More than three million Australians are living with depression and anxiety. And many don’t feel like they can tell their employer or seek support from their workplace.
Business leaders and managers can be essential to driving change within organisations. Here, we look at how to create a mentally healthy workplace – and why it’s so important.
What is a mentally healthy workplace?
According to Australian charity Beyond Blue and its workplace initiative Heads Up, a mentally healthy workplace is one that has a positive workplace culture, where stress and other risks to mental health are managed, and people with mental health conditions are supported. They also practice a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination.
They identified mentally healthy workplaces as having nine key attributes, which are:
- Prioritising mental health.
- A trusting, fair and respectful culture.
- Open and honest leadership.
- Good job design.
- Workload management.
- Employee development.
- Inclusion and influence.
- Work/life balance.
- Mental health support.
Mental health in Australian workplaces
The ‘State of workplace health in Australia’ study, undertaken by Beyond Blue, offers a snapshot of how Australians view mental wellbeing in their workplaces. Some key insights include that:
- One in five Australians (21%) have taken time off work in the past year because they felt stressed, anxious, depressed or mentally unhealthy. This statistic is more than twice as high (46%) among those who consider their workplace mentally unhealthy.
- Some 91% of Australian employees agree that is it important to work in a mentally healthy environment, yet only 52% of employees agree their workplace is mentally healthy.
- Seventy-five per cent of Australian employees believe workplaces should provide support to someone who is experiencing depression or anxiety.
- Some 81% of business leaders indicated their workplace has one or more policies, procedures or practices to support mental health. Yet some 35% of employees don’t know these resources exist or don’t have access to them.
Why creating a culture of mental wellbeing matters
A mentally healthy workplace is one where employees enjoy their work and those they work with. It has a positive culture, where people feel safe, supported and where mental health conditions are not stigmatised or discriminated against.
As a result, employees are productive, engaged and invested in the business, their team, and the work they do. This flows on into other benefits including being an ethical workplace that has a strong employer brand, low retention and attracts top talent.
How to create a mentally healthy workplace
Mentally healthy workplaces are those that promote a culture of mental wellbeing and support it with resources, policies and procedures, which are clearly communicated and easily accessed by all staff. They also work with and train employees and management to better identify and support colleagues that may be experiencing mental health conditions, such as anxiety or depression.
Heads Up offers a range of tools and resources to help you create a mentally healthy culture in your workplace. This includes free online programs, tailored training programs, webinars, and how-to guides on how to develop workplace mental health strategies for individuals, businesses and larger organisations.
Suicide prevention charity R U OK? also have a range of workplace resources, which support their work of encouraging more people to ask ‘Are you okay?’ of those that may be struggling. This includes guides and resources, as well as tips on how to host work events on R U OK? Day, which is on September 13.
Creating a mentally healthy workplace where people feel safe and supported has endless benefits for your team and business.
If you or someone you know is struggling with anxiety, depression or a personal crisis call Beyond Blue on 1800 224 636 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.