Five First Steps towards a Mentally Healthy Workplace

Achieving the goal of a truly mentally healthy workplace may feel so daunting that it seems impossible. But achievement is not a case of all or nothing. Any movement in the right direction, however small,  is progress and is worth pursuing. Simply trying to get started is progress. Getting started creates momentum which can be built upon.  

There are five general steps to getting started. These apply similarly, but not identically, to an individual, to a group, or to an entire organisation (different terminology may be used):

Step One: Subscribe  ("sign up", "voice support")

This step simply comprises making a statement of support for the objective of achieving mentally healthy workplaces. It should, in theory, be the easiest step although it might take a long time to decide to take it.  

For an organisation, this step should be reflected in the corporate paraphernalia. This would be expected to extend to statements of support on the organisation's websites and intranets and in any other public documents.

An individual person could set an objective in a Personal Development Plan, or join an interest group, such as Mentally Healthy Workplaces on LinkedIn.

Once sufficient numbers of individuals,  or organisations, subscribe to the objective of mentally healthy workplaces, this begins to create pressure for change on those that do not subscribe.

Step Two: Reflect ("analyse")

This step involves attempting to understand the dynamics of workplace mental health. It is important that this includes self examination as well as wider observations. The eventual aim is to identify things that need to change. 

Organisations should review existing sources of information, for example looking at patterns of sickness-absence. These could be augmented by events, or surveys, designed to gather staff perceptions.

Individuals could keep a reflective diary or notebook of observations and ideas. Reflection may also be helped by reading and researching around the subject.

Step Three: Improve ("make changes")

Having identified things that need to change, this step involves attempting to make some changes. It should be obvious that it is better to start with things that can easily be changed before attempting things for which there may be significant obstacles.

In organisations, this step would be demonstrated through structural changes, such as in policies and procedures and through training events (including incorporating material into staff induction and mandatory training). It can also be taken forward by making expectations explicit in individual job descriptions and objective setting.

The hope is that changes to organisational culture will follow structural change. This is also very dependent on patterns of leadership within the organisation.

Step Four: Demonstrate ("share")

This step involves beginning to publicise the new ways of thinking and new ways of doing things and sharing the rationale for these.

The critical feature of this step is that it  goes beyond internal demonstrations and activity. It requires an organisation to publicise its activities to other organisations and to the wider public.

An individual could initiate this step by giving a talk or presentation, by writing a report or article for a newsletter, by adding comments to a blog, or  simply by relaying experiences back to others at relevant times, whether in a group or one-to-one setting.

Step Five: Seek feedback

The final step should be to actively ask for comments on what has been attempted and the thinking behind it. 

An organisation could commission an external review.

For an individual, this step could be pursued systematically through 360 degree feedback or simply informally through discussions with colleagues.

Results from seeking feedback should then lead to further reflection (i.e in effect looping back to Step Two). This could be seen as a variation of the ubiquitous quality circle. Some differences here are that subscribing, demonstrating and seeking feedback all explicitly require externalising aspects of the process, whereas quality circles can be entirely internal.

The ways in which the steps can be followed will depend upon a range of factors including scale, location and cultural context. 

A large organisation may move slowly, with difficulty creating momentum.

An individual attempting these steps alone might feel disconnected and run into issues with motivation. 

Probably the best vehicle for 'kick-starting' the process would be to work with selected small groups, having first identified some embryonic champions to lead these.

Ultimately, any activity, however slight, is better than no activity.

Edgar Bolton.  2013