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With growing awareness of how mental wellbeing impacts productivity, job satisfaction and overall quality of life, it’s more essential than ever for employers to foster a culture that prioritizes mental health. This involves not only creating mental health-friendly policies, but also encouraging open and honest discussion about mental well-being among employees.

“Often, when talking mental health, the conversation centres around mental ‘distress’ or illness,” says Melisse DeDobbeleer, Clinical Supervisor Instructor at Maplewoods Centre in Guelph. “But mental health is about overall wellbeing and when it’s framed as part of an employee’s overall wellness, it becomes easier to integrate it into workplace benefits and culture.”

Building a ‘wellness package’ into employee benefits or EAP (Employee Assistance Program) is important commitment to make, says DeDobbeleer. This makes it clear that an employer’s goal is to support employees with their mental health needs, while offering these supports in an accessible way that can help reduce the stigma often associated with them.

Another key factor in successfully integrating mental health in the workplace, says DeDobbeleer, is for company leaders to model the behaviours they wish to see. “When leadership speaks about mental health and demonstrates its importance through their actions, it sets a precedent. Health leaders support healthy environments.”

She says that an effective way to reduce workplace mental distress is to encourage interactions, as the opposite of mental distress is often human connection, whether through family, friends, or community groups. Employers can foster these connections by creating opportunities for employees to socialize, while also respecting that not everyone will want to participate.

In the workplace, there is common reference to achieving a work/life balance as well, notes DeDobbeleer. “I prefer using the word ‘blend’ – a work/life blend. The word balance implies precariousness. Blend is more about things running into each other, and our mental health goes with us across domains – you can’t separate work and life stresses.”

“Recent research shows that workplace culture is a major factor in wellbeing,” offers Carlie Pagens, also a Clinical Supervisor Instructor at Maplewoods. “Many people spend  a lot of time at work and when things are going well there, we often do well in life in general.”

Pagens says integrating mental health into the workplace culture – normalizes discussion about it – involves encouraging employees to talk to each other about their experiences and how to access supports. As some employees often spend up to eight-plus hours together a day, there is often opportunity for open discussion, she adds.

“Sometimes, the best person to talk to isn’t a manager or HR representative. Rather a designated ‘mental health champion’ or peer leader within the workplace can make it easier for employees to seek help. There is often a higher uptake in use of mental health resources with peer advocates who are perceived as more approachable and relatable.”

Pagens also advocates mental health first aid training for employers, to equip them with the skills to recognize when employees may need support and how to approach these conversations. Additional employer opportunities could include hosting a once-a-month mental health day or creating a list of local therapists covered by workplace benefits.

Pagens says the Maplewoods Centre provides employers with a wide range of mental health counselling and therapy services. These include individual, couple and family (in-person and online) for a wide range of presenting problems including parenting, communication, anxiety, depression, stress and more. Maplewoods also provides psychological assessments for those under 18, and offers some psychoeducational groups related to parenting and needle fears.

Employers should view mental health the same as physical health, says DeDobbeleer. “If an employee was struggling with diabetes, an employer would suggest they see a physician. It should be the same with mental wellbeing, particularly for individuals who are most at-risk, such as those who are undergoing a big life transition, suffered a significant loss or are socially isolated.”

“Ultimately, employees need to feel that they are cared for and cared about. And it doesn’t need to be complicated: a good comparison is the conversation you have with a server in a restaurant – it’s a quick and easy check in.”