World Mental Health Day 2024; Wellbeing in The Workplace.
- Jennifer Tasker
- Oct 10, 2024
- 3 min read
October 10th is World Mental Health Day and the theme for 2024 is wellbeing in the workplace.
I, like many others, have suffered with workplace stress and anxiety. It can cause so many problems, that extend beyond the workplace, such as relationship issues, health problems and burn out.
So, what can we do to help companies and their employees more resilient to the harm caused by poor mental health?
Do companies do enough for their employee's mental health?
Some do, and it is getting better, However, often the efforts can be a little superficial (think "free coffee and cake" or the occasional "team-building yoga" class), or reactive (trying to pick up the pieces, when things are already bad). These efforts, however well-meaning are not enough to really take care of their workforce's emotional health.
Psychological "health and safety"
When you start a job, you have to do health and safety training. This is preparing, proactively, for the prevention of harm caused by physical hazards. What about psychological Hazards though? Many jobs have some risks to psychological health, especially the kinds of jobs where you work with people face to face.
Potential hazards or "psychosocial risks" in the workplace are;
The threat of getting attacked physically or verbally
The threat of witnessing such an attack
Pressure of deadlines or workload
Bullying and harassment in the workplace
Concerns about disciplinary action
Taking on the emotional distress of the people you work with (particularly in emergency services or health and social care settings)
But what about psychosocial risks from out of the work place?
These can still affect the individual and make it hard for them to work to their full potential. They may struggle to do the work and are more susceptible to becoming stressed and burnt out.
Things that could affect an individual in this way are;
Relationship issues or breakdowns
Family problems
Moving house
Financial worries
Loss and bereavement
Trauma and adverse events
Health issues
Did you know, the HSE has recently added ISO 45003 Guidance on Psychological Health and Safety in the work place, which states work places need to look at the "whole" person and for the best outcome, this should be done as proactively as traditional health and safety.
Green Owl Psychological Health & Safety Training
GOPHAST is an 8 module course that focusses on improving emotional resilience, through psychoeducation and guided self-reflection activities. It is designed for any organisation but an extra benefit to any people facing employees, is that it improves insight into the mental health and behaviours in others. Benefits include;
Insight into emotional health of self and others
Science based information on 8 different aspects of overall health and wellbeing.
Skills and knowledge that can be used after the course
Practical and creative skills to self-reflect, regulate and cope
Improved workplace culture and a team, more able to support each other
Less absenteeism and presenteeism (at work but not performing as well)
A happier, more resilient workforce.
Skills that can be used in work, out of work and with other people
A deep, science informed understanding of the different aspects to psychological health and wellbeing.
This course has been sensitively curated by an Art Psychotherapist and combines the latest psychological theories and research with a down-to-earth, creative approach.
And even better, each time a company chooses GOPHAST, they sponsor free, creative psychoeducation courses for people in the community!
GO Art Therapy; A Creative Approach to Community Mental Health
For more details about our courses and bespoke packages, contact us on:
07761951585
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