Why prioritising mental health is key to a business’s success

Al Mansoory recounts how she experienced burnout early on in her journey as an entrepreneur, when she was juggling motherhood with running a successful business. Since then, she has learned the value of mental health and makes sure her employees maintain a work-life balance and prioritise their personal wellbeing. 

In a wide-reaching exclusive interview with Arabian Business, Al Mansoory explains how she creates a work environment that nurtures wellbeing and productivity and shares her thoughts on the future of work.

What is your experience of being a female entrepreneur in the region and what advice would you would give to other women?

At the age of 27, I was very excited about starting my own businesses and wanted to make it as successful as it could be.

So I was always working extremely hard, and investing all my free time into building my business as I had a vision I wanted to achieve. I also became a mother to my first child in the second year of starting my business, which made it even harder for me in that I was juggling being a good mother to my son while working hard to build my business. Nothing in this world prepares you for such situations, and you must be extremely resilient to make it all work out.

I eventually reached a point of mental and emotional exhaustion. Because I had been preoccupied by building a successful business and being a good mother and wife, I somehow forgot about myself in the process and it hit me hard.

Once I reached that burnout, I was unable to perform any of the tasks I needed to sustain my business or my daily life – my brain had reached a halt. That’s when I realised I needed to change my lifestyle, and the way I run my business.

I learned the hard way that if you do not focus on your mental health, you will be losing a lot more. I sought help from a life coach, and I started to change my lifestyle and my mentality, and from then, I always put my mental health first.

So, the main advice I would give to female entrepreneurs in this region is that: no one really prepares you for the real-world struggles of being a female entrepreneur, whether you’re single or married, it all comes with different challenges and opportunities.

The most important thing is to always prioritise your mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing, to make sure you have a strong support system, and to seek help whenever you feel you need the additional support. Finally, always trust and channel your intuition throughout your entrepreneurial journey.

What was the impact of coronavirus on your team and how did you adapt to it?

It is very evident that the pandemic has reset all the major work trends and expectations. We were presented with unprecedented situations in a very short period, and we had to react and adapt as quickly as possible. There were no business guidelines or contingency plans that could have prepared any business for what has happened over the past few years.

However, it all came down to flexibility, adaptability, and trust. We have learned that to stay afloat and succeed, we had to become flexible business leaders and promote flexibility amongst our employees, and everything eventually falls into place as long as you trust the process.

We worked extremely hard to reassure our employees and keep their morale high during those tough times, and that resulted in having some of the best and highly dedicated employees now.

What does the future of work look like from your perspective?

Flexible working hours and an increase in remote working have proven to be the main trends in the post-pandemic work environment. Most employees have grown accustomed to flexible working hours and remote working, and employers have seen that the location does not really affect productivity and that it all goes down to the employee’s preference. Businesses are increasingly adapting a hybrid working model that suits both the employees and the business.

I have certainly witnessed a rise in young entrepreneurs that have emerged following the pandemic. Most of them have either lost their jobs during the pandemic or have taken advantage of the downtime to come-up with an idea for a business venture or a set of skills and acted on it.

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it taught us that life is short, and that we should take a leap of faith and go for our dreams while we can.

The uncertainty of the pandemic has proved to businesses that standard work models can be outdated. I predict an increase in hiring contingent employees as opposed to hiring full-time employees for certain positions and maintain a flexible work environment. In this way, we are also adapting to the rise of entrepreneurs and freelancers in the market. For us employers, this means that we now have an expanded pool of skilled and independent workers that can highly benefit the business.

How do you nurture a team spirit among your employees? 

Creating a team spirit was a very important factor for our business to persevere in any situation and is at the core of our business model. One of the main things I always encourage in every employee is to have a work-life balance, as that plays a huge role in an individual’s mental health, which effects the overall performance of the employee.

Within the organisation, we always try to make that extra effort to promote our employees’ physical and emotional wellbeing. We promote healthy lifestyles through things like complimentary gym memberships, healthy food offered in the office and meditation sessions in the morning.

I believe in building a healthy and positive environment for all our employees, and that’s the only way we can keep the business going.