Why Mental Health in the Workplace Matters

Mental health matters in every aspect of life. My guest Claire Russell and I talk about why mental health in the workplace is so important. When business leaders understand this everyone benefits. In this episode we chat about:

• The importance of acknowledging mental health in the workplace;
• Mental health affects us all, if you have a heartbeat, you experience mental health;
• #time4action is about taking the conversation about mental to the next level; and
• The wonderful work being done by the charity Samaritans.

Here are a few thought bomb takeaways:

• I have to say this really hit home for me. Business leaders (and leaders in general) have a responsibility to make mental health part of the business culture. There is a huge ripple effect when leaders embrace this;
• Many of us think we are immune to mental health issues. The truth is no-one is exempt from experiencing low moments that feel overwhelming. The secret is understanding that this is normal. It’s like a personal alert system that it’s time to take notice of how you are experiencing life at that moment;
• There are many organizations doing amazing things. The organization Samaritans responds to a call every 6 seconds. There are two things that stand out to me about this statistic. Firstly, there are a lot of people who feel they don’t have someone they can reach out to. This is our humanity, this should be at the forefront of the news and we are all responsible to help address this issue. The second thing that sticks out to me is that organizations such as this one make a tremendous impact on society. I’m truly grateful they exist. And finally
• For what purpose? This is such a great question, it’s wonderful to have conversations but ask yourself - for what purpose? There is always so much talk, it’s time to take action.

Until next time,  be well, be inspired, be you.