Mental Health in the Workplace: Some thoughts to mark World Mental Health day

It’s not just about offices…

Today is world mental health day and the theme is mental health in the workplace.

What does that mean to you? Does a particular thought come to mind?

The word that keeps playing on my mind is ‘workplace’.

I think so much of what we read and of course what I write is about a certain kind of workplace. Especially on LinkedIn and in Substacks.

The narrative is about offices and commuting and hybrid work and working from home. The assumption that for the majority of us, ‘workplace’ means a desk or an office.

I also think back to the many years I spent at work in the often toxic environment of women’s magazines, crying in the toilets and trying to navigate a role that was hugely demanding and with little to no mention of mental health support.

We rarely even ran stories looking at mental health. It wasn’t a topic on the agenda at features meetings, and it certainly wasn’t something we were offered support with. It was a ‘get on with it’ kind of industry and I think the media can still be that way. Magazines now write articles about mental health but I worry about the way staff are treated in terms of story output, getting ‘THE’ story and producing content that gets the most clicks.

Then my mind wanders to the idea of being either staff or freelance. Because I’ve been both, many times, over the years, and when you’re freelance you often don’t have a workplace. Either that, or, if you are a contract worker you often join a workplace for a short period of time. For example I’ve done shift work as a journalist for one week at a magazine, joining a team temporarily to help out when someone was on leave. There’s no room to access mental health support when you begin and leave within a week!

I’ve also been a temp in some very random workplaces over the years. A car finance helpline, packing small machine parts in a factory and working on a switchboard, to name a few.

I’ve worked in cafes, restaurants, pubs and shops.

Each workplace is unique and that’s what interests me most about the WMH day theme this year.

Mental health in the workplace depends on what your workplace is, first and foremost.

There is then the question of whose responsibility it is to support staff mental health. It’s easy to say it is up to the company or HR. And of course it is to a huge extent.

Where I’m currently working we have free counselling services available to us which is fantastic. I’ve used them, to talk in part about my menopause anxiety and also the grief I’m working through both of which can have an impact on my mental health at work.

I’m also being vocal about using them as I hope this encourages others to access them too.

There is an onus on employees generally, I think, to choose to access services but also on employers to make sure they communicate clearly and regularly what is available.

Sometimes our mental health isn’t in the right place to access what’s on offer, which worries me. Those who might work somewhere where there is provision but they aren’t feeling in the right place to say they need it. Through shame or fear.

So, regular messaging from managers and HR is key. Emails, notices, simple conversations.

I know for many that there isn’t much provision of support in their workplace and this is where a shift needs to happen. Companies or employers who see it as the employees responsibility to look after their own mental health need to wake up!

If you’re feeling like you’re stuck and need help with your mental health today, here are three things you can do to try and make your workplace mental health better.

1. Go on your work intranet if there is one, and see what is available to you. If you can’t find it, consider dropping HR a line or asking your manager. There may also be benefits that can support your mental health through a healthcare plan.

2. Schedule breaks. If you work somewhere where breaks are at a set time, then make sure you do something with that time. A walk, or just some fresh air. If you’re desk based, put your lunch hour in your diary so people who might want to find you during that time can see you are away.

3. If you’re freelance there are some great communities and I’d flag Being Freelance and Freelancer Magazine. I also admin a Facebook group for women in the media, called No1 Freelance Media Women, come join us!

And finally if you are struggling please consider contacting Mind or Samaritans.

Jenny x

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