Mental Health in the Workplace: Strategies and Programs for Employee Wellbeing - Desklib

This article discusses mental health and wellness programs for employees in the workplace. It explores strategies and activities for employee wellbeing in named organisations such as the University of Birmingham, Victoria police force, and Link Health and Community. The article also provides tips for developing a program for your own company, including identifying key needs, targeting your audience, and evaluating the program. Desklib offers a comprehensive library of study material on mental health and wellbeing.

Running head: MENTAL HEALTH IN THE WORKPLACE 1
Mental Health in the Workplace
Students Name
Institutional Affiliation
Date

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Part 1: Mental Health and Wellbeing in the workplace for named organisations
The organisations that form part of this work are the University of Birmingham, the
Victoria police force and the Link Health and Community.
Components of a mental health and wellness program
Mental health is a state of an individual’s body being fit so that the body can realise its
potential, can cope up with life’s challenges, it can work productively thus deliver results, and
the individual becomes of value to the community (Galderisi, Heinz, Kastrup, Beezhold &
Sartorius, 2015).
Work can at times result in mental disorders among employees. This reduces the functionality of
such employees. Thus the need to ensure that employees are healthy to maximise human capital.
To be able to address the issues that affect an employee’s health, organisations should develop
mental and wellness programs (Bauman, Merom, Bull, Buchner & Fiatarone, 2016). Such
programs consist of the following components:-
Development of policies that are health-related- the programs needs to have very clear principles,
the current status of the issues at hand should be known which forms a guide on the kind of
policies to be established.
Create an environment within the workplace that is in support of good health- the culture of the
organisation should be health sensitive, there should be support from the leadership. Encouraging
active participation by employees- this will be realised through identification and motivation of
knowledgeable employees who will champion the planned program at all levels of the
organisation and clarity while communicating organisational strategies.

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Seeking for assistance- it is imperative to get things right at first time (Farnbach, Eades, Gwynn,
Glozier & Hackett, 2018). Therefore, the need to ask for support from other organisations with
experience in dealing with such programs.
Components of named organisations
In the policing context, the following components have been used: - development of
policies that are health-related where awareness of certain diseases is created. Encouraging
active participation by employees where employees with skills on first aid assist the others.
Create an environment within the workplace that is in support of good health; this is addressed
by the different programs in place within the organisations. Seeking for assistance; Victoria
police works together with Worksafe Victoria and the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation.
The University of Birmingham promoted the development of policies that are health-related,
encouraged active participation by employees as well as the creation of an environment in the
workplace that supports good health since the leadership is in the forefront.
The Link Health Community achieves its objectives through the use of the whole of organisation
approach where there is use of primary, secondary and tertiary prevention, the employment of a
socioecological framework and integration of the community health service.
Program/activities involved or offered
The success of any organisation depends on the wellbeing of its employees. Any ill-
health among the employees has adverse effects regarding the physical, mental, emotional and
financial welfare of the employee (Goetzel et al., 2018). Such ill-health will impact negatively in
the organisation in which the employee works.

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The beyondblue’s program has been implemented in the workplace among the police with the
role of the program being awareness creation about depression and anxiety as conditions that can
be treated, inculcating a culture where persons suffering from a health condition can seek for
assistance and reducing attitudes of stigmatisation and enhancing the skills. The Mental Health
First Aid aims at providing knowledge on mental health as well as providing skills on how to
point out at common disorders of the mind. The program also includes knowledge as to the most
effective means of treatment of mental illnesses as well as stigma reduction (Lamontagne et al.,
2016).
At Birmingham University, Employee Assisted Programs (EAP’s) which assist an individual in
the short run to deal with small issues like smoking and alcohol abuse are used. There is also use
of Health Promotion Programs (HPP’s) which focus on the provision of education and
organisational interventions which works towards addressing the needs of all workforce in the
workplace (Fenton, Pinilla, Sing, Sadhra & Carmichael, 2014).
In the Link Health and Community there a dedicated family team has been developed which
deals with issues of violence affecting women and children.
EAP programs and referrals for named organisations
Employee assisted programs are programs developed in the workplace to identify and
offer help to employees to resolve their problems (Sonnenstual & Trice, 2018).
In the research on the policing context, a program on peer support has been rolled out within the
stations as well as the creation of healthy workplaces that result in the wellbeing of the leaders
under the Victoria police program on “Healthy minds at the work”. The good mental health of
the leaders will be reflected in the organisational performance as a result of a calm and peaceful

