Promoting Mental Health Within Workplaces

Work affects the mental health and psychosocial well-being of employees through the many practices and cultures it entails. Increasingly, employers, employees, unions, insurance companies and other stakeholders are seeking guidance on ways of establishing workplaces that promote mental health and minimize risks for psychosocial distress. In some countries, this interest is being fuelled by the emergence of national standards that help employers assess and abate risks to mental health in the workplace. Such standards view protection of mental health at work as both a corporate and a social responsibility. Accordingly, risks to employee mental health arising from the organization and design of work, from the organization’s leadership and corporate culture, and from the future of work for employees are in need of discussion. Only then can corporate and social policy be developed to mitigate these risks.