Work can protect your mental health

Nearly 60% of the world’s population works (1). All workers have the right to a safe and healthy environment at work. Decent Work supports good mental health by providing:

• living;
• Confidence, Purpose, Accomplishment.
• Opportunities for positive relationships and community involvement.When
• Among many other advantages, it is a platform of structured routines.

For people with mental illness, decent work contributes to recovery and inclusion, and improves self-confidence and social functioning.

A safe and healthy work environment is not only a fundamental right, but it also minimizes tension and conflict in the workplace and is more likely to improve staff retention, job performance and productivity. increase. Conversely, a lack of effective structures and support in the workplace can affect your ability to enjoy your job and do your job well, especially for those with mental health conditions. It keeps people from coming to work and can even prevent people from getting jobs in the first place.

Mental health risks at work

In the workplace, mental health risks, also called psychosocial risks, can be related to job content and work schedules, specific workplace characteristics, and career development opportunities.

Mental health risks at work include:

• Underutilization of skills or lack of job skills.
• Excessive workload or work pace, understaffed.
• Long, unsociable or inflexible hours.
• Lack of control over work design and workload.
• unsafe or poor working conditions;
• An organizational culture that allows negative behavior.
• Limited support from peers or authoritarian overseers.
• Violence, harassment or bullying;
• discrimination and exclusion.
• Job roles are not clear.
• Under- or over-promotion.
• Job insecurity, inadequate wages, or inadequate investment in career development.When
• Conflicting home/work demands.

More than half of the world’s workforce works in the informal economy (2), lacking regulatory protections for health and safety. These workers often work in hazardous work environments, work long hours, have little or no access to social or economic protection, and face discrimination, all of which can compromise their mental health. .

Psychosocial risks are found in all sectors, but some workers may be more exposed to psychosocial risks than others because of what they do, where and how they work. is higher. Healthcare workers, humanitarian workers, or paramedics often have jobs that put them at high risk of exposure to adverse events that can adversely affect their mental health.

Economic recessions or humanitarian and public health emergencies pose risks such as unemployment, economic instability, reduced employment opportunities, or increased unemployment.

Work amplifies a wide range of issues that negatively impact mental health, including discrimination and inequality based on factors such as race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, social origin, immigration status, religion and age. environment.

People with severe mental health conditions are more likely to be excluded from employment and, if employed, are more likely to experience inequality in the workplace. Taking time off from work also puts your mental health at risk. Unemployment, job and financial insecurity, and recent job loss are risk factors for attempted suicide.

Initiatives for Mental Health in the Workplace

Governments, employers, organizations representing workers and employers, and other stakeholders responsible for worker health and safety can help improve mental health in the workplace through the following actions:

• Prevent work-related mental health conditions by preventing mental health risks in the workplace.
• Protect and promote mental health in the workplace.
• Support workers with mental illness to participate and succeed at work.When
• Create an environment that allows change.

Actions to address mental health in the workplace should be driven by the meaningful engagement of workers and their representatives, as well as those who have lived through mental health conditions.

Preventing Work-Related Mental Health Disorders

Preventing mental health conditions at work is about managing psychosocial risks at work. WHO recommends that employers do this by implementing systematic interventions that directly target working conditions and environments. Systematic interventions assess workplace risks to mental health. to reduce, modify, or eliminate Systematic interventions include, for example, providing flexible working arrangements or implementing frameworks to address workplace violence and harassment.

Protecting and promoting mental health in the workplace

Protecting and promoting mental health in the workplace is about enhancing the ability to recognize and deal with mental health conditions in the workplace, especially important for those responsible for overseeing others, such as managers. .

To protect your mental health, WHO recommends:

• Mental health manager training, helps managers recognize and respond to supervisors experiencing emotional distress. Build interpersonal skills such as open communication and active listening. It also develops a better understanding of how work stressors affect mental health and can be managed.
• training for workers In mental health literacy and awareness, To Improve mental health knowledge and reduce stigma about mental health conditions in the workplace.When
• personal intervention Build skills to manage stress and reduce mental health symptoms, including psychosocial interventions and opportunities for leisure-based physical activity.

Supporting people with mental health issues to participate and succeed in the workforce

People living with mental illness have the right to full and fair participation in work. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities provides international agreements to promote the rights of persons with disabilities (including psychosocial disabilities), including in the workplace. WHO recommends three interventions to help people with mental health problems obtain, retain and participate in work.

• reasonable accommodation At work, we tailor work environments to the abilities, needs and preferences of workers with mental health conditions. This may include giving individual workers flexible working hours, extra time to complete tasks, changes in assignments to reduce stress, time off for health checks, or regular assistance with supervisors. May include meetings.

• return-to-work program Combining worker-directed care (such as reasonable accommodation and gradual return to work) with ongoing clinical care to support a meaningful return to work after absence related to mental health conditions, as well as reduce symptoms of physical health.
• Supporting Employment Efforts Help people with severe mental health conditions to find paid work and maintain time for work by providing ongoing mental health and occupational support.

Create an environment that enables change

Both governments and employers can help improve mental health in the workplace by creating an enabling environment for change, in consultation with key stakeholders. In practice this means the following enhancements:

• leadership Addressing mental health at work, for example by integrating mental health at work into relevant policies.

• investment For example, by setting a dedicated budget for actions to improve mental health in the workplace and making mental health and employment services available to businesses with less resources, ensure adequate funding and resources. .
• right Participating in work, for example by aligning employment laws and regulations with international human rights instruments and implementing non-discriminatory policies in the workplace.
• integration For example, of mental health at work across sectors by incorporating mental health into existing systems for occupational health and safety.
• Participation For example, by engaging in meaningful and timely consultations with workers, their representatives, and those who have experienced mental health conditions,
• evidence For psychosocial risks and the effectiveness of interventions, for example, ensuring that all guidance and actions on mental health in the workplace are based on the latest evidence.
• compliance Comply with laws, regulations and recommendations. For example, integrating mental health into the responsibilities of national labor inspectors and other compliance mechanisms.