The how, why and when of "mentally healthy workplaces"

Is your workplace “mentally healthy”? Learn what to look out for and how you can make an impact.

HR Leader learned from Q5’s managing director, Lyndal Hughes, what a mentally healthy workplace looks like, why it’s good for business, and why it’s important given the current backdrop against which organisations are operating.

Homing in on how to define “mentally healthy workplaces”, Ms Hughes identified these as, “ones where there is training provided for the individual in keeping themselves well, and EAP programs to pick up when people fall into clinical distress.”

“It is the accumulation of stressors that can lead to mentally ill health. So, any remedy needs to include systemic level areas as well, such as policies and practices,” she added.

Painting a picture of a mentally healthy workplace, Ms Hughes stated: “A mentally healthy workplace is a well performing workplace. In reality this means that people are having more ‘good days at work’ than not. When they look across a 3-month period, there is a sense that being at work has felt positive and supported. Coupled with this there is meaning and purpose in work. This is also a comfortable sense of belonging backed by a supportive culture and open environment where an individual can feel their work and contribution is being recognised and leading to the development in their role/career …”

Ms Hughes explained how a mentally healthy workplace has commercial benefits. She said: “A mentally healthy organisational culture drives performance, alignment and engagement and is a key differentiator for organisational success.”

She cited research by Robertson Cooper which Ms Hughes concluded as showing: “just focus on wellbeing and mental health and the rest follows.”

Putting the goal of a mentally healthy workplace within the context of today, Ms Hughes noted: “We have been talking about organisational health and the key role of purpose for a decade. But covid [sic] and other unexpected global events have put it to the forefront. A healthy organisation has a reservoir of energy from which to respond. Energy for time, thinking, adjusting. Goodwill – enough trust and relationships. But it all needs to be rebuilt.”

She continued: “While covid-19 [sic] drained much of the reservoir, organisations need to consciously rebuild it and do this quickly to get ready for the next volatile event. Workplace mental health is more than a HR check box, it is real and it is key to the success of the organisation and its most valuable asset, your people.”

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