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working environment. In The Link Health and Community when men cause violence within their
homes, they take them in and counsel them.
Factoring of cultural considerations into the programs
In the University of Birmingham, the introduction of courses that are pocket-friendly and
less stigmatising is a testimony that the management understands its employees. Employees were
involved in the planning and design of strategies in nutritional interventions. In The Link Health
and Community, the organisation stands up to challenge messages arising from conventional
masculinity, criticises rigid gender roles and stereotypes that look at women and girls from a
negative light.
Gender-specific components of the programs
Any mental health and wellness program should be sensitive to gender. The effectiveness
of such a program ensures that the wellbeing of all employee regardless of their gender is catered
for and thus improve their productivity (Upston, Poljski & Wirtz, 2015). The Link Health and
Community are running a program for men called the responsible men group while the women
have the reclaiming their lives women group to ensure that the two gender live in peace and are
productive.
The effectiveness of the programs
According to Anger et al. (2015) effectiveness refers to the degree to which a health
program delivers the desired results.
The process evaluation under the police context may not give information as to the effectiveness
of the program as the process is ongoing and not summative. In the University of Birmingham,

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most of the reviews carried out do not have conclusive results thus impeding the carrying out of
any evaluation that may measure the effectiveness of the program. In Link Health and
Community, the evaluation outcomes have differed to a later date.
Part 2: Mental Health in the Workplace
Mental Health and Wellness Program for our Company
Members of the development team
The following will be in the development team. Senior managers- they plan and direct a
group of individuals as they perform their tasks. They monitor the work of employees and take
any corrective action when and where necessary (Ahearne, Lam & Krans, 2014). Managers and
supervisors set the targets and ensure that the employees perform them correctly. Team members
are involved in the directly carrying out of organisation activities to realise organisational goals.
While the senior management will be included in developing health-related policies as well as
developing partnerships, the managers and supervisors will provide an enabling environment
which will enable the employees to carry out their tasks to realise organisational goals. It is the
employee who is engaged in the day to day business of the company who will confirm with the
management whether the program is working or not.
Goals and outcomes of the program
Goals are ambitious commitments aimed at addressing a particular challenge (Booth,
Emerson, Hackney & Souter, 2016). Outcomes are outputs achieved by a program intervention
either in the short or long term (Cutcliffe, Travale, Richmond & Green, 2016).

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Goals: - the setting of boundaries which promote the safety and peace of the individual,
incorporation of daily meditation which increases the feelings of calmness and peace and
commitment to therapy which results in self-awareness and love for self. Outcomes: - they have
an understanding of diversity and how their actions affect the mental health and wellbeing of
others that they interact with, the effectiveness of the program intervention should attract other
members who are suffering from mental related illnesses.
Identification of key needs and the expectations of the program
The needs of the program will be determined in line with the components of a good
program. Since the program belongs to the employees, their active participation is required.
Therefore, during the development of the program, employees’ needs, attitudes and preferences
should be considered. Such a program will receive the necessary support from the team and thus
effective.
Target your audience
The target audience will be the whole team in the organisation. According to Katzenbach
& Smith (2015) a team consists of individuals who recommend things (e.g. task forces),
individuals who carry out the daily tasks (e.g., worker teams) and the individuals that run things
(e.g. management teams). These individuals within the team are critical to the success of the
organisation, and so is their health.
Activities and components of the program
Fitness activities- anyone working in an office set up for more than forty hours per week need to
stretch their bodies.

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Mental health and stress release activities-. The organisation will ensure that employees go home
at the end of the day once the working hours are gone. There is a need to give time off to
employees after some time of working so that they can get refreshed. This will mitigate work-
related stress.
Time and delivery of the program
Since the program has components, it cannot be delivered as a one-time program but will
require to be carried out in phases throughout the year. The following phases constitute the
program: - the gathering of information, analysing, planning, implementation and evaluation.
Introduction of cultural component in the program
Aligning the culture to the most primary objectives of the organisation, having leadership
that supports the introduction of the culture in the workplace as well as having champions at all
levels of management. There will be the development of the right organisational strategies which
are supported by both the employer as well as the vendor. Finally, the management should have a
holistic understanding of the employees within the organisation.
Activities to be provided will include participation in physical activities, observation of healthy
eating, cessation of smoking and observation of mental health which is usually contributed by
work-related issues. Those activities will be entrenched within the organisation be being
formulated into organisational policies.
Program evaluation
Evaluation is the systematic, elaborate and extensive use of scientific methods in the
assessment of the design, implementation and modifications of a program’s outcomes

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(Stufflebeams & Zhang, 2017). Since this is a new program, some evaluation types will be
involved. The formative evaluation will be carried out before the program design to show why
the program is necessary. Process evaluation which will be carried out during the implementation
will be crucial to advise the management on how well the program is being implemented. At the
end of the program, a summative evaluation will be carried out to show how well benefits were
delivered to the target population.

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