I was recently invited to deliver a brief webinar on the topic of positive mental health in the workplace. As someone who has been researching workplace mental health for more than 20 years, the notion of condensing this topic into 20 minutes plus question time was a little daunting. But it’s a topic that I love talking about, and I am always up for a challenge, so I said yes!
After receiving some really fantastic feedback on my new 20-minute elevator pitch about positive workplace mental health, I realised that delivering information in easy-to-follow, bite-sized pieces can be a real game changer for people with a busy and demanding workload. So drawing on this, let’s take a short, evidence-based look at positive mental health in workplaces
Mental health vs mental illness
Mental health and mental illness are often confused.
Mental health refers to a state of well-being in which individuals can cope with everyday stresses, work productively, and contribute to their communities. It’s how we think, feel and cope with life’s ups and downs. It encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being.
Mental illness, on the other hand, is a diagnosed condition that significantly affects a person’s thinking, emotions, or behaviour, often requiring medical support or intervention.
While everyone has mental health, not everyone will experience a mental illness. Importantly, a person with a mental illness can still have aspects of positive mental health, just as someone without a diagnosed condition may struggle with their mental well-being.
Understanding this difference helps us talk about these issues and take a more compassionate approach to mental health discussions, whether in your workplace, at home or in social settings.
Positive mental health in the workplace
We talk a lot about workplace mental health, and it often seems that the focus of conversation is on making amends, or dealing with issues. However it’s also very important for us to spend time focusing on the proactive and preventive strategies and actions that we can take to promote positive mental health.
Let’s have a look at the ideas and practices that underpin this.
Workplace mental health isn’t just about addressing challenges – it’s about creating environments where individuals can flourish. Flourishing is a state where people experience positive emotions and social functioning most of the time. It’s the foundation for positive mental health and wellbeing, both for individuals and organisations.
To foster flourishing, we need to shift focus from solely reducing harm or responding to mental health issues to promoting the positive. This means developing the strengths of workers and the positive aspects of work itself.
My research has led to developing an integrated approach to managing workplace mental health and wellbeing, with three key pillars (pictured).
Three pillars of workplace mental health and wellbeingThis model defines ‘promote the positive’ as fostering positive mental wellbeing by developing positive aspects of work and worker strengths, rather than solely focusing on reducing negative aspects (prevent harm) or mental illness (respond to problems).
Promoting positive mental health at work
So how do we go about driving positive mental health at work, for our team members and ourselves? Here are some proven strategies:
- Psychological capital training: Building self-efficacy, optimism, hope, and resilience can help individuals thrive at work, and in life.
Known as the PsyCap model, this emphasises the idea that this ‘capital’ can be developed and enhanced through training and intervention. - Ongoing conversations, not just part of an annual performance appraisal but regular catch ups, with open and genuine questions such as:
- What do you enjoy most about your job? (enjoyment)
- How often do you get to use your strengths at work? (efficacy)
- What makes you feel good about the work you do? (meaning, emotion)
- To what degree are you usually happy to go to work? (engagement)
These conversations will provide insights and guidance, and while high level states of enjoyment, engagement, emotion may not be achieved every day, they are still a strong valuable measure to guide approaches to wellbeing.
- Activities such as mindfulness and gratitude exercises can also significantly enhance wellbeing at an individual level, while contributing to the social cohesion within the workplace.
Organisational interventions and actions
As leaders and people managers, we also need to ensure best practice when it comes to the design and structure of our teams, as well as the roles they have. Some important areas to focus on include:
- Job quality: good work positively impacts health and wellbeing. The Royal Australian College of Physicians talks about the Health Benefits of Good Work citing evidence that good work is beneficial to people’s health and wellbeing.
- Job design: Use SMART design to create roles that are Stimulating, offer Mastery, allow for Agency, encourage Relationships and are Tolerable. And encourage ‘Job Crafting’ where your staff can tailor their roles to their strengths and interests.
- Positive leadership: role modelling and leading by example, recognising employees strengths and successes, providing recognition and reward, and fostering a sense of social connection and belonging within your team.
Wrapping up
Promoting mental health at work isn’t just about mitigating risks and finding solutions to challenges. It’s about uncovering and discovering the potential of every individual employee to thrive and flourish. By prioritising positive mental health in our businesses, we’re building healthier, more engaged workplaces that will lead to better business outcomes in the short and long term. Let’s make well-being a priority in every workplace.
Professor Angela Martin is a Research Fellow in Work and Mental Health at Menzies Institute for Medical Research. She is also the Founder and Principal Consultant of Pracademia.
