and helpful in their social media presence.
Take, for instance, this video by Jansport:
Why it works: The video tells us to speak up about mental health and start a journey around getting well. It doesn’t contribute to a negative stigma for sufferers. In fact, it aims to change this narrative by encouraging us to not be ashamed of our shortcomings. The high-quality filmography as well as the animations establish Jansport as a legitimate brand and encourage a high watch time.
However, you choose to spread awareness this Stress Awareness Month, be it in video, text, or with photos, be choosy about what you are saying.
Posts that use the day to insensitively promote a product could have a negative effect on your brand.
Equally, it’s important to be careful not to stigmatise those with mental health problems and instead focus on helping and uplifting those followers that experience the affliction.
How can you promote Stress Awareness Month in the workplace?
While the mental health of employees needs to be taken care of year-round, Stress Awareness Month is the perfect time to implement new initiatives around employee care.
With the pandemic, workplaces have changed drastically over a short period of time. This places a lot of strain on employees, who are still finding their feet in a totally novel environment.
As an employer, you can get better a quality of work and higher productivity rates if you treat your staff well. So, what are some ways you can stand up and advocate for your employees’ mental health?
1. Be there for your staff, when it matters most
Sometimes it can be difficult to fully understand the needs of your employees.
Even if your door is open, there still exists a fear of opening up, especially where businesses have enforced rigorous hierarchies.
That’s why it’s important to get eyes and ears on the inside.
Train some of your staff in mental health first aid, do regular surveys on how people are feeling, get some support groups up and running.
If you can get a feel of how your staff are feeling, and offer some long-term resources that people can turn to, you’ll start to see a difference in the workplace.
2. Help your staff prioritise their workloads
Just giving a list of tasks can be overwhelming for your staff.
Depending on the nature of the work, there are several ways you could help them out:
Firstly, offer realistic deadlines for specific tasks. Asking too much from your employees can lead to burnout long-term, and you may not see the results you want.
Secondly, implement timetables. There are plenty of ways to have a shared calendar with your staff nowadays. It can be a very helpful resource, allowing them to see what times they should work on what tasks, and you to see what other responsibilities you need to work around.
3. Let your employees take a rest breaks
Being sedentary for a whole working day can take a toll on your employees’ mental health.
Did you know that the average human can only concentrate for 20 minutes at a time before getting distracted? Why not encourage screen breaks, taking walks for lunchtime, and log off time for daily exercise?
Some companies offer things like meditation breaks that take place over Zoom (if online) or in-person.
This is one of the most proven ways to increase productivity and health.
4. Encourage time off where necessary
We all need a good holiday once in a while, especially for our well-being. To allow ourselves a moment of self-care (or a couple of weeks in the Bahamas!)
5. Create long-term plans, and follow them through
It’s no use having initiatives that only last for Stress Awareness Month. The reality is that staff need constant check-ups to stay above water.
While you may mean well with short-term initiatives, it may be at a loss if your staff are already tired and therefore unwilling to co-operate.
So, stay at it, and rejoice in the process of making your employees happy!
What other key dates are there for managing stress in 2022?
- Time to talk day (3 February 2022)
- Children’s Mental Health Week (7-13 February 2022)
- Eating Disorders Awareness Week (28 February – 6 March 2022)
- University Mental Health Day (3 March 2022)
- World Bipolar Day (30 March 2022)
- UK Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week (May 2022 TBC)
- National Schizophrenia Awareness Day (25 July 2022)
- World Suicide Prevention Day (10 September 2022)
- World Mental Health Day (10 October 2022)
- OCD Awareness Week (10-16 October 2022)
- National Stress Awareness Day (2 November 2022)
Takeaway
This article covered what Stress Awareness Month is, how to promote it on social media and in the workplace, and any other dates to be aware of.
The most important part of communications is sensitivity. While being open about these issues is necessary, there won’t be a good response if the intent behind the message is not genuine.
Want more socially aware marketing tips? Check out our articles on Plastic-Free Awareness and Equal Pay Day.
Written by Zoe Papadopoulos
