Work, a key space for promoting mental health
Work is one of the key relational and developmental spaces for individuals. It's part of our life project, our professional aspirations, and where we spend a considerable number of hours trying to perform different tasks within organizations that can be more or less complex.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), all workers have the right to a safe and healthy work environment. Decent work supports good mental health and provides:
- A means of livelihood.
- A sense of confidence, purpose, and accomplishment.
- An opportunity for positive relationships and inclusion in a community
- A foundation for establishing structured routines, among many other benefits.
In the case of people with a mental health disorder, decent work can play a key role in their recovery and inclusion, improving their self-esteem and participation in society.
Therefore, we are talking about a right : the right to a safe and healthy workplace. The emotional well-being of people at work is a shared responsibility at all levels: administrative, legal, organizational, educational, and of each individual who interacts with others in a work environment. Understanding the risks that jeopardize people's emotional well-being is both a right and an obligation in order to build healthy work environments.
What makes an organization healthy?
There are certain elements that characterize healthy work environments, as pointed out in the EMPOWER project:
They promote a positive culture in the workplace
Spaces where people feel good about going to work and where development, camaraderie, and strategies aimed at creating a positive organizational culture are encouraged:
- Maintaining enthusiasm for projects
- Caring for people - Empathy with personal needs
- Positive leadership, with leaders who set an example of commitment, productivity, and responsibility.
- Promote a healthy lifestyle in which working people are not burdened with overtime.
- Trust in employees and their abilities.
- With open and effective communication channels.
- With the ability to detect problems.
They manage stress effectively
Those responsible for organizations must know how to effectively manage aspects that can lead to the appearance of stress, anxiety or depression in workers and that are related to processes, organization or workloads, among others.
They provide support to people who have a mental health problem
Helping employed people stay in their jobs or return to work has clear benefits, both for the individual and the company.
Zero tolerance for discrimination
In addition to being a legal requirement, protecting workers from discrimination fosters a diverse workforce and ensures that everyone has a fair chance.
What is mental health at work?
Mental health is not a fixed or static state, but rather a state with two extremes between which we can fluctuate at different times in life. According to the WHO, "Mental health is a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to contribute to his or her community."
When we talk about mental health in the workplace, we are referring to the positive or negative effect that our work environment has on our emotional well-being, as well as the impact that our mental health can have on our ability to perform our job efficiently.
The perspective is always multifaceted because work is a protective factor for mental health, but it can also worsen it if adverse conditions arise that undermine our well-being. In other cases, we must consider that there are people with emotional distress or mental health problems that are not related to work but that can affect their job performance.
In any case, workplaces can play a key role by providing safe, supportive, flexible and enabling spaces that allow people to develop, feel comfortable and where they can find support when needed.
Psychosocial risks in the workplace
On the other hand, we cannot lose sight of the fact that, according to the WHO, more than half of the global workforce works in the informal economy —that is, those jobs or economic activities that are outside the regulated economy and the tax system. The informal economy provides access to employment for people who lack job and social security, often serving as a space for acquiring skills that later allow access to the formal economy. In any case, these are jobs characterized by precarious wages, a high rate of discrimination against women (who are held in more precarious and lower-paid positions), and a series of factors that foster their growth, such as migration processes and the economic, legal, and educational context. Furthermore, these are work environments where it is not possible to regulate strategies that promote emotional well-being.
Promoting good mental health at work is profitable and ethical
Mental health problems, especially depression and anxiety, are projected by the WHO in 2018 to be the leading cause of disability worldwide by 2030, regardless of socioeconomic status, country, beliefs, or culture. Mental health problems have a direct economic impact.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) published a report estimating the costs of work-related depression at €617 billion annually in Europe. In Spain, healthcare and treatment for mental and behavioral disorders originating in the workplace had an estimated cost of between €150 million and €372 million in 2010. Furthermore, the report indicates that a total of 2.78 million working days were lost as a result of work-related mental health disorders, causing losses of €170 million in Spain, primarily due to presenteeism and absenteeism.
Taking care of mental health at work
Looking after the mental health of employees has a mutual benefit , both for the individual and for the organization. There are numerous reasons why organizations should commit to mental health and well-being:
- The Seoul Declaration (28) of the International Labour Office (ILO) and its partners argues that health and safety are a fundamental human right.
- Health and safety legislation provides for the obligation to prevent harm to mental health caused by work-related reasons.
- Equality legislation includes the obligation to ensure that people with mental health problems are not discriminated against in areas such as hiring, promotion, or access to training.
- It's a matter of ethics and organizational culture . As explained in the European Union's guide, Promoting Mental Health in the Workplace , "being active in this area helps fulfill the social contract that employers have with their employees and with society as a whole, and also helps maintain a good public image for the employer. In addition, many employers consider that good practices regarding mental health in the workplace help them meet their corporate social responsibility obligations, especially when employers' practices go beyond legal requirements."
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