Why is mental health training important?

The last few years have dramatically changed our personal and professional worlds. The impact of this change and uncertainty on our mental wellbeing is significant, but I’m glad to see it’s also received a lot of attention, and normalised discussion of mental health in the workplace.

Since 2019, more employees are leaving their jobs for mental health reasons, including workplace factors like overwhelming workloads and unachievable targets. These are factors that could be changed if there was more awareness that staff are feeling the burn.

A recent Forbes article spoke to the importance of mental health training in businesses. A rise in demand means that mental health training has gone from a “nice to have,” to a “business imperative”. Not only does learning in this area help staff normalise and have conversations about mental health, but it helps them recognise signs of their own stress and mental wellbeing.?

The relationship between mental health and workplace performance is well researched. A global study by Qualtrics found that 42% of people have experienced declining mental health since the start of 2020. Knock-on effects for those surveyed include feeling irritable, having trouble concentrating, taking longer to finish tasks, and increased anxiety. Increased stress leads to low productivity and performance, social avoidance and even an inability to physically complete tasks.

Unfortunately, it can be isolating for individuals to discuss mental health at work. Which is one reason why it’s important to make mental health education accessible for staff and build a culture of continuous learning so that the workplace can efficiently and successfully talk about and address mental health issues.

Being part of a workplace where people are confident in asking questions and offering support is enriching. Often, people don’t want to be saying the wrong thing or upsetting people. Or the culture doesn't feel safe enough to be vulnerable. Creating a culture of learning about mental well-being can help break down the stigma of talking about it at work. If someone is experiencing significant stress, whether it’s at work or in their personal life, and mental health is being discussed openly, then they're likely to feel more comfortable talking about it with managers and colleagues.?

In turn, their managers and colleagues are better equipped to have conversations that support their people. According to Forbes, empathy is the most important leadership skill. People experiencing mental health problems can benefit from someone to talk to who will understand. An empathetic leader is more approachable and likely to offer helpful advice and solutions to help support that staff member.

An additional benefit of educating about mental health is for leaders to check in with their own mental health. As a leader, we likely have a lot on our plate and need to know when enough is enough. We can dole out support and advice but need to know when to take our own medicine. If it’s visible to staff that we’re overdoing it, we're failing to model the very behaviours that we're advising our people to perform!

There’s a huge amount that can be covered under the umbrella of mental health training. At Yarno, we focus on mental well-being as part of our internal learning topics. We run campaigns on empathetic communication and mental health routinely, to embed learning in these fields, and equip Yarnoers with the skills and confidence to have conversations around mental health.

We’ve also introduced an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). The purpose of this EAP is to give Yarnoers access to counselling services, as well as monthly training seminars that look at different elements of mental wellbeing. Seminars that Yarnoers have attended include Positive Psychology, personal effectiveness and time management strategies, recognising signs of burnout and stress, and applying emotional intelligence at work.

Just like our physical fitness, our mental wellbeing is our own responsibility. Building confidence in conversations around mental health, as well as being able to recognise signs in ourselves that we need to slow down, is vital to the well-being of those around us, especially in the workplace.