Hi, fam! It’s that time of the year when as a global Community, we get to talk about the importance of mental health and measures we can put in different aspects of our daily lives to support our mental wellbeing and prevent mental disorders.
This year, we will be bringing to light the importance of prioritizing mental health in our workplaces as the theme for this year’s campaign is “It is time to prioritize mental health at the workplace.”
Over the past recent years, workplace conditions like long work hours, and night and weekend shifts have increasingly begun to hurt the mental health of employees. Not only has this led to burnout and other stress-related mental health problems, but it has also evolved Into absenteeism and presenteeism in workplaces.
All these problems have resulted in low productivity of Organisations and society at large as more individuals are not able to reach their maximum potential in the overall community continues to increase.
This has prompted the urgent global call to address the elephant in the room by prioritizing mental health and enacting laws that protect and support people who disclose and have mental health challenges in our workplaces.
According to the goals of this year’s mental health day, here are helpful measures we can put in place in our workspaces to cultivate a culture of care that increases enthusiasm overall performance and innovation:
- Flexible work hours and allowance to work from home.
- Ensure there is a policy that authorizes employees’ time off work when due to encourage rest.
- Provide access to mental health resources which includes Professionals (Psychiatrists, Psychologists) and important information about mental health preservation.
- Encourage open conversations about mental health and non-stigmatisation of persons that have any mental health problem.
Let’s make this change together!
What will you do differently from today in your workplace?