The Benefits of a mental health promoting workplace
Work takes up a third of our day. It has an important role in our lives. The working environment can positively or negatively affect our mental wellbeing and, in the same way, we can positively or negatively affect our workplace.
ACCORDING TO THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION (WHO):
“Work is an essential feature of most people’s adult life, and has personal, economic and social value.” (WHO, 2005)
PLUS – Creating a workplace culture, that is open to learning and shows understanding of mental health has benefits for employers, employees and the wider community.
The relationship between work and mental health.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that work “substantially contributes to a person’s identity; it provides income for an individual and his or her family, and can make a person feel he or she is playing a useful role in society. It is also an important source of social support.”
(WHO, 2005, p. 9)
Furthermore, the workplace itself can have either positive and/or negative effects on an individual’s mental wellbeing.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recognises that work is “an important determinant of self-esteem and identity [providing] a sense of fulfilment and opportunities for social interaction.”
(2009, p. 6)
Community Benefits
Employer/ Empoyee Benefits
Goals
MENTAL HEALTH SPECTRUM
Mental health exists on a continuum, ranging from poor mental health to positive mental health
