To mark the importance of ‘Mental Health in the Workplace’, which is the theme of World Mental Health Day 2017, here is my podcast with the amazing Ciara Plunkett on KFM’s Kildare Focus show in August 2017. In it, I speak about how we need to change the conversation about mental health in the workplace, in terms of employers prioritising proactive strategies to promote positive mental health and wellbeing, which will enable employees to feel more valued, reduce absenteeism and increase productivity in the long-term.
Definite progress is being made in that 2017 marked the third year of Ireland’s National Workplace Wellbeing Day on March 31st which saw many employers introduce initiatives to promote employees’ overall health and wellbeing, including physical and mental health. Hopefully this trend is set to continue in the future with the introduction of guidelines from the European Network for Workplace Health Promotion.
Finally, in the podcast I also speak about my own experience of burnout and how taking a few weeks off from work last year helped to bring a much needed fresh perspective on my work-related stresses. Based on this experience, I firmly believe that the only way we will reduce stigma around workplace wellbeing is to openly share our stories, to generate solutions and encourage employers to proactively prioritise the mental health and wellbeing of their employees.