Life, work and mental health

This World Mental Health Day 2024 Graeme Stevenson, Senior Health Improvement Officer - Public Mental Health and Mel Bridgewood, Health Improvement Manager - Fair Work and Employability reflect on this year’s themes of life, work and mental health.

Graeme writes:

A dull January day started with lots of water falling from on high. Not the typical Scottish rain though. This was inside!

A burst pipe. A badly damaged ceiling. An unwelcome upheaval to our family home. Our sanctuary from the Scottish winter knocked off kilter and now a huge source of stress. Meanwhile work kept going. Teams calls and challenges of the day job, normally taken in my stride, felt like too much now. Sleep became a rare treat, until it became all I wanted to do. Picking up my son from school, normally a ray of light, became something I dreaded. I had to flick a switch internally to pretend everything was ok. Perspective was lost - anxiety had taken over.  

The toll of the anxiety I was suffering was written all over my face. But I was lucky, just one supportive and constructive conversation with my line manager was all that was needed and a plan to support me was in place.

Having the support of a workplace that breaks down barriers to talking about mental health is so crucial. In this instance, a few days off to focus on the immediate crisis was just what I needed. As the house problems eased and my coping strategies improved, I was back at work and in my stride again. A problem that could have escalated and required longer absence, was averted. I knew that my manager, my colleagues and the organisation had my back.

Mel writes:

World Mental Health Day - Mental Health at Work

On average we spend 90,000 hours at work – a third of our adult life, so workplaces have a sizable impact on a person’s experience of mental health. Good quality work can significantly contribute to our quality of life and our mental health. It can be where support systems are formed, where we develop a sense of purpose, and can be a source of financial security – all contributing factors to how mentally well we feel. We would all like to work in a mentally healthy workplace - an environment where open, compassionate conversations about our mental health flow as normally as talking about a cold or a sprained ankle.

Getting to that stage for any organisation can be a long road, a process where some improvements are made, but where the journey to creating a mentally healthy environment is very much a work in progress. Work in progress is okay. In fact it is better than ok but there is always more that can be done.

This is the ethos of a mentally flourishing workplace. We recognise that there is no end goal - the journey is one of continuous improvement, where workplaces build upon the work being done to ensure those compassionate conversations with colleagues become normal.

Culture and Mental Health in the Workplace

A culture that is compassionate, curious, proactive and transparent is central to achieving a mentally flourishing workplace - but what does 'culture' mean? It means that the whole company shares a set of values embedded at all levels within the organisation which inform everything; from policy to day to day practices. It’s what we do, or don’t do, that results in how likely or unlikely people are to remain in good mental health and reach out for support if they are struggling.

Here are some examples of positive actions that can truly impact on an organisation's culture:

Act from the top down

Senior leaders should demonstrate vulnerability and understanding of mental health by sharing their experiences or their view of mental health and why it’s important to them in the workplace.

Mental Health front and centre

Place the mental health of your organisation at the centre of your business decisions. Poor mental health is a risk for any organisation so treat it like a risk and consider the impact a decision may make and what you can do to mitigate this.

Safe space to talk

Provide frequent opportunities and ways for people to share how they are feeling in and out of work. Remember to close the loop – if issues are raised, make sure that your people feel heard, supported and taken seriously.

Join the network

Supporting a mentally healthy workplace is a national learning network for employers across Scotland. so sign up to be part of the network

Many of us feel fortunate in that we have a supportive culture in our organisations. There is always more that can be done so that when the ceiling comes down, we feel confident to talk, to be heard and be supported.