Workplace Mental Health In 2021: How Can Leaders Build Enduring Change? - Millie Tan
Before the onset of the pandemic, there was a huge gap between the demand for mental healthcare support and the existing mental healthcare system. Circa 2020, and beyond, we are now dealing with a tidal wave of increasing mental health challenges — organizations are working towards combatting this pandemic but are still figuring out the right ways to do so.
With never-ending international lockdowns, economic crashes, and the brand-new workplace (or rather, virtual) environment, mental health has been deteriorating worldwide. Leaders in the workplace are at the forefront of this challenge. I recently read an article published by Forbes magazine, Workplace Mental Health In 2021: How Can Leaders Build Enduring Change? By Garen Staglin. This insightful article highlights key principles that showcase effective ways to combat mental health issues.
“The crises, challenges, and trauma of 2020 and 2021 have put mental health front-and-center for employers like never before. But will this period represent a fundamental turning point for workplace mental health? Can we usher in enduring change that not only addresses the COVID-19 pandemic but outlasts it? These questions are on the minds of business and HR leaders, mental health experts, and, perhaps most importantly, employees, who are reexamining why and how they want to work.
“Dialogue and discussion are the keys to finding answers. Across the U.S. and world, organizational leaders are having conversations about how to sustain and strengthen workplace mental health initiatives, make the future of work psychologically safe, and respond to the short- and long-term needs of workers. While this is an evolving discussion, a few key themes have begun to emerge. These principles can help employers to ensure the current focus on mental health translates into lasting solutions.”
The key principles mentioned in the article are:
· Responding to Tragedy and Trauma in the Workplace
· Recognizing the Intersection of Race, Ethnicity, and Mental Health
· Storytelling Can Be a Catalyst for Change
· Framing Workplace Mental Health as a Source of Positivity
· Eliminating Barriers to Care
The global workforce will never be the same post the COVID-19 pandemic. With mounting stress and mental health, challenges have forced us to be collectively attuned to mental health and neurodiversity. The pandemic has been a watershed moment for workplace mental health, and leaders will continue to navigate this phenomenon in order to constantly build enduring change around this phenomenon.
You can read the original article here.
