For mental health, silence isn't golden

Mental health can no longer be at the end of the priority list. It needs to be a frontline agenda

The good news is that the world is slowly realising the important role mental health plays in our lives. Though the general awareness about mental health is still shaky at best, we have to be thankful that people are at least talking about it now.

According to the Lancet Commission on Worldwide Mental Health and Sustainable Development, mental illnesses will cost the global economy $16 trillion by 2030. The corporate world is slowly waking up to a realisation that there is much to be done to help the mental wellbeing of their employees. The pandemic has helped speed this process up, however, the need was always there, and the pandemic just increased the urgency.

Mental health awareness has been picking up pace in the western world for the last few years, but it is taking time to translate to other areas such as the UAE. Unfortunately, we have been slow to react, but have now realised that we cannot afford to sit and watch. To tackle this silent and often unspoken problem, we need solutions, and we need them now.

In recent years, we have all experienced some ever-present stress. We are worried about a multitude of things, from job security to financial stability, work-life balance, the list goes on. We frequently dismiss mental health concerns; we do not talk about our thoughts and feelings and simply just get on with them.

However, there is a glimmer of hope within our region. At the beginning of 2021, The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) outlined quality of life and wellbeing program for employees highlighting the importance of their employees as their greatest asset.

Leadership teams are beginning to accept that they need to take action. These actions can be mandating rest hours, reworking office times and opening avenues to foster conversation around mental health.

All managers must seek to build a culture that properly acknowledges mental health, and where their employees can openly talk about the support they need. Such actions from CEOs and HR managers can have a remarkable impact on overall mental health awareness among employees.

From the data we have seen it’s quite simple, the mental health of your workforce will determine the overall health of your company and overall health cannot be achieved without addressing mental wellbeing.

This being said, there still is a huge need for education for our HR leaders and teams on what measures are introduced when combatting long-standing wellbeing problems. William Fleming, of the University of Cambridge, analysed data from over 128 organisations and found that management initiatives are not having the positive result intended on employees’ mental health.

Mr Fleming said: “Merely offering short-term programmes, classes or webinars is not satisfactory for solving long-standing problems of employee wellbeing.” He even went as far as saying that stress management classes had generally worsened employee wellbeing.

This shows that it’s important for each leader within their business to really understand the dynamics of their team and how they are feeling, but also realising that this isn’t a quick fix.

For the leaders of businesses, in addition to setting measurable goals for improving wellbeing, money will have to be set aside to reach these goals, because as you know, if it’s not in the budget, it’s not real.

Through My Wellbeing Lab, we are on a mission to help companies create a positive mental health environment in their workspace. We have observed that companies that invest in mental wellbeing see improved employee retention, attraction, and engagement, but overall an increase in their company’s wellbeing score and productivity score.

Mental health can no longer be at the end of the priority list. It needs to be a frontline agenda.

In the coming years, we will see a lot more demand for mental health services from the corporate sector all over the world. One company or one solution cannot tackle this behemoth issue, we will need many solutions and many approaches to ensure that all our lives are stress-free, mentally sound, and healthy.

So this is a call to action, that time isn’t on our side, but if we can capitalise on this wave of mental health awareness that the pandemic has pushed at us, it can be.

Published by Arabian Business on Sunday 12 September 2021 02:35 PM.