Active Promotion of Mental Health in the Workplace Introduction With events such as Bell’s “Let’s Talk” and organizations like Jack.org, mental health has recently become a significant topic of interest of mine. While I have noticed an obvious increase in its awareness, I believe that a lack of resources still does exist for mental health in the workplace. In my opinion, mental health is just an integral to basic human rights as is physical health and it should therefore be equally promoted. This paper will explore the extent to which organizations currently support mental health and suggest ways that stricter regulations and active promotion in the workplace can help companies provide better working environments. Current Workplace Landscape …show more content…
However, as noted by Cheryl Edwards, a lawyer of Heenan Blaikie’s national occupational health and safety practice, compliance of the standard is not enforceable under any legislation in Canada (2013). While I do think that such a document provides a great resource for organizations seeking advice, the non-compulsory nature of the standard prevents its guidelines from becoming well-known or widely accepted practices. From my personal experience, the extent to which mental health is promoted depends on the company and its size instead of what standards exist. Given an optional guideline, smaller organizations tend to avoid complying to reduce costs. For example, I have previously worked at a small start-up company as well as at a software firm of less than twenty individuals. Mental health was never brought up, though workplace safety and physical hazards were thoroughly discussed in compliance with government regulations. Conversely, a colleague of mine worked for the federal government over the summer and in his experience, the importance of mental health and available resources were heavily …show more content…
This would ensure that such standards were actually practiced in the majority of organizations. Some examples of standards that could be included would be adding mental health days in addition to sick days for workers, requiring employees to take relaxation breaks after certain intervals of work, requiring organizations to have areas for meditation, and other such similar ideas. In terms of management, legally mandated committees dedicated to psychological well-being as well as having training for managers to learn how to identify and deal with mental health issues would be extremely
First and foremost managed mental health care is a business and good business often prevents good medicine. Theoretically, a well implemented managed care could work well, but in order to make their stockholders happy, managed care companies do not always implement policies to help the patient. An example of this would be the common policy of company personnel making tre...
According to chapter twelve in “Work Accommodation and Retention in Mental Health” employers have an economic and a social interest in the mental health condition of their workers. There is recognition that the workplace environment can either help or hurt the productivity of long term employment which is why there has been a shift from a medical to social model of workplace health. As stated by Perez and Wilkerson “Fifty percent of those who miss work because of mental or emotional problems will take either 13 or more days off, or will never return to their jobs” (as cited in Work, 2010, pg. 295). Large multinational corporations like Johnson and Johnson have adopted ideas of keeping the workplace healthy with an understanding of the
It is essential to understand that mental health professionals should be able to uphold with the same Code of Ethics and Standards from one professional to other. Professional should have responsibility or liability for the practice that they perform and the services that they carry out to the people. If one professional does not follow the standards and ethics that they practice, other professionals will take advantage of their obligations and the Code of Ethics and Standards will not be of good use to the people that they
Mental Health is a very important, in depth study that needs more support. Identification of mental stressors is a skill everyone should to have to live with increased mental health. New York State Healthy People 2020 has placed Mental Health as a priority, increasing awareness for mental health illness and prevention. Providing care for Healthcare workers is a small fraction of the entirety of mental health issues. Working in the hospital is stressful, caring for others takes a huge mental and emotional toll on providers. Identifying who is most at risk and understanding what is needed to prevent mental disorders is imperative as a healthcare worker. Mental Health is defined by Healthy People 2020 as having participation in productive activities,
Job Description for a Mental Health Navigator Job Introduction. Mental health navigators are highly trained professionals who play a critical role in helping individuals navigate through the complex healthcare system to access mental health services. In this essay, we will discuss the job description for a mental health navigator, including the characteristics, key roles, and responsibilities of this essential position. Navigator Role:.
Shakespeare's writing continues to resonate through ages, exploring the depths of love even in the face of death. In "Romeo and Juliet", he delves into the life of star-crossed lovers who hail from enemies families; the Capuletes and Motagues. Once their love is true, it has perpetuated until their last breath. " Romeo and Juliet were not destined to die in each other's arms" (SAVVAS reader), it was inevitable, but Friar Lawrence failed in preserving their lives due to not had advised Friar John of the importance of the letter, and due to had run when Juliet needed him the most, the young couple died. The plan intended to unite them in life, but instead, united them in their graves.
