World Mental Health Day 2024: “It is Time to Prioritise Mental Health in the Workplace”
Written by: Sabeeha Azmi
Photo by Speakers Corner
World Mental Health Day, annually celebrated on October 10th, presents an opportunity for us to reflect on the importance of mental well-being and advocate for and bring awareness to improved mental health practices. The theme for 2024 – “It is Time to Prioritise Mental Health in the Workplace” – highlights the impact work environments can have on individuals’ mental health and well-being. Many of us spend a significant portion of our lives at work. Work environments can be stressful at times; therefore, it is essential to prioritise mental health in professional settings to ensure that they are places that can also foster well-being.
Modern workplaces can be demanding and challenging with tight deadlines, increasing job expectations, and long hours. The World Health Organization (WHO; 2021) estimates a global loss of $1 trillion per year in productivity due to depression and anxiety alone. Mental health challenges impact the employees’ personal lives, their organisational performance, overall productivity, and workplace culture. Mental health in the workplace, therefore, should not be an afterthought but rather a key focus of organisational strategy.
When it comes to prioritising mental health in the workplace, it involves more than just offering the employees a wellness program or two. It incorporates a comprehensive approach that creates an environment where employees are valued, supported, and can thrive. Here are some tools to foster a workplace that prioritises mental well-being:
Awareness Starts From the Leadership
Leadership within the company plays a large role in workplace mental health. Managers must be trained to recognise the signs of mental health challenges and respond to employees with empathy. Such awareness and understanding can make a huge difference in overall employee well-being. Harvey et al. (2017) reported that supportive leadership was associated with significant improvements in mental health outcomes in the workplace.
Open Communication
The workplace culture should be such that employees feel comfortable discussing mental health struggles without the fear of stigma and judgement. Therefore, organisations must invest in creating environments supportive of open communication. Research suggests that open communication is an essential component that helps reduce stigma around mental health discussions and also increases help-seeking behaviours (Corrigan & Watson, 2020).
Mental Health Resources
Organisations should be able to provide employees with mental well-being resources like employee assistance programs (EAPs), counselling services, and mental health days. These services can offer employees the vital support they might need to improve their mental health. Patel et al. (2018) show that workplaces that offer such resources for their employees see improvements in their well-being as well as their engagement with work.
Culture of Well-Being
Workplaces can try to incorporate regular wellness activities to create a more supportive environment for employees. By encouraging breaks, and providing awareness and education about mental health, organisations can ensure that mental health is being prioritised. Creating a culture of well-being can be greatly beneficial to the organisation – Deloitte (2020) reports that organisations that engage with well-being programs saw lower levels of turnover rates and higher levels of employee satisfaction. Employees who are supported and provided with a healthy environment have shown increased productivity, engagement, and motivation (Joyce et al., 2018).
World Mental Health Day 2024 is a great reminder that we all collectively play a role in creating mentally healthy workplaces. Employers, managers, employees, and colleagues all contribute to building environments that not only support mental well-being but also actively promote it. Prioritising mental health in workplaces allows employees to thrive – not just survive. As we reflect on World Mental Health Day 2024, let us work towards ensuring that mental well-being is a right and reality for everyone in the workplace.
References:
Corrigan, P. W., & Watson, A. C. (2020). Understanding the impact of stigma on people with mental illness. World Psychiatry, 19(1), 35–39. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20718
Deloitte. (2020). Mental health and employers: The case for investment. https://www2.deloitte.com/
Harvey, S. B., Joyce, S., Tan, L., Johnson, A., Nguyen, H., Modini, M., & Groth, M. (2017). Developing mentally healthy workplaces: A review. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 51(1), 94–104. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004867416681197
Joyce, S., Shand, F., Bryant, R. A., Lal, T. J., & Harvey, S. B. (2018). Mindfulness-based resilience training in the workplace: Pilot study of the internet-based Resilience@Work (RAW) Mindfulness Program. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 20(9), e10326. https://doi.org/10.2196/10326
Patel, V., Saxena, S., Lund, C., Thornicroft, G., Baingana, F., Bolton, P., Chisholm, D., Collins, P. Y., Cooper, J. L., Eaton, J., Herrman, H., Herzallah, M. M., Huang, Y., Jordans, M. J. D., Kleinman, A., Medina-Mora, M. E., Morgan, E., Niaz, U., Omigbodun, O., Prince, M., Rahman, A., Saraceno, B., Sarkar, B. K., De Silva, M., Singh, I., Stein, D. J., Sunkel, C., & Unützer, J. (2018). The Lancet Commission on global mental health and sustainable development. The Lancet, 392(10157), 1553–1598. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31612-X
World Health Organization. (2021). Mental health and work. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-and-work