Wellness is not Mental Health
Rob Maisey
Workplace Mental Health Consultant | Psychological Health & Safety | If your employees are struggling so is your company
As a workplace mental health consultant, I'm passionate about helping organizations address the growing mental health challenges in the workplace. In my quest to find clients, I've encountered a range of responses from different stakeholders, each revealing a common pattern of misplaced responsibility.
It often starts from the moment I mention mental health; people assume that I'm talking about mental disorders rather than preventative mental health. When I explain they then think I must be talking about a wellness program...
CEOs often believe that they have everything covered and tell me mental health is the responsibility of Human Resources, expecting HR to manage it effectively. However, when I speak with HR departments, they frequently assume that mental health is covered by their benefit providers or Employee Assistance Programs. Digging deeper, I find that insurers think these issues are handled by the medical system, which only steps in when employees reach a crisis point.
Adding to this complexity, many wellness providers are cashing in on the dramatic increase in workplace mental health issues by offering initiatives marketed as mental health solutions. However, these are typically just perks, nice-to-have offerings, or apps that lack effectiveness.
Without someone accountable for workplace mental health, the burden falls on frontline managers and HR staff. They end up dealing with issues like:
??Employee Engagement
??Degraded Relationships
??Work from Home issues
??Presenteeism
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??Stress/ Low Resilience
??Absenteeism
??Burnout
??Employee Turnover
??Anxiety
??Depression / Low Motivation
They are expected to deal with this without adequate support, training, or resources. Moreover, these managers also find themselves in conflict with production targets, their own health and the employees' right to privacy, because mental health issues cross the borders between work and home and back with equal ease.
If your employees are struggling, your company will struggle too. I'm here to help navigate these challenges and implement effective mental health strategies that go beyond surface-level "wait 'til they break" solutions.
This is such an important distinction! Wellness programs can certainly support overall health, but they don’t always address the deeper, more complex issues related to mental health. Understanding the difference allows organizations to create more effective and comprehensive support systems for their employees. A vital conversation for workplace well-being!