In this week’s episode, Sheila & Jacqui, delve into psychological health, safety, and approaches to wellbeing in the workplace. The conversation also poses the questions “what next?” and “how do we take employee health and wellbeing into a new era?”
What next for workplace wellbeing?
Recently the Guardian published an article which stated that, despite the money and time being spent by companies ($61.2bn since 2021 globally), wellbeing is still not landing as hoped. In this week’s episode, Sheila & Jacqui, delve into psychological health, safety, and approaches to wellbeing in the workplace. The conversation also poses the questions “what next?” and “how do we take employee health and wellbeing into a new era?”
Key Topics Discussed:
1. Understanding Psychological Health and Safety: Sheila and Jackie provide a comprehensive overview of what constitutes psychological health and safety in the workplace, moving beyond traditional health promotion investments.
2. Role of Management in Employee Wellbeing: The discussion highlights the pivotal role managers play in fostering a healthy work environment and the potential risks of inadequate training or support for managerial roles.
3. Operationalising Well-being: Sheila emphasizes the need for a systematic approach to well-being and psychological risk management, rather than isolated efforts or initiatives.
4. Challenges in Implementing Psychological Health Strategies: The hosts discuss the common obstacles organisations face, such as budget constraints and disjointed efforts, and offer strategies to overcome these challenges.
5. Importance of Employee Engagement and Feedback: The conversation underscores the value of employee input in identifying and addressing workplace mental health issues.
6. Balancing Business and Employee Interests: They explore the misconception that focusing on employee well-being might be detrimental to business interests and argue for a balanced approach that benefits both.
7. The Role of Standards like ISO 45003: Jackie touches upon the ISO 45003 standard for psychological health and safety and its potential as a guiding framework for organisations.
Key Takeaways:
- A systematic and holistic approach is essential for effectively managing psychological health and safety in the workplace.
- The importance of management roles in supporting employee mental health and the need for proper training and resources.
- The significance of aligning employee well-being initiatives with overall business goals for mutual benefit.
- The value of employee feedback in shaping effective mental health strategies.
- The importance of operationalising well-being strategies to ensure their effective implementation and impact.
- There needs to be more done around the prevention and protection of employee wellbeing because of the foreseeable risks to health as a direct result of the work performed.
Closing Remarks:
Sheila and Jackie conclude the episode by encouraging listeners to reflect on the insights shared and apply them to their organisational contexts. They emphasise the ongoing evolution in the field of workplace mental health and look forward to further advancements in this area.
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