Life happens. And when it happens in a traumatic or crisis-driven way, our priorities shift naturally and immediately to put personal needs over professional duties. Because it’s impossible to know if or when an employee or co-worker will experience a crisis, having a corporate culture (and plan) in place to address emergency situations is crucial.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month in the U.S. and a good time to ensure your company is set up to offer emotional support to workers year-round and is equipped to keep roles functioning should an employee need to temporarily step away during a personal emergency.

Here are five steps that you, as a company leader, can take to meet both of these goals:

1. Demonstrate Empathy – Empathy is a big word that starts with one simple concept: listening. While a leader certainly doesn’t want to pry, it’s key to actively listen and hear an employee in crisis. Don’t feel compelled to act as a psychologist, especially if that’s not your strong suit. But providing an ear and asking a gentle, “How are you doing?” goes a long way in acknowledging an employee in pain.

2. Provide Schedule Flexibility – When an employee faces a personal crisis, co-workers often feel at a loss as to how to help. But as a leader or manager, you can actually do something meaningful. Taking the initiative to adjust hours, allow for remote work, or reduce direct reports are all ways to lessen professional burdens for employees who dealing with emergencies – especially the Type A, hard chargers who wouldn’t normally ask to be dismissed from projects or responsibilities.

3. Elevate Knowledge (and Use) of EAPs – Employee Assistance Programs designed to deliver emotional support are widely offered by employers but remain one of the least used workplace benefits. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), only 5 of every 100 US employees with access to an EAP actually utilize the benefit (though this did nearly double during the pandemic). HR Dive attributes “lack of employee understanding” as one reason why EAPs are “wildly underutilized.” Tactics on how to improve employee knowledge of and accessibility to this HR perk can be found in the article here.

4. Promote Industry-Focused Mental Health Initiatives – The graphic communications industry is fortunate to have volunteer-driven mental health support groups that focus on the unique pressures of leading/working in this dynamic, fast-paced industry. In the US, She*t for Brains is a LinkedIn group that offers both virtual and in-person events covering deep-dive into a variety of emotional health topics. (Learn more about the group here.) In the UK, The Printing Charity is a group dedicated to helping industry workers navigate life’s complex challenges. (Are there similar programs out there? Let us know!)

5. Clearly Communicate HR Policies – This is incredibly important because junior employees or those who feel your workplace culture doesn’t allow for emergency leave will suffer in silence. This is not to their benefit nor is to their team’s or company’s. Make information about leave policies clear and readily available to avoid creating reactive, one-off policies if and when a crisis should arise.

Also, keep in mind that while some emotional crises are emergent in nature, others can build over time – and may even be preventable with the right mental health support.

Consistent communication of mental health resources and/or wellness benefits offered by the company can normalize their use, which leads to an overall happier, productive workforce – and one prepared to support each another in times of personal crises.