Even individuals who suffer from problems with their mental health are in need of jobs to maintain a standard of living, though it is not usually easy for them to obtain jobs. For example, certain employment programs and service providers require their workers to understand severe mental illnesses so that they can assist those in need keep their jobs (Cott et al., 2014). However, the jobs that they receive do not provide much opportunity for growth or career advancement. This inequality is due to the belief that those suffering from mental illnesses would be unable to succeed without immeasurable help from others (Cott et al., 2014). As such, the struggle to find jobs may harm certain individuals, as it is not an easy path for them, and they are discriminated against even while they are within the workforce. This may feed some mental illnesses, such as depression and anxiety, since the rejection from jobs could negatively affect their behaviour and feelings about themselves. Conversely, work itself can be detrimental as well. This is because the stress that accompanies a person’s work can significantly lower their mental health and cause them to suffer from illnesses such as burnout, reduced productivity, somatic illness and even mortality, to name a few (Griffiths, 2014). It can happen to anyone, despite the quality of their mental
When I first began hearing Mental Health, I thought it was a nice way of saying you’re dealing with crazy people (I know we are not supposed to say this). I have learned that Mental Health is an umbrella under which Mental Illness or Disorders are developed or discovered and treated. Everyone has Mental Health whether they have a problem or not is another question. I think every place of employment should be required to have classes on mental health and customer service no matter line of line it is. This would help solve some of the problems we have with work place violence and stress and some of the issues with the police. It would also help lead some people to getting the help they may need on their own
...e, and increase the effectiveness of care. These goals came about because standards of care for people with mental illness varied greatly depending on the area in which they lived. A person with a mental illness should then be expect to be able to access services and be treated in the same ways as anyone else. Even the community can help theses people to recover without knowing. The policy says that the community can help buy simply “Improving the general understanding of mental illness and emotional disturbances, make clear that recovery is possible, and encourage help-seeking behaviors across the lifespan” (The Federal Action Agenda: First Steps. Web. 24 Mar. 2014).
Since it has become more understood better treatment plans have been created. There a various therapies and medications that can help manage mental health. However, there is an estimated 50 million people in America that has a mental disorder(s) and sadly only about 10 million will receive mental healthcare. Why is this? This happens simply because mental illness does not care who you are and how much money you do or do not have in the bank. Mental illnesses can effect anyone and it can be anyone of the numerous different psychological disorders. When mental illness effects a person it disrupts their whole life, this would include their daily living as well as effecting how preform at work. Take for instance, if they work a production job it can cause them not to make production. If they cannot function well enough to work at their required performance, then this could and probably would lead into them being fired from their job. Without a job they would not only lose their income but they would also have say bye-bye to their insurance plan as well. This would leave them without and mental healthcare. Did you know that if 50% of those with schizophrenia, 25% of those with anxiety disorders, 33% of those with depression are currently receiving successful treatment and the likely success rate will be around 80 to 90%? A number of people with
In today’s world, mental illness is still looked upon as a very bad thing and the negative views of mental illness are common within the employees. Most of the time, people assume that employees who suffer from mental illness are often seen as weird, defensive, and hard to talk to. Generally, concepts about mental illness tend to be subjective, leading to difficulties in defining mental illness. One article has described mental illness as, “ mentally distorted, mad, or crazy” and the degree of mental illness varies depending from person to person (Corrigan et al. 2010, p. 909). The following essay is based on the topic ‘Mental Illness as an Emerging Discourse’ and the article ‘Employee Mental Illness: Managing the Hidden Epidemic’ was the main article that was analysed and used in the essay to discuss the topic. The analysis has been divided into two parts which are covered equally by the study group members.
Increasingly, good mental health in the workplace is an issue being raised. Job stresses are being recognized as affecting work performance and also an individual’s over-all well-being. There is a lot of information available about how to promote good mental health in the workplace but perhaps insufficient initiatives actually being used. Providing employees with information promoting good mental health alerts them to the problems but may not achieve the solutions. Within the larger society good physical health is overwhelmingly accepted as the first step to good mental health. Can mental health issues in the workplace be addressed in the same way, by
Human resources will need to place emphasis on employee wellness my initiating programs that “include work-life balance processes, stress management, and therapy programs, and facilitating an open dialogue about mental health and illness to remove much of the stigma that plagues the conversation and ailments (Guppta, 2016).” By utilizing flexible work schedule options, demanding jobs with high-stress levels are possible because employees’ free time does not have to be sacrificed.
It is deeply alarming that ignoring mental health is systematically ignored as an important part of health promotion. This is shocking because, in theory, mental health is recognized as an important component of health, the close link between physical and mental health is recognized, and it is generally known that physical and mental health share many of the same social, environmental and economic components. We know that facilities dedicated to those with mental health problems are more vulnerable to the resources of physical diseases in many parts of the world, and it is essential that mental health promotion should not be equally affected
Many people believe that mental illness has a more negative impact on family and friends when it has more of a negative impact on employment and finding future employment. The statistic by PBS “In the U.S, people with mental illness are two to three times more likely to be unemployed, and their employment rate is 15 percentage points lower for those without mental health problems.” shows that people are less likely to hire people with mental illnesses because of the negative stigma behind mental health. Employers may think that they will be incapable of completing task, incompetent, not possess the communication skills that they need to interact with other workers. Having a job can benefit a person with a mental illness tremendously, it not only gives them a sense of purpose and self it gives them a chance to plan and carry out activities and events in the workplace and encourages them to develop well needed skills.