|
||||
Speaking frankly...Workplaces have a pivotal role to play in creating a supportive culture around mental health…Earlier this month, a journalist at The West Australian newspaper responded to our report on the economics of investment in mental health: Investing to Save. He said increased investment and better support services can only be effective when accompanied by a “supportive workplace and community culture” around mental health. And he’s right. Regardless of how good and easily accessible mental health services are, stigma - unless addressed - will continue to prevent people talking about their struggles and accessing support. And nowhere is mental health stigma more prevalent and pernicious than in the workplace. We know that mental health conditions cost Australian workplaces approximately $12.6 billion per year in lost productivity. We also know that workplaces can either foster an environment that promotes help seeking, or they can discourage it. Much needs to be done in our workplaces to break down stigma and create the supportive culture that makes recovery possible. And it’s not just about improving the bottom line. It’s about improving the mental health of individuals and restoring their capacity to lead full and contributing lives not just as employees; but as parents; family members; carers; friends and fellow community members. Late last year the Victorian Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton took leave to focus on his mental health. This sent a powerful and supportive message to members of the forces that will hopefully empower others to recognise when they are struggling, and to talk openly and authentically about their own experiences in what is a very stressful and demanding line of work. Ashton’s example demonstrates the critical role that leaders within organisations play in influencing workplace culture. Not only that. It shows that if unhealthy attitudes to mental illness can be turned on their head in an institution like Victoria Police - an institution built on the physical and emotional endurance of its members, on the denial of vulnerability - surely these attitudes can be turned on their head in any workplace. Our own workplaces - organisations working in mental health - are by no means immune from these challenges. We are often trying to do so much with so little, against resistance that is so strong, and with expectation that is so high. We must find ways of leading by example, of “being the change that we seek”. We will surely make mistakes, but we must find ways of overcoming barriers that perpetuate unhelpful behaviours and attitudes. Earlier this week I attended a meeting of the Mentally Healthy Workplace Alliance which brings together mental health advocates and representatives from business and government to drive change in workplace culture. This was an opportunity to explore further the implications for Australian workplaces of the broader societal shift we are seeing towards a more positive and supportive view of mental illness. Workers want psychological safety, freedom from stigma and discrimination, and access to help when they need it. Employers want practical tools to gauge the health of their workplaces, practical assistance to implement change, and help to separate quality evidence based-interventions from the snake oil. As the Investing to Save report demonstrates, it is in the financial interests of both workplaces and the broader economy to protect and preserve employee mental health. Simple strategies such as increased job control and formal therapeutic training would produce a collective $4.6 billion in savings for Australian workplaces. As the blurred boundary between work life and private life becomes ever more obscured (I am writing this update on my day off…), and as many of us spend up to half our waking hours at work, the focus on workplaces to implement strategies to protect and improve the mental health of Australians will amplify. Warm regards.
|
||||
|
||||
Mental Health Australia Member Profiles
NewsNation's health report card shows long-term health conditions like mental illness are common The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) and Minister for Health, Hon. Greg Hunt MP this week launched Australia's two-yearly report card, Australia’s health 2018. The report showed that while Australia is generally a healthy nation, there are some key areas where we could do better. Although Australians are living longer, smoking less, and 80% of us rate our health as 'good' to 'excellent', the report also showed that half of Australians have a common chronic health condition, such as diabetes, heart disease, mental illness, or cancer.
$2.1 billion for mental health is NSWRecord investment in mental health services and infrastructure for people living with mental illness, carers and their families was announced in this week's NSW Budget 2018. NSW Minister for Mental Health Tanya Davies said this significant increase on last year will ensure the state's mental health services are equipped to "improve the lives of people ... living with mental illness by delivering better care in hospital and making supports available for them in the community".
|
||||
Reminders NACCHO Launches Ochre Day 2018To celebrate Mens Health Week, NACCHO has launched its National #OchreDay2018 Mens Health Summit. The summit will take place in August and provide a national forum for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men, organisations and community members to learn from Aboriginal male health leaders, discuss issues of concern, share ideas and examine ways to improve ATSI men's health. Register below.
|
||||
|
||||
© 2017 Mental Health Australia Ltd. Unsubscribe | Subscribe
|