What is a mentally healthy workplace?

While the places we work come in all shapes and sizes, mentally healthy working environments generally have a few things in common.  

·         Positive workplace culture. Put simply, they're places where people feel good about coming to work, and everyone's encouraged and supported.

·         Stress and other risks to mental health are managed. Stress, heavy workloads, unrealistic deadlines, poor communication, uncertainty - these and other factors can all contribute to anxiety and depression, and it's up to managers and leaders to keep them in check. 

·         People with mental health conditions are supported. Helping employees to stay at or return to work has clear benefits, both for the individual and the business. 

·         Zero-tolerance approach to discrimination. As well as being a legal requirement, protecting employees from discrimination encourages a diverse workforce and ensures everyone gets a fair go.  

Creating a mentally healthy workplace isn't as difficult as you might think. We've got tailored resources to help every workplace and individual in Australia take action.

Workplaces can affect mental health – either positively or negatively

While being employed is generally better for our mental health than unemployment, some factors at work can have a negative effect on our health and well being. 

‘Job stress’, or work-related stress, occurs when someone feels that the demands of their role are greater than their abilities or resources to do the work. While stress isn't the same thing as anxiety or depression, excessive or long-term stress can increase your risk of developing a mental health condition.

The majority of job roles and working environments have stressors or risk factors for mental health. Employers have a legal responsibility to reduce these risks so far as is 'reasonably practicable' for their workplace. This measure is different for every workplace and situation, taking into account factors such as the likelihood of risk, degree of harm, and the availability, suitability and cost of any solutions.  

article by Heads up Australia