You might be aware that this week is Mental Health Awareness Week, a time for us to shed some light on a subject that some still consider a taboo.

Mental health issues don’t discriminate, affecting as many as 1 in 4 people each year. With this startling fact, it’s no surprise that finding ways to help those suffering with mental health issues in the workplace is becoming ever more prevalent, with business owners being encouraged to promote mental health in the same way they would physical health. After all, ensuring you have a healthy workforce in every sense is beneficial to everyone.

The team at Unum have created a video exploring the idea of managing mental health in the workplace with a particular emphasis on the impact of stress on mental health.

The video looks at the possible causes of stress in today’s society, particularly those relating to working-life such as the inability to switch off, as well as balancing home-life. Additionally, the video looks at how to spot the signs of those suffering with mental health issues and ways in which you can help colleagues who may be under pressure.

There are a multitude of ways of helping those suffering from mental health issues, including encouraging employees to avoid sending work emails out of office hours and switch off and monitoring workloads of those who may be struggling.

As the video shows, key to helping those with mental health issues in the workplace is encouraging open discussion around such issues, promoting the importance of mental health in the same way you would physical health and ridding the subject of any taboo.  

Ultimately, many people strive under some sort of stress, but we all deal with things in different ways and at times stress can have a great impact on mental health.

With Mental Health Awareness Week prompting discussion around the subject of mental health issues in and out of the workplace, hopefully it will show those suffering that they needn’t do so in silence.