October 10, 2022
World Mental Health Day
World mental health day gives us the chance to discuss mental health and how it can negatively affect the people around us, it also engages with people around the world and entices them to take action to improve their mental health and the health of the people around them. This day can also help people learn more about the ways in which they can help themselves or others using the massive amounts of help and resources that are available to them.
‘More than one in five (21%) agreed that they had called in sick to avoid work when asked how workplace stress had affected them.’ This statistic shows that the stress that is caused by the workload people are presented with has resulted in them being forced to hide away from the workplace, this shows the general lack of help and responsibility taken on by businesses in regard to assisting their staff with the stress their jobs put them under and the negative effects it has on their mental health.
Stress is only a small part of the reasons why some people have such poor mental health in the workplace, for example, a person may feel anxious to come into a busy office after being forced to work from home for 2 years and coming back to this opposing environment could negatively affect their mindset.
As we know, there is a broad spectrum of things that can affect people’s mental health. This results in managers, team members, and other members of staff without the right training being unable to deal with people who come to them for help. Showing that more training and support are much needed and will be greatly valued in many workplaces.
If you know someone who is struggling with their mental health, or you are struggling yourself, there are many ways to help them or get help for yourself, for example, regular exercise, good quality sleep, and being open and talking about your mental health can all play a significant part in repairing and keeping your mental health at a good level. Otherwise, there are lots of online resources that can help you, your staff or your team members, here's a few to get you started and on the right path:
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/
https://www.mind.org.uk/workplace/mental-health-at-work/taking-care-of-your-staff/
With COVID-19 and all that comes with it creating a global mental health crisis, it is more important now than ever to educate and act. If we are all working together to improve our mental health, we will become much healthier as a society.
