World Mental Health Day 2017 – Mental Health in the Workplace
October 10 is recognised every year as World Mental Health Day. The theme for 2017 is Mental Health in the Workplace.
Think about it from the time we are born, our mindset is already programmed to the workplace. What we study in school, perhaps college and university, all point to what we will spend most of our adult lives doing…working. What do you want to be when you grow up is the ‘well-meaning’ question we are asked before we can even recite the alphabet properly.
And then the day arrives. We get a job. We spend so much time at work. Monday to Friday eats 5 days out of the 7 days we are given in a week. Imagine if one worked 2 days and had 5 days as the weekend. Would we have a better quality of life? Would that improve our mental health at least?
Has anyone heard of Mental Health First Aid?
Have you heard of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA)? Mental Health First Aid is a training which teaches people how to identify and help someone who may be experiencing a mental health issue.
I believe mental health is so important in the workplace. It is now said that one in three sick notes by GPs in the UK are for mental health issues!
If majority of organisations train people on ‘general’ First Aid, how many companies actually invest on Mental Health First Aid?
…so what are the benefits of MHFA?
I personally believe that Mental Health First Aid should be compulsory especially for large organisations! When an organisation invests in MHFA, it shows (we hope at least) that indeed it cares about the well being of its staff. And that they are understanding of the significance of mental health in the workplace.
It is also making a statement that stigma and discrimination against staff challenged with mental illness is not tolerated.
In the same way, people who go for First Aid Training learn what to do in an emergency, likewise, are there people who can spot crucial warning signs of mental ill health?
If someone was having a panic attack, for example, is there someone who knows what to do? Or does everyone just back away? What if someone was feeling suicidal? How about self harm?
The advantage of training selected personnel on MHFA means that the impact of mental ill health of colleagues is minimised both for the person feeling unwell and also for the productivity of the company. It has to be a ‘win win’ situation all around!
It also means where any of the warning signs are recognised like suicidal tendencies, alcohol abuse, self harm, a trained MHFA can appropriately ask the employee in a sensitive manner without causing too much offense?
When a staff member know that their organisation is understanding of mental health issues, it gives that person the platform to be more honest…No more calls of migraines…when in actual fact, one feels like their heart is reaping out due to an anxiety attack!
This means overall that an employee can talk freely (again I use the word ‘freely’ loosely because I am being really hopeful here).
In the long run, the organisation should seek to get the employee back to work in an appropriate and timely manner when ‘safe’ to do so.
The truth of the matter of an employee is, the added fear of thinking one will lose their job. This only adds to the condition of ill health they are already experiencing. And prolongs the sick days!
Employees must feel that they are being supported as best as possible. They must not feel judged or criticized. They must not feel incapable of doing their job too. This last point is significant but we don’t have much space to further elaborate today.
Mental health issues are not going to go away. People have more stresses to deal with than any of generation. So it very important, that mental health is taken very seriously in the workplace.
That way we can go a long way in preventing people from reaching crisis point in their lives and perhaps before they make the ‘sensational headlines’ of some of the terrible carnage we are witnessing around us.
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