Tina Bell on how to manage wellbeing in the workplace

During your career as a nail tech, you may be faced with some common health issues that are associated with the profession. Alongside the bad backs, shoulders, necks, sore fingers and muscle strains, the industry is also seeing a large increase in mental health issues. Right now, one in six workers are dealing with mental health problems, including anxiety, depression or stress. This can stop people from performing at their best.

Stress, depression and anxiety amongst nail technicians are extremely common. Long hours with no structured breaks and an unhealthy work/life balance can leave techs feeling down and unappreciated. The summer months and Christmas weeks can be the busiest time of all, where we often hold no regard for our own health. This can often leave us with no time for family or socialising with friends, which leaves us feeling lonely and stressed.

“Businesses need to send a clear signal to staff that their mental health matters and being open about it will lead to support, not discrimination.”

Ensuring you work structured hours with set start and finishing times will enable you to make arrangements with friends and family. It can be extremely difficult, particularly when you’re self-employed, as we hate to let people down but for a good quality of life we must be strict on ourselves. Be sure to spend time doing what you enjoy (apart from nails) such as reading, swimming, socialising or just putting aside good quality time for yourself.

If working in a salon, make sure the team has a good working relationship. Regular meetings to ensure everyone is happy and nipping any animosity in the bud immediately will help to stop any bullying from taking place and prevent the creation of an unhappy working environment.

Creating a good overall environment in the salon is important for both staff and clients, so don’t let staff bring personal problems into the workplace. If someone is having a bad day, it can rub off on the tram and effect the mood in the salon. Talk to that member of staff and help them to overcome any issues they may be facing.

“Effective steps to bettering wellbeing are unique to every individual.”

As an employer and salon owner, I make sure to create a culture that supports staff in being open about their mental health. Businesses need to send a clear signal to staff that their mental health matters and being open about it will lead to support, not discrimination. A simple way to communicate this is to explain that mental health will be treated in the same way as physical health.

Have a conversation with employees about their mental health. Sometimes people can worry about how to approach a conversation about a person’s mental health but there are no special skills required – simply be empathetic, approachable and listen to what they have to say. Problems can spill if nothing is done or no support is offered, which can create a negative impact on individuals and organisations. If you think a member of your team may be experiencing a mental health issue, you may need to take the lead and raise this with them, as often they don’t feel able to bring it up themselves.

Often the necessary changes are of attitude, expectations or communication, rather than a major change or significant cost. However, effective steps to bettering wellbeing are unique to every individual.

Tina Bell is head of education for Pure Nails and runs her own salon and training academy, Totally Polished.