Mental Health at Work: A Shared Responsibility
EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBILITY
- Be mentally and physically ready for work.
Be professional and respectful in all interactions. Know your rights as an employee.
EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITY
- Create work assignments that are doable.
Only assign a reasonable amount of work for a position, and when people leave a role, don’t assign their work to an existing role. Make certain the mental and physical demands of the job are reasonable and check in regularly with employees to see how they are dealing with the demands of the role. - Support and encourage trust, diversity, caring, and respect among peers and between leaders and employees.
Model trust and respect in all your interactions. Trust that your team has the answers to the challenges they raise. - Encourage employee input.
Ask employees what they think needs to be improved in their workplace. Engage and motivate employees by giving them more control over their work. - Provide physical and psychological protection by ensuring a psychologically safe workplace.
Take health, safety, and wellbeing concerns seriously. Minimize unnecessary stress. - Provide continuous clear and effective communication and leadership to health care teams.
Share anticipated changes with teams as soon as possible and get their input on the changes. - Recognize and reward employee contributions.
Handwritten thank you cards are one of the nicest ways of showing appreciation. And make organization successes a celebration for everyone on the team. - Create opportunities for team members to grow and develop.
Work with employees on a development plan to build their skills. Be open to new ideas and suggestions from employees. - Encourage and normalize employees asking for help.
When employees do ask for help, make sure they are supported to get the help that is the best fit for their needs.