How are you improving mental health in your workplace?

Is your strategy for supportive mental health outcomes in your workplace limited to posters in the tea room, the occasional morning tea and yoga once a quarter?

Are you making distinctions between mental health issues that are caused by your workplace and issues that people have due to events occurring outside your workplace?

Of the issues that come up internally, are you taking the time to categorise them as issues arising between a couple of individual, or an individual and their team? Are you identifying what positive or negative affect the structure, culture and day to day operations of your workplace is having on your staff? Are your HR policies creating an environment of uncertainty? Are your processes for setting and talking about targets causing an unnecessary amount of stress amongst your staff? Have you decided as an organisation that happy, well adjusted people that feel secure will be more creative and productive? Are you ensuring that you are paying your staff a living wage?

I see a lot of organisations treating mental health support strategy outcomes for staff as add-ons, non-central to the function of the organisation. Positive mental health support can, and should be part of the central functions of any organisation. Being clear about the principles that guide your day to day operations and working in consideration for your staff and clients from the top down is a great way to embed a culture that improves the lives of everyone involved, as well as profitability and economy.

Next time you are thinking about assessing how you create an environment that supports, encourages and enhances the mental health and well-being of your people, get in touch to talk about ways to integrate organisational best practice in assessing, reporting, managing and supporting the mental well-being of your staff. Best practice is not a small bolt on, or simply a sub-committee of people that want to do events, it is structural and runs through the whole organisation for the better.

The Just Be Nice Project, Transforming business and community for good.