Celebrating Mental Health Awareness Week
Mental Health Awareness Week is the perfect time to celebrate our people and be aware of mental wellbeing in the workplace. If any one event has been a strain on the Mental Health of all New Zealanders at one time (appreciating that the restrictions are to keep us safe and healthy in light of COVID-19), it is the restrictions that have come with lockdowns. With Auckland almost completing six weeks of heavy restrictions this week is a great opportunity for businesses to keep the morale up while we power through the steep end of the lockdown.
We work with many amazing employers who do a great job of keeping mental health top of mind throughout the year. At Core HR it’s something we put a lot of emphasis on and enjoy supporting businesses in this space. That said, we’d be naive to think that anyone has got supporting mental health fully sorted. Supporting employees and their mental health through the host of situations we all face is something constantly evolving, and we are continually learning about.
Here is how your workplace can focus on Mental Health Awareness this week:
Employee Wellbeing –
What we’ve learnt after a turbulent 18 months is that keeping mentally well looks different for everyone. Around our offices and teams, we are all affected differently and have unique ways of coping.
Within our team, we shared our tricks to what has been working for us and keeping us energised to push through challenging moments. For me, my morning walks have been a godsend in providing the time and space to process what is going on and giving me mental clarity to achieve what I need to thrive. I am hoping (but not 100% committing!) to continue this when life returns to normal.
Grief and loss awareness–
One of the most humbling experiences is supporting employees through grief and loss. We do know that it is particularly challenging to deal with grief and loss during lockdowns or restrictions. Limitations on the ability to travel is a huge challenge when there is illness or bereavement with family members overseas. Seeing employers give an unequivocal “do what you need to do, we’ve got your back” has been a heartening approach to see and we completely encourage.
Vaccines –
I was recently asked about how to manage vaccinations in the workplace. While the HR perspective on this is important and interesting, that’s another story for another day. From a Mental Health Perspective, there are other considerations. We fully believe vaccinations are the best thing we can all do to help look after ourselves and our communities. We also know there can be hesitancy and concerns for those who are still reading up. It’s important all employees are given the support and information to make an informed decision. Encouraging and supporting employees to be vaccinated should be done with this in mind.
In your role as an employer - it can feel frustrating to feel you have very limited tools in the toolkit to support employees in Mental Health. There are instances of it being a fine line between wanting to care and provide support, as well as giving employees the space to work through what they may be going through. Other than working with mutual respect and open communication, there is no silver bullet, and increasingly with practice and time, managers and employees are getting better at understanding and working through this challenge.
Finally, while Mental Health Awareness Week is an important opportunity to put focus and emphasis on these issues and take stock of progress, it is a timely reminder to ensure that we keep the gas on the pedal. As employers, we need to consider what we are doing year-round to give wellbeing, and particularly mental wellbeing, the deserved consideration.
The Mental Health Foundation offers some exceptional resources for mental wellbeing in the workplace and is worth looking at: https://mentalhealth.org.nz/getting-through-together.
Happy Mental Health Awareness Week everyone! We hope it is a positive experience, where we can all work together to continue to aid and support each other.
